''Somewhere I'll Find You'' is a 1942 film directed by

Wesley Ruggles Wesley Ruggles (June 11, 1889 – January 8, 1972) was an American film director. Life and work He was born in Los Angeles, California, younger brother of actor Charlie Ruggles. He began his career in 1915 as an actor, appearing in a doz ...

and starring

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

and

Lana Turner Julia Jean "Lana" Turner ( ; February 8, 1921June 29, 1995) was an American actress. Over a career spanning nearly five decades, she achieved fame as both a pin-up model and a film actress, as well as for her highly publicized personal life. ...

, released by Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. The film took almost two years to complete and was the last film Gable starred in before he enlisted in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

for

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His next film was the post-war ''

Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

'' (1945).

Plot

In October 1941,

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

s and brothers "Jonny" (

) and Kirk Davis (

Robert Sterling Robert Sterling (born William Sterling Hart; November 13, 1917 – May 30, 2006) was an American actor. He was best known for starring in the television series '' Topper'' (1953–1955). In 1960, Sterling was honored with a star on the Hollyw ...

) return to the still-neutral United States after being kicked out of Germany. Jonny's boss, isolationist ''New York Daily Chronicle'' publisher George L. Stafford ( Charles Dingle), refuses to print his story about Japan and Germany's plans for the world, but Jonny tricks him into doing so, and gets fired for his trouble. When Jonny goes to reclaim his old room from friends and landlords "Evie" ( Lee Patrick) and Willie Manning (

Reginald Owen John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor, known for his many roles in British and American films and television programmes. Career Owen was born to Joseph and Frances Owen in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire, En ...

), he is annoyed (despite having been away for years) to find they have rented it out to Paula Lane (

), an aspiring reporter who wants to work as a foreign correspondent. Ladies man Jonny is very interested in the beautiful blonde, but then finds that his brother already has a relationship with her. A romantic triangle ensues. Despite being in love with her himself, Jonny tries to arrange it so that Paula chooses Kirk. Eventually, they are all reunited in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

... on Sunday, December 7, the day of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, which brings America into the war. Jonny insists that the other two leave on a ship for Australia, while he remains behind to report for the ''Chronicle'', but they sneak back on the

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

after he sees them off. Kirk enlists, while Paula joins the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

. When the Japanese invade the Philippines, Jonny encounters his brother by chance; Kirk is part of a detachment under the command of Lieutenant Wade Hall ( Van Johnson) that is assigned to repel a Japanese amphibious landing. Kirk and most of the other defenders die in the fierce fighting. Jonny believes that Paula was also killed, when the hospital where she was working was wiped out, but it turns out she was out escorting a party of wounded there. When they find each other, Jonny sets her at a typewriter and starts dictating the rest of his newspaper story.

Cast

as Jonathan "Jonny" Davis *

as Paula Lane *

as Kirk "Junior" Davis * Patricia Dane as Crystal McRegan *

as Willie Manning * Lee Patrick as Eve "Evie" Manning * Charles Dingle as George L. Stafford *

Sara Haden Sara Haden (born Catherine Haden, November 17, 1898 – September 15, 1981) was an American actress of the 1930s through the 1950s and in television into the mid-1960s. She may be best remembered for appearing as Aunt Milly Forrest in 14 of the ...

as Miss Coultier * Van Johnson as Lieutenant Wade Hall (uncredited) *

Keenan Wynn Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his wikt:stock-in-trade, stock-in-trade; though he rarely carried the leading actor, lead role, h ...

as Sergeant Tom Purdy, a machine gunner under Hall's command (uncredited) Cast notes *''Somewhere I'll Find You'' was the film debut of longtime Hollywood character actor Keenan Wynn.

Production

The film was designed as another vehicle for the immensely popular Gable/Turner pairing. Following their success in 1941's ''

Honky Tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

'', MGM was looking to capitalize on this new team, hoping to reproduce the box office appeal Gable had when he was paired with actresses

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

(8 films),

Jean Harlow Jean Harlow (born Harlean Harlow Carpenter; March 3, 1911 – June 7, 1937) was an American actress. Known for her portrayal of "bad girl" characters, she was the leading sex symbol of the early 1930s and one of the defining figures of the ...

(6 films), and

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. As a performer, she was known for her ability to adapt to her screen partner's acting style. Born in Helena, Monta ...

(7 films) in the 1930s. Once filming began, Gable and Turner continued their friendly working relationship. Filming was suspended for a month after Gable's wife, actress

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard ...

, was killed in a plane crash. Gable was permitted to take leave from filming for a period of bereavement, and the studio almost scrapped the film. It was retitled ''Red Light'' but changed back to ''Somewhere I'll Find You'' before its release. It was the last film made by Gable prior to his military service during World War II; he did not make another film until 1945. The film was, like the Gable/Turner pairing in ''

'' (1941), a box office success. The pair later made two more films together, ''

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States and Canada. United St ...

'' (1948) and '' Betrayed'' (1954). Both those movies, like "Somewhere I'll Find You," had Gable and Turner serving as comrades and lovers in World War II.

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $2,885,000 in the US and Canada and $1,129,000 elsewhere, making the studio a profit of $1,749,000."101 Pix Gross in Millions" ''Variety'' 6 Jan 1943 p 58
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References

External links

* * * {{Wesley Ruggles 1942 films 1942 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films Films about war correspondents Films directed by Wesley Ruggles Films scored by Bronisław Kaper Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Pacific War films World War II films made in wartime Films set in the Philippines 1940s English-language films English-language romantic drama films