I’ll Never Forget You (1951)
I’ll Never Forget You (1951) Tyrone Power, Ann Blyth and Michael Renni
A fabulous 20th Century Fox Film, starring Tyrone Power, Ann Blyth and Michael Rennie. Peter Standish (Power) and Roger Forsyth (Rennie) are atomic scientists, working in a laboratory in England. After work on day, they go to Ty’s house, which is an old town house that he inherited from a distant cousin by the name of Pettigrew. When Michael Rennie comments on his strong resemblance to an old portrait, Peter explains that it is his relative who came from America in the 1780’s to marry Kate Pettigrew. He then proceeds to share details he has found out about their lives and everyone around them. When he proposes his theory that he is going back in time to their life, Roger begins to get worried. When it does happen, Peter finds himself in the time he has been dreaming of for so long. The people that he knows so well and the events he knows will happen. However, when Kate’s sister, Helen (Blyth), appears, Peter is stunned. There was absolutely no mention of her in any letter, diary or anywhere in his house. *An interesting thing about this movie is that the “present” time is filmed in Black & White, and the “past” is in Technicolor”. This film is based on a stage play from 1929 and is a remake of “Berkeley Square” (1933). The original title for the film was “The House in the Square.” CAST: TYRONE POWER as Peter Standish, ANN BLYTH as Helen, MICHAEL RENNIE as Roger Forsyth, DENNIS PRICE as Tom Pettigrew, BEATRICE CAMPBELL as Kate Pettigrew, RAYMOND HUNTLEY as Mr. Throstle, IRENE BROWNE as Lady Anne Pettigrew, KATHLEEN BYRON as Duchess of Devonshire and ANN BLYTH as Martha Forsythe.
American theatrical release poster
The House in the Square, also titled I’ll Never Forget You (US) and Man of Two Worlds, is a 1951 fantasy film about an American atomic scientist who is transported to the 18th century, where he falls in love. It starred Tyrone Power and Ann Blyth and was an early film for director Roy Ward Baker. It was adapted from the play Berkeley Squareby John L. Balderston, which was also the basis of the 1933 film Berkeley Square.
It used a similar technique as The Wizard of Oz, presenting the opening and closing sequences in black-and-white, and the rest of the film in Technicolor.
Plot
Peter Standish is an American atomic scientist who is working in a nuclear laboratory in London. His co-worker Roger Forsyth, who is worrying about Peter’s lack of social activities, takes him to a house in Berkeley Square he inherited. It is there where Peter announces his wishes of living in the 18th century among the high-class family Petigrew he has studied the last years. Because of a lightning strike, he is brought back to 1784, where he is thought to be the first Peter Standish, the American cousin of the Petigrews who, according to history, will soon romance and marry Kate Petigrew.
Peter falls for Kate, but he is more interested in her sister Helen, of whom he has never found any records. Over the next few days, Peter makes several bad impressions on the family by using modern day language and revealing information he could not have known if he had actually grown up in the 18th century. Helen, however, is the only one not suspicious of Peter’s presence and falls in love with him as well. Peter admits to her that the 18th century is not what he thought it would be. The narrow-minded people, the poverty and the dirt irritate him. Furthermore, he admits that he is from the future and shows Helen his hidden laboratory in the basement with modern inventions.
Rather than being afraid, Helen becomes even more interested in Peter. They fall in love, despite Peter’s awareness that he has to marry Kate in order to not change history. Helen begs him not to say things which makes him look odd, and that night, at a formal party, Peter tries to impress the famous Duchess of Devonshire, but he accidentally talks about her as if he is talking about her legacy, which makes her uneasy. Kate is fed up with Peter and announces that she will not marry him. Rather than trying to court her somehow, Peter is drawn to Helen, who is interested on finding out more about the future.
Things start to look bad for Peter when his laboratory is uncovered. He is committed to the Bethlem Royal Hospital. Before being brought away, he rushes to Helen’s room, where she places a crux ansata in order to remind him of her love for him. While being taken away, lighting strikes again and Peter is back in present life. There, Forsyth tells him he has been acting like a mad man for the past seven weeks. Peter is shocked when he meets Forsyth’s sister Martha, who resembles Helen. He rushes out to the graveyard in front of his house, where he not only discovers Helen’s grave, but that she died of grief shortly after he was taken away to the asylum.
Cast
- Tyrone Power as Peter Standish
- Ann Blyth as Helen Pettigrew / Martha Forsyth
- Michael Rennie as Roger Forsyth
- Dennis Price as Tom Pettigrew
- Beatrice Campbell as Kate Pettigrew
- Kathleen Byron as the Duchess of Devonshire
- Raymond Huntley as Mr. Throstle
- Irene Browne as Lady Anne Pettigrew
Production
The film went into production in January 1945, with Gregory Peck and Maureen O’Hara in the lead roles. The project, however, was shelved and eventually abandoned, before it was taken up in 1950. On July 13, 1950, Tyrone Power was announced in the lead role. French actress Micheline Presle was originally set to co-star, but she dropped out in March 1951 due to illness. Constance Smith shortly stepped in as her replacement, but producer Darryl F. Zanuck decided she was not experienced enough and replaced her with Ann Blyth.
Initially, Jean Simmons was approached to co-star next to Power.
Home media
The film was released on DVD as part of the Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection on July 29, 2008, this after a long attempt to bring it to Video.
