Covering the war from London are BBC reporter Mark Trevor (Connery) and American newspaper correspondent Sara Scott (Turner). The two have fallen deeply in love (before the film begins), and despite the fact that Sara told her boss, Carter Reynolds (Barry Sullivan), she would marry him after returning from Europe, she informs Mark of her intent to break the engagement. Believing Mark and she have a future, Sara plans to tell Carter that she's in love with another man and will be marrying him. Mark is dismayed at Sara's words, though, for how can he marry her when he's already married? Coming clean with Sara, Mark admits he has a wife and son back home.
Although devastated by the news of Mark's marriage, Sara believes that what she and Mark have is real. Sure he will choose her over his wife, she tells Mark to let her know when he has made his decision. Promising to come back to her, Mark heads to Italy to cover the German surrender; however, he never makes it to Italy or back to Sara, as he is killed in a plane crash.
Brokenhearted and reeling from her loss, Sara feels the only thing that will help her through her grief is to travel to Mark's hometown...to see the town he lived in...to walk the streets where he walked. Going there, she makes the acquaintance of Mark's wife, Kay (Glynis Johns), and their son, Brian. Not aware that Sara had been having an affair with Mark---indeed, not even aware he had been unfaithful to her---Kay welcomes Sara into her life and home. As Sara attaches herself more and more firmly to Mark's family, both Mark's best friend and Sara's boss, Carter, beg her to leave before Kay begins to suspect Mark's infidelity.
Does visiting Mark's home provide Sara with the solace she seeks? Does Mark's wife come to realize he had been having an affair? Can Carter, who still loves Sara, convince her to let go of the past and move into the future with him? These are the questions that play out in this mildly heart-tugging film.
While Another Time, Another Place is a solid, 3-star viewing experience, it is not one of my favorite Lana films. With the exception of Glynis Johns' character, the other characters in the film are not overly likeable. I especially thought Lana's character was selfish and hard to root for. And in the end, I was unhappy with the way she handled things. Still, though, Lana was her beautiful self, and I thought she put in a good performance. Just an aside, though...I did think her wardrobe was a bit too glamourous and not quite in keeping with that of a wartime news reporter.
One thing really struck me as I watched this film---the credits said "Introducing Sean Connery." I wondered how many people viewing this way back in 1958 would have had any inkling of the enormity of Mr. Connery's future success. Could anyone have foreseen his amazing popularity? Or that his career would span at least five decades? Or that he would one day be considered "the sexiest man alive." Did anyone viewing this film realize the newcomer was far more than just a "here today, gone tomorrow" kind of actor? This movie is worth watching just for the opportunity to see the very young Mr. Connery in one of his earliest roles. Beyond that, if you are a Lana Turner or Glynis Johns fan, you will probably enjoy this. Out on DVD, Another Time, Another Place should be fairly easy to track down. Also, it is available on Net Flix instant viewing.
Happy viewing!!
