TIL WE MEET AGAIN (1940)

A totally unnecessary remake of the 1932 Warners melodrama ONE WAY PASSAGE (reviewed 11/24/01). I suppose there's nothing wrong with this movie, especially if you haven't seen the original, but it adds no new insights in terms of plot or acting. George Brent is the escaped convict (played by William Powell in 1932) caught overseas and being transported back to San Quentin to await execution; Merle Oberon, dying of a heart condition, is the lonely woman he meets on board the ship (Kay Francis in the original). The two fall in love while keeping their dark secrets from each other, at least for a time. Frank McHugh reprises his role in the original as a con man friend of Brent's, and Binnie Barnes is the con woman, a role done much better in '32 by Aline MacMahon. More or less added to this version are Geraldine Fitzgerald as a friend and protector to Oberon, and Eric Blore as an English gentleman whom Barnes is scamming. None of the couplings have much chemistry; certainly Brent and Oberon can't touch Powell and Francis. This version is a little longer and glossier but still feels like a scene-by-scene B-level remake. Also with George Reeves, John Ridgely, and Regis Toomey. Stick to ONE WAY PASSAGE. [TCM]

MY DEAR MISS ALDRICH (1937)

Mildly amusing comedy. Maureen O'Sullivan is the title character, a teacher from Nebraska who inherits a New York City newspaper. She and her aunt (Edna May Oliver) go to the big city and deal with the male chauvinist editor (Walter Pidgeon) who refuses to hire female reporters. O'Sullivan decides to prove that she can be a good reporter and gets involved in a group of businesspeople dealing with an upcoming strike. The last half of the film becomes a long slapstick chase at a roadside inn. The funniest scene in the movie involves O'Sullivan's travails with a dumbwaiter. There's also a nice running gag in which Oliver tries to figure out why on earth a place called Locust Valley has no locusts. Also with Roger Converse, Leonid Kinsky, and Robert Greig. [TCM]