Now, Voyager
Original poster
Directed by	Irving Rapper
Produced by	Hal B. Wallis
Written by	Casey Robinson Based on the novel by Olive Higgins Prouty
Starring	Bette Davis Paul Henreid Claude Rains Gladys Cooper
Music by	Max Steiner
Cinematography	Sol Polito
Editing by	Warren Low
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	October 22, 1942  United States
Running time	117 minutes
Language	English
IMDb profile

Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same title by Olive Higgins Prouty. The film's title originated in a line from the Walt Whitman poem "The Untold Want," which reads in its entirety, "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, / Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find." Bette Davis's portrayal garnered her an Academy Award nomination and the film continues to be popular not only due to its star power but also the "emotional crescendos" engendered in the storyline. ^[1] Born on January 16, 1898 in Britain, Irving Rapper was a film director. ... Hal B. Wallis (September 14, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American motion picture producer. ... Olive Higgins Prouty (January 10, 1882–March 24, 1974) was an American novelist, best known for her pioneering consideration of psychotherapy in Now, Voyager and her feminist melodrama Stella Dallas. ... This article is about the actress. ... Henreid in Casablanca Paul Georg Julius Hernreid Ritter von Wassel-Waldingau, (January 10, 1908 - March 29, 1992), known professionally as Paul Henreid, was an actor and film director probably best known for his roles in Casablanca and Now, Voyager. ... Claude Rains (November 10, 1889 – May 30, 1967) was a British-born theatre and film actor, who later held American citizenship, best known for his many roles in Hollywood films. ... Dame Gladys Constance Cooper DBE (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an Oscar-nominated English actress. ... Maximilian Raoul Walter Steiner (born May 10, 1888 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary; died December 28, 1971 in Hollywood, California) was an Austrian-American composer of music for theater production shows and films. ... “WB” redirects here. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... See also: 1941 in film 1942 1943 in film 1940s in film years in film film // Events Carole Lombard is killed in a plane crash when returning from a War Bond tour. ... A drama film is a film that depends mostly on in-depth character development, interaction, and highly emotional themes. ... Born on January 16, 1898 in Britain, Irving Rapper was a film director. ... Sample from a screenplay, showing dialogue and action descriptions. ... Olive Higgins Prouty (January 10, 1882–March 24, 1974) was an American novelist, best known for her pioneering consideration of psychotherapy in Now, Voyager and her feminist melodrama Stella Dallas. ... Walter Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist. ... This article is about the actress. ...

Plot synopsis

Charlotte Vale is an unattractive, overweight, repressed spinster whose life is dominated by her dictatorial mother, an aristocratic Boston dowager whose verbal and emotional abuse of her daughter has contributed to the woman's complete lack of self-confidence. Fearing Charlotte is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law Lisa introduces her to psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith, who recommends she spend time in his sanitarium. Old maid redirects here. ... A dictator is an authoritarian, often totalitarian ruler (e. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ... A dowager is a widow who holds a title or property, or Dower, derived from her deceased husband. ... An MRI scan of a human brain and head. ...

Away from her mother's control, Charlotte blossoms, and the transformed woman opts to take a lengthy cruise rather than immediately return home. On board ship, she meets married Jerry Durrance, who is traveling with his friends Deb and Frank McIntyre, from whom Charlotte learns Jerry's devotion to his young daughter Tina keeps him from divorcing his wife. Charlotte and Jerry become friendly, and in Rio de Janeiro the two are stranded on Sugarloaf Mountain when the car in which they're touring crashes. They miss the ship and spend five days together before Charlotte flies to Buenos Aires to rejoin the cruise. Although they have fallen in love, they decide it would be best not to see each other again. This article is about the Brazilian city. ... Sugarloaf or Sugar Loaf is the name of a number of mountains, including: Sugarloaf Mountain, Florida Sugarloaf Mountain, Maine - home of the Sugarloaf/USA ski resort Sugarloaf Mountain, Oregon Sugarloaf Mountain, Ireland Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro (Pão de Açúcar) Sugar Loaf Mountain, Wales ... For other uses, see Buenos Aires (disambiguation). ...

When she arrives home, Charlotte's family is stunned by the dramatic changes in her appearance and demeanor. Her mother is determined to regain control over her daughter, but Charlotte is resolved to remain independent while forging a better relationship with her mother. She becomes engaged to widower Elliot Livingston, but after a chance meeting with Jerry, she breaks off the engagement, a decision that so angers her mother the woman has a heart attack and dies. Guilty and distraught, Charlotte returns to the sanitarium, where she meets lonely, unhappy Tina, who greatly reminds her of herself. She becomes interested in her welfare and with Dr. Jaquith's permission takes the girl under her wing. When she improves, Charlotte takes her home to Boston with her.

Jerry and Dr. Jaquith visit the Vale home, and Jerry is delighted to see the changes in his daughter. Charlotte agrees to keep Tina with her with the understanding her relationship with Jerry will remain platonic. She tells him she sees Tina is his gift to her and her way of being close to him. When Jerry asks her if she's happy, Charlotte responds, "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon... we have the stars," a line ranked #46 in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotes in American cinema. ^[1] Part of the AFI 100 Years. ...

Production notes

Producer Hal B. Wallis' initial choices for Charlotte were Irene Dunne, Norma Shearer and Ginger Rogers. When Bette Davis learned about the project, she campaigned for and successfully won the role. In her memoir This 'N' That, Davis indicated Claude Rains was her favorite co-star, citing his work in Now, Voyager as significant. ^[2] Irene Dunne (December 20, 1898 - September 4, 1990) was a five-time Academy Award-nominated American film actress and singer of the 1930s and 1940s. ... Edith Norma Shearer (August 10, 1902 (some sources indicate 1900) – June 12, 1983) was an Academy Award-winning Canadian-American actress. ... Ginger Rogers (Virginia Katherine McMath, July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress and singer. ... This article is about the actress. ... As a literary genre, a memoir (from the French: mémoire from the Latin memoria, meaning memory), or a reminiscence, forms a subclass of autobiography, although it is an older form of writing. ... Claude Rains (November 10, 1889 – May 30, 1967) was a British-born theatre and film actor, who later held American citizenship, best known for his many roles in Hollywood films. ...

For years, Davis and co-star Paul Henreid claimed the scene in which Jerry puts two cigarettes in his mouth, lights both, then passes one to Charlotte, was developed by them during rehearsals, inspired by a habit Henreid shared with his wife, but drafts of Casey Robinson's script on file at the University of Southern California indicate the scene was included by the screenwriter in his original script ^[3]. Henreid in Casablanca Paul Georg Julius Hernreid Ritter von Wassel-Waldingau, (January 10, 1908 - March 29, 1992), known professionally as Paul Henreid, was an actor and film director probably best known for his roles in Casablanca and Now, Voyager. ... The Trojan Shrine, better known as Tommy Trojan located in the center of University of Southern California campus. ...

Principal cast

• Bette Davis ..... Charlotte Vale
• Paul Henreid ..... Jerry Durrance
• Claude Rains ..... Dr. Jaquith
• Gladys Cooper ..... Mrs. Vale
• Ilka Chase ..... Lisa Vale
• Bonita Granville ..... June Vale
• John Loder ..... Elliot Livingston
• Lee Patrick ..... Deb McIntyre
• James Rennie ..... Frank McIntyre
• Mary Wickes ..... Nurse Dora Pickford
• Janis Wilson ..... Tina Durrance

Dame Gladys Constance Cooper DBE (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an Oscar-nominated English actress. ... Ilka Chase (b. ... Bonita Granville Bonita Granville (February 2, 1923 – October 11, 1988) was an Oscar-nominated American film actress and television producer. ... John Loder (April 7, 1946 - August 12, 2005) was a British sound engineer, record producer and founder of Southern Studios, as well as a former member of EXIT and co-founder of the Southern Records distribution company with his wife Sue. ... Lee Patrick (November 22, 1901 – November 21, 1982) was an American theater and film actress. ... Mary Wickes guest-starring in the television series Zorro (1957-1959) as Dolores Bastinado Mary Wickes, born Mary Isabelle Wickenhauser, (June 13, 1910 - October 22, 1995) was an American film and television actress. ...

Critical reception

The New York Times critic said, "Casey Robinson has created a deliberate and workmanlike script which more than once reaches into troubled emotions. Director Irving Rapper has screened it with frequent effectiveness. But either because of the Hays office or its own spurious logic, [the film] endlessly complicates an essentially simple theme. For all its emotional hair-splitting, it fails to resolve its problems as truthfully as it pretends. In fact, a little more truth would have made the film a good deal shorter . . . Although Now, Voyager starts out bravely, it ends exactly where it started — and after two lachrymose hours." ^[4] The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

Time Out London says, "The women's weepie angle gets to be a bit of a slog later on, but it is all wrapped up as a mesmerically glittering package by Rapper's direction, Sol Polito's camerawork, and Max Steiner's lushly romantic score." ^[5] The distinctive Time Out logo, seen on all its publications Time Out is a publishing company based in London, England. ...

Channel 4 calls it "the ultimate melodramatic, atmospheric (and very smoky) glum to glamour chick flick. The many highlights include a magnificent swelling score from Max Steiner and a scintillating performance by Bette Davis." ^[6] This article is about the British television station. ... The term chick flick is slang for a movie that appeals mainly to women or young girls, either by design or popular consensus. ...

In 2007, Now, Voyager was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The film ranks #23 on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions, a list of the top 100 love stories in American cinema. The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ... Construction of the Thomas Jefferson Building, from July 8, 1888 to May 15, 1894. ... Part of the AFI 100 Years. ...

Awards and nominations

• Academy Award for Best Actress (Bette Davis, nominee)
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Gladys Cooper, nominee)
• Academy Award for Best Original Score (Max Steiner, winner)

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ... Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ... The Academy Award for Original Music Score is presented to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Now, Voyager at the Internet Movie Database
• Extensive summary and commentary at Filmsite.org
• Commentary at the University of Alberta website

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