Following their successful Love Affair, Charles Boyer (Gaslight) and Irene Dunne (The Awful Truth) team up again for the dazzling When Tomorrow Comes, based on a story by James M. Cain (Mildred Pierce). Romance and heartbreak walk hand-in-hand when posh concert pianist Philip (Boyer) stops into a restaurant for lunch, meets working-class waitress Helen (Dunne)…and the two fall deeply in love. Their planned romantic getaway on Long Island is interrupted by a crashing hurricane that forces the lovers to spend the night in the organ loft of a flooded church. Eventually Helen learns a shocking truth—that Philip is married—and is forced to make a difficult decision. Directed by John M. Stahl (Leave Her to Heaven) and co-starring Barbara O’Neil (All This, and Heaven Too), this lavish melodrama features terrific performances by the two leads and a wonderful supporting cast.

For thoughts on When Tomorrow Comes, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/K3T1XmtSqXo?t=2602]

Video Quality

When Tomorrow Comes makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a brand new 1080p transfer from a 2K master. For a film that is over 80 years old, this presentation is quite fetching despite a few deficiencies remaining after the spruce up. The new transfer shows off a striking amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Whenever the couple are caught in the hurricane, the setting feels fully three dimensional. Black levels are deep with no obvious occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts.

Contrast is well defined, and the track only experiences minimal instances of flicker and density fluctuation in the print. You get an admirable amount of detail present with textures on the clothing and within the period production design. Nicks and scratches have almost been eradicated completely, but you may still spot a few spots of slight damage. Rest assured, though, the natural film grain remains intact within the sumptuous black-and-white photography shot by John J. Mescall. Kino Classics has done some great work with this one.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a pretty decent DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that delivers a satisfying listening experience. This track only presents with a small amount of age related wear and tear and some faint hissing. The most outwardly rough issue is that the track sounds a bit thin when it comes to the music, but even that likely dates back to the age of the source elements. The music does not overwhelm the dialogue or other important information. Dialogue and background noises are balanced well with all competing elements so that everything has a chance to shine. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. Kino Classics has delivered their typically excellent work

Special Features

Audio Commentary: Author/Film Historian Lee Gambin and Costume Historian Elissa Rose deliver a really informative commentary track in which they talk about unsavory aspects of the plot, the careers long and short of the creatives, the social issues tackled in the narrative, the labor movement of the time, the costumes featured in the film and how they provide characterization for certain figures, among other topics. This is a well-researched track that is worth checking out.

Trailers: There are trailers for Back Street, Now and Forever, Desire, The Gilded Lily, The Good Fairy and Love Before Breakfast.

Final Thoughts

When Tomorrow Comes is a well-made heartbreaker from the Golden Age of Hollywood which conjures up a palpable romance before introducing frustrating obstacles. Charles Boyer is an icon of the genre who exudes a suave charm alongside a tender underbelly which makes him such an intriguing leading man. Irene Dunne is every bit his equal as she brings an endearing innocence and optimism to her character. The film does not try to jump through hoops trying to fundamentally change the stakes set up by the narrative. The story plays out with a rich honesty which allows it to stand out within this time period. Kino Classics has delivered a Blu-Ray release that shows off a great A/V presentation and an informative commentary track. If you love a well-acted melodrama with emotional honesty, do not pass this up. Recommended

When Tomorrow Comes is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.