REMEMBER THE DAY

New Zealand Listener, Volume 7, Issue 180, 4 December 1942, Page 17

REMEMBER THE DAY

(20th Century Fox)

ITH slight differencesthe chief of which is the sex of the leading characterRemember the Day does for

the teachers and the primary (or grade) schools of America what Good-bye Mr. Chips did for the masters and the public schools of Great Britain. And does Tt rather better, to my mind, though less pretentiously. This, I expect, will be a minority opinion, since in this country we have an obstinate romantic attachment to old school ties and, thanks to Hollywood, can seldom think of the American education system except in terms of glamorous co-eds, fraternity pins, the Greek alphabet, and a peculiar type of football. Yet, as depicted in Remember the Day, the grade-school playgrounds of America are, I feel, actually a good deal closer to the New Zealand scene than ate the playing-fields of Eton-and a good deal more democratic. And once you get beneath the slight surface veneer of sentimentality, what is shown here is plainly an authentic picture of small-town school life in pre-war days. As the American Miss Chips, Claudette Colbert acts with tact, sincerity, and great charm. Her career as a school-mistress from youth to middle age is told in retrospect by means of the familiar flash-back device, but Henry King’s direction is so intelligent and restrained, and the performances of Miss Colbert and the others are so sensitive, that her screen memories-of the little boys and girls who have passed: through her hands, and of her bitter-sweet romance with a manual training teacher -have more the atmosphere of an hon-" est autobiography than of lavender and pressed flowers in an album. Even the slight sentimentality is justifiable, since © the emotions to be aroused in the onlooker are mainly nostalgic, reminding him of his own schooldays. Nor do I regard it as stretching probability too far, nor pandering too much to "human interest" that Miss Colbert’s star-pupil _ should grow up to become a candidate. for the U.S. Presidency. This bright lad is played by Douglas Croft with a senBitiveness (especially in his portrayal of calf-love for his teacher) almost equal‘ling Miss Colbert’s own. Most of the other youngsters also manage to steer well ‘clear of the. obnoxiousness of children ; . given! the chance to "perform", in public, . and John Payne ..deserves his. share..of .

praise as the teacher whose romance with Miss Colbert is temporarily blighted by nasty small-town gossip. Remember the Day has none of the spurious excitement of the average Hollywood story; there is, however, a scrupulous attention to details of character, scene, and incident that is almost French. Since I have frequently stressed the need for more films with simple, human stories about real people, it is a pleasure to be able to stand’ up and applaud one that so admirably meets this demand.