In 1918, Elizabeth MacDonald learns that her husband, John Andrew, has been killed in the war. Elizabeth bears John's son and eventually marries her kindly boss. Unknown to her, John has survived but is horribly disfigured and remains in Europe. Years later, on the eve of World War II, Elizabeth refuses to agree to her son's request to enlist and is stunned when an eerily familiar stranger named Kessler arrives from abroad and becomes involved.
Acting
Welles's voice does heavy lifting under full face wrap
Costume
Colbert's widow-to-wife wardrobe evolution
Score
Max Steiner's strings never let you forget to cry
Director
Irving Pichel
Claudette Colbert
Elizabeth Hamilton
Orson Welles
John Andrew MacDonald
George Brent
Lawrence Hamilton
Lucile Watson
Aunt Jessica Hamilton
Richard Long
Drew Hamilton
Natalie Wood
Margaret Ludwig
John Wengraf
Dr. Ludwig
Sonny Howe
Brian Hamilton
Ian Wolfe
Norton
Joyce Mackenzie
Cherry Davis
Jesse Graves
Ambrose
Boyd Irwin
Dr. Callan
Jack Cheatham
Policeman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Enoch Arden trope—presumed-dead husband returns—was so common in 1940s Hollywood it became self-parody.
Seven-year-old Natalie Wood plays a refugee child; this was her first credited role before Miracle on 34th Street made her famous.
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