Tomorrow, the World! (1944) User Reviews

I couldn't wait to see this movie.

[dcipa · 8/10 · 28 January 2005]

I had not heard of the film until I saw it on the Turner Movie Classics schedule. Seeing the subject matter and the 1944 date excited me. The writer, director and cast would be playing out the issues in real time, as the die was cast. I grew up in a household conflicted with stories and opinions of Nazi Germany. My mother is Jewish. My father was German and raised by a father who supported Hitler. I have always been fascinated by Germans who seem to be good people who choose to ignore the eventual outcome of Hitler's madness and defend Germany's need for him.

The characters each have their unique perspective and reaction to Emil as played masterfully by Skip Homeier. The desire to see only the good in a human being with no expectation that they are dealing with a fully brainwashed evil acting thug is such an American trait. This movie is simply made and concentrates closely on the story, and it's the story and the acting that is compelling. I think you will enjoy it if you enjoy a good psychological study. My husband was disappointed with the ending, I, however, was overjoyed and cried. P. S. It was nice to see Agnes Moorehead in her role. I have never seen her play such a "normal person".

Not An Easy Kid to deal with

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 5 November 2005]

Tomorrow the World was the screen adaption of a Broadway play that ran a season or two previously. It's the story of an American family who adopts a kid over from Nazi Germany. Of course the kid comes over with all the attitudes instilled there from his time in the Hitler Youth. It's going to take a lot of deprogramming to straighten him out.

Skip Homeier repeated his role from the Broadway stage and made an electrifying debut. So much so that he overshadowed grownup stars Fredric March and Betty Field. March is his widower uncle and Betty Field is his fiancé who also is Homeier's teacher in public school.

Of course Homeier doesn't exactly make too many friends spouting all the party line he learned in the Hitler Youth. He's positively horrified to find out that he's going to be mixing with kids of all backgrounds that he's been taught are inferior.

Pretty much everyone gives up on Homeier save Joan Carroll who is March's daughter. Her scenes with Homeier are the best in the film.

Skip Homeier could never escape the typecasting after this movie. Even when he occasionally played good guys there was always an edge to them. No one would ever cast him as a hero. But he did well as a teenager and later as an adult. Fans today probably know him best as the mad leader of a futuristic hippie cult from an original Star Trek episode.

Fredric March might have been a bit miffed at being upstaged by a kid. But he had a second Oscar in his future in his very next film, The Best Years of Our Lives.

I think Father Flanagan in Boys Town would have had a handful dealing with Homeier, might have given his philosophy a quick review or he may have seen his thesis proved about they're being no such thing as a bad boy. It's all in how soon you get to them and whether the life programming patterns have taken root.

A great movie about of how fascism can spread and how brainwashing works

[Isobelk · 8/10 · 20 March 2019]

Yeah, I read other reviews that pointed out that this movie has holes and is dated. But it is also current in how easily fascism can find your soft spots and manipulate your thinking by mouthing slogans you want to hear. That evil will masquerade in order to reach its selfish ends. I kept wondering when the kid would get beat up by his peers. I also wondered how mistreated he must have been by the Nazis for his father's crimes against fascism. In reality I think he might have been beaten sooner. There are some great revelations at the end when adults realize they've been had by their hope for themselves and the brat. Unfortunately the movie continues and gives the audience a neatly wrapped propaganda message. Still it also points out that torture and mistreatment can screw up the brain and maybe with treatment that can be fixed. To me the movie pointed out that, as my father, a WWII vet said, "Maybe the fascists actually won the war after all."

An Unforgettable Performance

[dougdoepke · 30 March 2013]

A Nazi youth is taken in by his American uncle and his family.

As a kid, the movie scared the wits out of me. I was about the same age as Homeier, but he was so unlike any kid I'd ever seen, it was like an alien intrusion into familiar surroundings. It's certainly an electrifying performance. His authoritarian side is absolutely convincing, with the best heel-clicking this side of Konrad Veidt.

I suspect there's something of a post-war subtext to the film even though it was made in the war year of 1944. The big question posed by post-war planning and the movie is whether Nazis are reformable. That is, can a democracy succeed in a German nation where the Third Reich has sunk its roots. This was an important political question once it became apparent the Allies would win the war. In the movie, it's a question of whether the thoroughly indoctrinated Emil (Homeier) can be Americanized by the all-American Frame family. If he can't, then symbolically there will be great difficulty in de-Nazifying a post-war Germany. Anyway, I suggest this as something of a subtext to the movie as a whole.

It's a fine cast that creates a lively household, especially little Joan Carroll as Pat. Her energetic, forgiving spirit amounts to a persuasive contrast to the robotic Emil. For this now geezer, it was nostalgic revisiting the youth and fashions of the period (minus Emil, of course). Too bad Homeier never got the credit as an actor that he deserved. That's probably because he was so good at playing dislikable characters, as a succession of Westerns and crime films of the 1950's demonstrate. Here, he's practically the whole show, in a part that's unforgettable once you've seen it. I know it's been so for me.

Hysterical propaganda drama...

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 20 December 2022]

...based on a Pulitzer-prize winning (!!!) play, from United Artists and director Leslie Fenton. Fredric March stars as Mike Frame, a small-town American who is taking charge of an orphaned relative, 13-year-old German boy Emil (Skip Homeier). Mike, his sister Jessie (Agnes Moorehead), young cousin Pat (Joan Carroll), and Mike's fiancee Leona (Betty Field) welcome the boy into their home but are shocked and appalled by his Hitler Youth sensibilities, including vocal antisemitism, anti-American sentiments and a desire to continue the German cause in any way possible. Emil's attitude naturally leads to trouble both at home and in school, with things coming to a violent conclusion. Also featuring Edit Angold, and Rudy Wissler.

I called this hysterical and it is, in both senses of the word. Emil is depicted as such an extreme exaggerated caricature that he becomes an object of unintended hilarity. Homeier, who had originated the role on Broadway and was making his film debut here, overplays it to the hilt. The situations are often absurd, the character decisions ludicrous, and the last half hour is just one bizarre moment after another, including attempted murders, brutal fist-fights among children, and one of the more unconvincing sappy endings in some time. There's no way that I'd call this a good movie in the conventional sense, but as a bad movie I found it very amusing.

Flawed but fascinating

[mrsastor · 7/10 · 16 December 2005]

This is an entertaining and interesting film, as much for what it doesn't say as for what it does.

Our depiction of small town middle American life circa 1944 is wildly inaccurate and glorified, but this is not at all unusual in films of the era. World War II era audiences would have considered themselves morally superior to the Germans and had no argument with life as seen in "Tomorrow, the World!". In reality, however, it is unlikely that a Jewish woman would have been a teacher in a largely protestant public school, and even less likely that she would have entered into an interfaith marriage with the only protest being raised by a small foreign boy. And if one considers how the story would have played out had the character of Leona been black, she not only would have never been teaching in a white public school, but had she and Mike Frame sought to be married, there likely would have been a response from the community that involved a lynching and thus our moral superiority over the Germans is exposed as being more imagined than real.

None of which particularly ruins the film. It requires no greater suspended-disbelief than Superman or Dracula, and on its own merits this film is an enjoyable experience. However sanitized, small town 1940's America is a place one almost cannot help but to long for. And into this idealized world enters Emil, a character that at first comes on ludicrously overplayed, and yet pulls you in just the same. The audience quickly becomes concerned for what will happened to the Frame family, and the guilty pleasure of watching this pre-"Bad Seed" demon will keep you on the edge of your seat.. After what Emil does to Pat, the vigilante justice meted out by Pat's school-mates is shamelessly gratifying to see. Throughout the story one keeps secretly hoping for Emil's redemption, and it is the film's greatest drawback that it attempts to grant this wish in a quick and unrealistic throwaway end. This inadequately explored issue as well as the intriguing and thoroughly under-utilized subplot of Emil's manipulation of Jessie leave the distinct impression that someone demanded a great deal of running time be shaved off of this film.

"Tomorrow, the World!" still gets major points for at least attempting a subject matter few films of its era, outside of propaganda newsreels, would dare touch, and it's worth a watch.

Rhoda Penmark Has Met Her Match!!!

[kidboots · 9/10 · 14 September 2012]

Skippy Homier had been a child actor on radio ("Portia Faces Life") and Broadway when he was brought to Hollywood to re-create his role as a child, indoctrinated into the Hitler Youth movement, in the film version of "Tomorrow the World". Although he dazzled the film critics as much as he had Broadway audiences (the play ran for 500 performances) he was forever typecast in delinquent type roles and his career was not as stellar as it should have been. Leslie Fenton had stopped acting and directed his first feature, the excellent "Tell No Tales" in 1939 - his films were often interesting and offbeat.

Frederic March and Agnes Moorehead took over the roles created on the stage by Ralph Bellamy and Shirley Booth. They are the Frames, a typical American family from a typical American town (Hollywood style) who are bringing their nephew, Emil, home from Germany where they hope to bring him up on good old American values. Mike (March) is a single father trying to cope with a bubbly young daughter, Pat (Joan Carroll) and a sister, Jessie (Moorehead), a spinster who is set in her ways and not at all keen about bringing Emil, with his "German ways", into their home.

When Emil arrives everyone is shocked at his dictatorial ways, his attitude towards females and especially when he comes down stairs wearing his "Hitler Youth" uniform complete with swastika armband. Skippy Homier is quite a revelation as Emil and endows him with all the fanaticism and hate of a boy brought up with the poisonous Nazi ideology. Having seen a documentary on "Hitler Youth" I can honestly say Homier's performance is no exaggeration as the program stated that the younger the recruit the more fanatical the devotion to the party.

Mike is about to marry Leona Richards (Betty Field), a teacher at the local school who just happens to be Jewish but even though she has modern ideas about how troubled kids ought to be handled, Emil's hate fuelled rants make her question her views. Rhoda Penmark, Patty McCormack's child murderess from "The Bad Seed", has almost met her match. Emil intimidates the other children, threatening to murder a Jewish classmate unless she backs up his lies and he almost kills Pat with a blow to the head when she threatens to tell her father that Emile has been trying to steal his important documents.

Which makes the ending a bit too pat. He runs away when he thinks Pat is dead, is beaten and brought home by a group of school boys - but because he cries and shows emotion and feeling, Leona thinks there is hope that the boy can be saved. Never mind that just minutes before his inflammatory comments had driven the peaceful Mike to the brink of murder. It is still a very interesting film that strives for a downbeat and non-inflammatory way to view "the enemy" and shows Skippy Homier in the performance of his life.

As for today I'm going fishing

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 4 June 2007]

**SPOILERS** Coming over to the Frame home in rural USA to be taken in as a member of the family young Emil Buckner, Skip Homeier, is anything but your typical American boy in fact he was brought up in Nazi Germany and brainwashed to grow up and become a future Aryan Superman in the Hitler Youth. That fact that Emil's dad who was thrown into a Nazi concentration camp where he eventually died for speaking out against the Fuhrer, Adolph Hitler, made Emil look suspicious to his Nazi overseers who felt that he may well become like his dad, normal, when he grows up. The Nazis decided that he didn't have what it takes to become a good and loyal member of the Nazi Party and sent packing to the US to stay with his old man's brother-in-law Mike Frame, Fredic March, and his future wife Leona Richards, Betty Fields.

Not getting the hint that he was a total wash out, in him not having what it takes to be a good Nazi, from his beloved Nazi Germany Emil ,because of him being brainwashed since he could barley walk, still thinks that he's a full fledged Nazi Superman and goes so far as to parade around the house, this in 1944 when the US was at war with Nazi Germany, with his Nazi or Hitler Youth uniform. Emil makes a complete jerk of himself in him trying to be a spy for the Fatherland and at the same time blowing his cover, by bragging about it, and not realizing that the Fatherland, wanting nothing at all to do with this nut, had him unceremoniously kicked out!

Acting like a Nazified version of "Dennis the Menace" Emil is all over the house and even at school trying to prove to everyone, including himself, what a great Nazi Superman he really is. For a while Emil does get his classmates to go along with his crazy antics that he picked up back in Germany while in the Hitler Youth. Emil has his classmates take night marches into enemy territory and staging roadside ambushes, all in fun of course, while being disguised in camouflage so that the enemy, whoever he is, can't see them as well as familiarizing themselves with all kinds of arms and ammunitions, German of course.

Emil goes a bit too far when he first comes to deal with Leona, his Uncle Mike's fiancée, being Jewish as well as his determination to steal Mike's mail that he gets from the War Department. Mike is one of the country's top chemist and is working on a top secret project for the US military, the Atomic Bomb?, and Emil wants to get his hands on what he's doing by stealing his private notes and mail and send it back to the Fatherland. In the case of his future aunt Leona the fact that she's Jewish is enough to drive Emil batty in thinking that he'll be forced to live under the same roof as she is when she marries his Uncle Mike: a fate worse then death itself for the cute but somewhat not all there in the head little Nazi.

Two things happen that turn Emil around in his mission, or what he thinks it is, in serving his Fatherland. Confronting Leona about her being Jewish, in the most vulgar of ways, she slaps Emil across the face that shocks the very self-assured and arrogant young man in him, ,an Aryan Superman, not only being whacked by a lowly woman but a Jewish one at that! The second incident that brings Emil back to reality has to do with his getting into a fight with fellow student Stanley Dumbowski, Rudy Wissle. Stanley being a Polish/American whom Emil felt to be inferior to him was able to take him on and give him a bloody nose and even later force Emil, with their teacher Miss. Richards looking on, to apologies to him in front of all his classmates; What An Insult!

With all his arrogance about being a good Nazi now in question the only thing that can bring back Emil to his fantasy world of serving Fuhrer and Fatherland is to get his hands on Uncle Mike's secret papers and send them back to Germany, by US airmail?, to show everyone back home what a good German, or Aryan, he really is. Emil is stymied in his plan to serve the Fatherland when he's caught red-handed, with his hands in Uncle Mike's drawer, by his young cousin Pattie, Joan Carroll, who just bought him a birthday present, a illuminated watch which he always wanted for his crazy nighttime war maneuvers. All at once Emil graduated from just being just a pesky and uncontrollable but somewhat harmless young boy to a possibly up and coming psycho killer the very type of person that would make those back in the Fatherland, the Nazis, very proud of him.

Intriguing movie about how a young man can be so seriously brainwashed that he goes against his best interests to serve a country and ideology, Nazi Germany, that did nothing but harm him and his family. Where at the same time having him try to destroy, in his own childless way, the country and its people that did nothing but help him in every way it and they could despite his dislike of both of them.

Emil does see the light at the end the movie, or tunnel, in how he was treated by his Uncle Mike and especially Leona, a Jew who in his mind is the eternal enemy of his beloved Third Reich, as well as his victim of violence Pattie in the kindness and understanding as well as love that they all showed to him.This kindness and understanding is something that he never would have gotten, if he did what he did here back there, in Nazi Germany.

Strong and thoughtful drama

[banse · 9/10 · 4 October 2001]

"Tomorrow the World" is a thought provoking film about an American family who adopts a troubled German boy after the war. Together they try to undo the ridgid Nazi influence that was instilled in him (which is no easy feat). Leslie Fenton directs a first rate cast including Fredric March, Betty Field, Agnes Moorehead and Joan Carroll. However it is Skip Homeier as the Nazi youth who steals the picture with an electrifying performance. The film is available on video and DVD.

Der Schlechte Samen, deutscher Stil (that's The Bad Seed, German Style)

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 30 July 2007]

Lately I've been wondering about TCM's rating system. This is the second time I've been burned by a bunch of stars next to a film. I think they need to relook at some of these movies.

"Tomorrow, the World!" is based on the Broadway play. The film stars Frederic March, Skippy Homeier, Betty Field, Agnes Moorhead and Joan Carroll. Skippy is Emil (recreating his Broadway role), a German boy who comes to America to live with a scientist, Mark Frame (March), his sister (Moorhead) and his daughter (Carroll) - she's the same age as Emil. Field plays Leona Richards, a schoolteacher who is engaged to Mark. Emil has been indoctrinated by the Nazis to hate and to be prejudiced and also to lie and manipulate. The fact that Leona is Jewish and that Mike's insecure sister seems uncomfortable about the marriage plays right into Emil's hands, as he doesn't want Leona around.

Skippy was Skip by the time I became aware of him, and he was always a very likable actor and for baby boomers, a constant television presence. This was my first exposure to him as a child. He was a beautiful young boy, with a mane of blondish hair and enormous eyes. "Tomorrow, the World!" a propaganda film directed with a sledgehammer, is his screen debut.

In the beginning I was suspicious that it might be a comedy due to Skippy's totally outrageous performance as a Hitler Jugend. For one thing, tiny Natalie Wood could have taught him something about German accents and speaking German - she was perfect in "Tomorrow is Forever." He says his lines in a sing-song voice, often sounding Swedish, sometimes American; only sometimes is there a hint of German, and he speaks German like an American. In the second part of the film, however, he's very effective, really showing what he can do acting-wise. It's just a shame he was directed as he was. In his faux nice moments, he comes off like a German Eddie Haskell or a male Patty McCormick - you just don't buy it.

The biggest bone I have to pick with this film is the stupid soap opera part, which is the argument between Leona and Mark. Mark for reasons known only to himself thinks that Emil is becoming nicer and more acclimated to the American way; Leona disagrees with him passionately and says she cannot live in the house with the boy, thus breaking their engagement. Mark feels she's being unreasonable. Now, if only she'd thought to mention that precious little Emil had written "Miss Richards is a Jewish tramp" on a bunch of sidewalks, Mark might have understood that Emil's attitude wasn't improving as rapidly as he thought. But she fails to mention this nugget of info.

The second part of the film is far superior to the first. March, Field, and Carroll are very good in their roles. I agree with several posters here that Skippy dominates the film, but that isn't always for the right reasons.

The ending is too pat - that often happens when you only have less than two hours to make a point and you've spent most of it talking about America and its strengths. I suspect "Tomorrow, the World!" had more impact in 1944, though it's hard for me to accept that anyone ever believed Herr Skippy in his sweet, friendly moments.

Before "The Bad Seed," there was...

[marcslope · 4/10 · 9 September 2002]

One must make allowances -- it was wartime, it was propaganda, it was United Artists -- but even taking all that into account, this is a fairly ludicrous melodrama about an upper-middle-class American household that brings chaos on itself by unknowingly inviting a Hitler Youth into its home. And what a little hellraiser he turns out to be -- writing anti-Semitic epithets about his teacher and potential stepmom (Field), whacking his cousin(Carroll) with a fireplace iron, attempting to knife a playmate. Adapted by no less than Ring Lardner Jr. from a hit Broadway play, it may have had resonance at the time, if audiences were willing to overlook pedestrian direction, absurdly melodramatic music, and Homeier's undisciplined histrionics (reprising his stage role, he's sort of a Nazi Dennis the Menace). But the script, like so many at the time, takes the goodness of Americans, all Americans, so for granted that it starts to sound smug and patronizing. (It's a mighty white-bread America they're portraying, too; if that's how things really were, it looks today like an unwitting expose of America's racist past.) It also suggests that it's fairly easy to deprogram these little monsters; all it takes is a bit of lovingkindness and a birthday present. March and Moorehead (playing a repressed spinster aunt, much like she did in "The Magnificent Ambersons") were as good as movie actors get, but they're playing devices here, not flesh and blood. Under the circumstances, Betty Field manages to be surprisingly interesting -- she always looks so worried, like she has a horrible secret the audience never finds out.

German brat learns a lesson in kindness, American style

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 5 February 2005]

"Tomorrow the World", the play in which this picture is based, was popular on Broadway during the WWII era. It was to expect it made it to the movies. Ring Lardner Jr, one of the best American writers of the time undertook the film adaptation aided by Leopold Atlas. Leslie Fenton, the director made the best of it.

An American family living in the midwest accept to house and care for a German youth whose father was friendly with the head of the household, Mike Frame, a widower, with a teen age daughter.

When Emil Bruckner arrives, he immediately makes a blunder when he describes his plane trip seated next to a fat Jew. Well, little does this little brat know that Mike is seeing a school teacher who happens to be Jewish. Leona Richards is the epitome of kindness and patience. So is Pat, the daughter who tries to show Emil around and help him make friends in her circle. Emil does everything possible to destroy this family that welcomed him into their home. Little by little he tries to get his way until everybody finds out this little boy is a bully and a coward.

The cast of this 1944 movie is headed by the great Frederic March, one of the icons of the American theater and the film industry. He plays the decent Mike Frame. Betty Field makes an impressive appearance as the kind Lee Richards. Agnes Moorehead, is also good as Aunt Jessie, who is charmed by the rotten Emil. Skip Homeier, repeating his theater role is remarkable as the young Nazi sympathizer who gets a lesson in how wrong he has been about his American hosts.

This is a movie that has a dated look, but still makes an impression because of the strength of the treatment it received from the writers and the director.

6 stars because it is somewhat entertaining....but ridiculous.

[tles7 · 6/10 · 3 April 2018]

Some other reviewer put it best: The Bad Seed meets Nazi Dennis the Menace. There is a terrible music score that resembles the black humor music used as background in The Bad Seed. This is a propaganda piece. The child actor who is now best remembered as an adult character on an original Star Trek episode, speaks his dialogue with an accent that wavers and isn't convincing. It's obvious that English is his first language. In addition, it's hard to believe that this nutty kid would have even been let into this country, He would have been beaten to the point of hospitalization after Day 1. The scenes, like the movie are black and white, no gray areas here. It's an interesting curio but not powerful. It is ground breaking though where they hold no punches in having jewish characters the target of hatred. Americans are portrayed as the understanding practioners of kindness. It would have been more interesting if the kid actually found some other people to work together with him (the local nazi sympathizers) and then they were all executed as spies at the end. But no. The young girl living in the house is fascinated by the nazi kid and probably needs more therapy than anyone else in the movie. The theme presented here is that once the kid experiences the American way of life, he should naturally lose all interest in his cause. This may be the most relevant piece for today as many believe that some terrorists abandon their jihad cause once they are living in the U.S. for a while. This is hardly a great movie but interesting to watch.

This movie sure seems dated and silly today

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 27 May 2007]

This was a film that got a rather high score in the Leonard Maltin Guide--saying the film was "still potent". Well, I was excited about seeing it, as I love American WWII propaganda films and have seen a huge number of them. Unfortunately, while the original stage production of the play and the subsequent movie made quite a splash, the whole thing seems terribly dated and poorly written today. The bottom line is that the film lacks subtlety and has plot holes big enough to fly a B-17 through them! The movie begins well enough, as Frederic March (a fine actor) is in the lead. But my hopes were soon dashed when the little Nazi boy (Emil) comes to live with them. First, it's hard to imagine the Nazis letting a boy leave the country to come to the US while we are at war with them! Secondly, it's hard to imagine the US government just accepting the kid without making sure he wasn't a spy or an America-hater. But regardless, here appears a 12 year-old boy who often sounds quite German (he uses German and English interchangeably) but his accent also wavers a bit--almost sounding Swedish or Polish from time to time. I guess you can't blame him that much, as this is a VERY demanding role for a young boy. But who you can blame are the writers who immediately throw subtlety out the window. Instead of the kid pretending to love America or creating trust with his new family, he immediately acts like the local chairman of the Hitler fan club--even showing up to his first meal dressed in full Hitler Youth regalia (including an armband). Now I don't know about you, but if I'd been alive during the war and a kid moved in with me and preceded to parade around the house in Nazi uniform spouting hate, I think I'd be a bit peeved! But, March and the rest try to show him understanding instead of turning the brat over to the FBI!! Plus, while March works on top-secret military plans, he does a lousy job of securing them so Emil isn't able to steal them. Also, you'd think when he went to school and began spreading hate and Nazi propaganda that the school would have taken more notice. No trip to the principal's office, no phone calls home and no contact with the local police. It just defies all common sense to think that during the war anyone would have been allowed to act this way without being arrested is crazy. America DOES have freedom of speech, but for a foreign national spreading pro-Nazi propaganda during the war, this is ridiculous! Now if this was the only problem with the film, I guess you could chalk it up to naiveté. Unfortunately, it got a lot worse. Emil spread anger and dissent everywhere but no one actually did anything about this...so far, so good. BUT, after 1001 warning signs AND when he then tries to kill two people (by beating one with a fireplace poker and then trying to stab another), you'd think the kid would have been deported or arrested or even shot! But, in one of the worst endings in film history, they stupid family feels sorry for the kid and decides, like the Beatles once said, "all you need is love". To make matters worse, the girl who was beaten with the poker was March's own kid and the lady who convinces March not to press charges in the end was his Jewish fiancée!! Yecch!!! What drivel. The film just doesn't make sense and becomes tiresome because of all this.

Thoughtful film with strong performances

[GCPeters · 6 September 2002]

Based on a play, the movie tells the story of an American family that adopts an orphaned German relative before the end of WWII. To their horror, the boy is a Hitler Youth who spouts anti-semitic rhetoric and boasts of Germany's ultimate victory (Tomorrow the World!). Fredric March gives his usual wonderful performance as the uncle, Agnes Moorehead is once again convincing as the maiden aunt lacking self-confidence, and Betty Field is great as the intelligent school teacher/fiancee who tries hard to understand the boy. The real treat here is Joan Carroll, who plays March's young daughter with such charm and ease that she just lights up every scene she's in.

Some dialog contributed by Ring Lardner, Jr., whose characteristic crackle is most welcome in what could be a preach-a-thon.

A Cuckoo in the Nest

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 26 May 2019]

An obviously cheaply-made film version of the long-running Broadway hit that that was one of several films made during the War addressing the vexed question of just what was to be done with the Germans once the War was over.

It preserves for posterity the young 'Skippy' Homeier's extraordinary performance as Emil Bruckner, a feral eleven year-old Hitler Youth who just turns up in a small town in wartime America without attracting any attention on the part of the authorities. There is also a memorable performance by Joan Carroll as the host family's perky young daughter, but it's strange to see an actor of Fredric March's stature taking such a back seat to the proceedings as her father. Although we're told that the still young and glamorous Betty Field - who is both a teacher at the local school and March's fiancée - is Jewish, this element isn't developed and the fact that she's supposed to be Jewish is seldom referred to - even by Emil.

Recalling Frank Borzage's 'No Greater Glory' (1934) and anticipating 'Frieda' (1947) and 'The Bad Seed' (1956), parts are quite amusing - possibly intentionally - others extremely shocking; and the writers plainly didn't know how to end the thing! (An interesting version could be made today with the young kid a Middle Eastern refugee...)

Tomorrow the World - Offbeat WW 2 Drama

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 14 May 2022]

Yes, we all felt sorry for the 12 year old boy who had been brainwashed by the Nazis. And yes, we must try to take a humanistic view of how to rehabilitate him back into American society. That being said, I fear the reality of his behavior would have gotten him a lot more than just a beating from the neighborhood kids. Would you jeopardize your family members to rehabilitate him;? I know I wouldn't. And neither would any of my old friends from my old neighborhood, with the possible exception of Marty, who had similar views to those of the young boy.

No, in our neighborhood, he would have been beaten on a DAILY basis, until he was either in the hospital or sent back to Germany. The kids in our neighborhood were not as genteel as these suburb cupcakes. Skip Homeier gives an excellent performance as Emil, the little nazi boy. Frederic March and Agnes Moorehead give credible performances as well, but ultimately, the situation is purely for stage and Hollywood, because in Jersey City, he would have wound up in a plastic bag.

Skip Homeier

[soffineer · 10/10 · 30 August 2018]

With the exception of Fredric March's little speech at the end, this was moving. I was horrified, hate filled, aghast, shocked, appalled and brought to tears. The point of this review is to say that Skip Homeier as the young Nazi brainwash victim was a tour de force. More surprisingly, it was his very first film according to this site. It's too bad he passed on because he just made a new fan. His was a 10/10 performance.

World of tomorrow

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 5 December 2019]

Any film that has Frederic March and Agnes Moorehead already promises quite a lot, and also the story, based upon James Gow and Arnaud D'Usseau's play, sounded very powerful and disturbing on paper. Hardly surprising considering that 'Tomorrow, the World!' is set during one of history's most turbulent periods ever, a period that was terrifying for pretty much everybody and changed (and ruined) the lives of so many.

'Tomorrow, the World!' is very much a watchable film, actually consider it above average despite having big reservations about it. Namely because the good things are quite a lot (more so than the not so good) and they are big in size. Do think that 'Tomorrow, the World!' had potential of being even more shocking than it turned out to be, but the potential is a long way from wasted as it still does disturb as a film and enough of it in my mind will resonate.

Beginning with what 'Tomorrow, the World!' does well, it looks good with the photography having an atmospheric eeriness that was quite effective. It is more than competently directed by Leslie Fenton, although the drama could have been opened up more, while the script does make one think afterwards and stirs a good deal of emotions. Emil's dialogue gave me chills frequently. The story is disturbing, even from the subject alone, and has emotional power. The climax is suspenseful and does excite.

March is an authoritative presence who never over-compensates while never underplaying either. It was difficult to ever get a subpar performance from Moorehead and this is in way an exception, she is always in full command of her material. Betty Field is suitably sympathetic. Two in particular stood out. Joan Caroll radiates charm and is utterly beguiling, absolutely shining in every scene she's in. Even more impressive is Skip Homeier, who really makes the skin crawl.

Despite the exciting climax, it is a real shame however that the very end of 'Tomorrow, the World!' is unrealistically pat and felt tacked on even. Considering the time period and what had happened in the film, it definitely had room to be more daring because it was sad that something that shocked as much as this film petered out. As said, the drama could have opened up more as there are parts that have a stagy, filmed play feel.

Furthermore, the inappropriateness of the music score was a turn off. It needed much more subtlety and also intensity, it sounded too strident and more suited to black comedy or something. The film can feel heavy-handed with the conflict having the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

Overall, above average and the power to disturb is definitely here but could have been better. 6/10

Fredric March Provides the Heart of this Story

[JLRMovieReviews · 8/10 · 15 July 2014]

Fredric March, Berry Field, Agnes Moorehead and young Skip Homeier stars in this film about a young boy who's been brainwashed by Germans. When both of his parents have died, he is taken to his uncle, played by Fredric March, who was his mother's brother. (Fredric's sister had married a German.) Young Skip comes to America with fixed hard convictions, trusting no one and hating everyone but Germans. The subject matter will obviously affect the viewer intensely and can provoke much discussion, but I am mainly addressing the cinematic aspects of the film and how well it entertains the viewer. The film is fascinating and the cast is exceptional, especially Fredric who always gave thoughtful and deeply felt performances. Young Skip is good and is at times eerily effective, but I felt that his character's complexities were probably too much for him to really convey. An added plus is the presence of Agnes Moorehead as a member of the family, who had a bad feeling about him coming from the beginning. It's quite an interesting film and one that had been on my to-watch list for some time, when I finally got around to it. I'm glad I did and I would watch it again. Kudos to a well-written and thought-out film with another great performance by Fredric March.

The Bad Seed -- Nazi Style

[enigma43 · 1/10 · 6 November 2005]

I saw this movie and found it extremely puzzling. The child, Emil, is the least sympathetic character I have seen since, "The Good Son." Emil is cold, calculating and manipulates the other characters with no conscience whatsoever.

I found the ending the most curious of all. Emil attempts to murder Pat, and because he cries over it, and confesses the Nazis kept him in a dark cell for what his father did, the family forgives all. This seems to be a recipe for disaster. The end credits roll, but does anyone believe a kid that tried to kill before won't try to do it again when he doesn't get his way? Nuts!

My little Nazi

[nickenchuggets · 8/10 · 7 January 2023]

It might seem deeply immoral by present day standards (and it is) but young boys in Nazi Germany were indoctrinated with Hitler's ideologies in what was known as the Hitler Youth: one of only two youth organizations permitted by the state (the other being the League of German Girls). This movie, based on a play and made during the war, shows perfectly well how America and Germany differed greatly when it came to how kids ought to be raised. The story begins with Mike (Fredric March) and his soon-to-be wife Leona (Betty Field) receiving news that Mike's nephew, a german 11 year old named Emil (Skip Homeier) is coming to live with them. When Emil arrives, his way of speaking shows that he's far beyond the average mental capacity for someone of his age, but the US doesn't seem to impress him. Being from the Third Reich, Emil has been taught that might makes right and brutality is to be respected. He calls it regrettable when his uncle tells him his fiancee is Jewish. Emil has also been told by Nazi officials that his father was a cowardly traitor to the Fatherland. At the end of the First World War, Karl Bruckner (Emil's father) allegedly sowed discord on the homefront by stirring up communist sympathizers and causing germany to become politically destabilized from within. The nazis told Emil his father killed himself after being branded a traitor to germany, but Mike seems to know this isn't true. When the time comes for Emil to go to school, he appears disgusted by the fact that he's forced to be in contact with children of different ethnicities. At school, Emil meets Stan, a kid of Polish descent who doesn't hate Emil in spite of what germany did to his homeland. Leona is Emil's teacher, and also in his class is Pat (Joan Carroll), his cousin. Despite Mike's wishes to see Emil accept american customs and ideals, the boy refuses to get attached to a country he sees as "degenerate." One morning on the way to school, Emil sees Stan trying to hang clothes, which disgusts Emil since he sees this as women's work. He pushes Stan in mud and leaves. When Stan's neighbor, Millie, threatens to tell Leona about what she just saw him do, Emil threatens her by saying he will give orders back to germany for her father (a prisoner of war) to be executed if she doesn't keep her mouth shut. Leona finds out Emil blackmailed Millie and forces him to apologize to the class. Instead of apologizing, Emil stands at the front of the room, calls america a cesspool, and walks out. On the way home, he uses chalk to write nasty remarks about Leona on the sidewalk. When she finds out, she hits Emil, who says he's thankful since now, he won't have to feel sorry for hating her. Meanwhile, Emil's aunt Jessie (Agnes Moorehead) is reached out to by him since Emil thinks she would never hate him no matter what. Right before a birthday party is hosted for Emil, Pat hides behind a curtain and catches him trying to use keys he stole from Mike to break into his work desk. At first, Emil says he doesn't know what Pat is talking about, since he's carrying no keys, but she isn't fooled. After failing to threaten her into keeping quiet, Emil corners Pat in the cellar and nearly kills her with a fire iron. When everyone finds out about what he did, Emil tries to run away to save himself, but is eventually tracked down by Stan and his classmates. Emil, who previously said it would be his greatest honor to die for Hitler, is beaten within an inch of his life. He is taken to Mike's house, who proceeds to call the cops on him. However, after being given a watch by Pat for his birthday, Emil (for the first time) starts to show emotions. Leona convinces Mike that prison isn't the place for him, at least not yet. Mike tells Emil the truth about what happened to his father, and how the nazis killed him because they were afraid of his ideas, and how the story of him killing himself was just a lie to cover it up. After hearing the truth about his father, Emil is moved to tears. Mike and Leona now have evidence that he's not completely devoid of feelings, and decide to keep him in their house. People might think I'm out of my mind to say this, but this movie is quite good. Homeier obviously steals the show with his portrayal of someone who has been raised with the sole purpose of being a future killing machine in the name of National Socialism. While many nazi officials (even before the war) wisely cautioned Hitler against trying to pick a fight with the United States and its huge industrial power, Emil doesn't see it that way. In his mind, america should not have even been discovered. The rest of the movie is just ok by my standards, and even Homeier's performance isn't flawless, since his accent does wear on your ears after a while. Generally though, this is probably one of the most entertaining movies I've seen so far about adopting a nazi (since I haven't heard of any others).

You've got to be kidding

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 4/10 · 16 September 2016]

Perhaps I was born too late, although I'm no youngster (born in 1949), but this film seems kinda goofy to me. Perhaps this worked during World War II when there was a high degree of necessary propaganda. But today, this comes across almost as a comedy, particularly certain scenes. And, the background music doesn't help any, but I guess that was the director's effort to make this a story about a child. But over and over, I kept thinking about certain scenes how just minor changes in the script could make this a comedy. Then again, other scenes are highly dramatic (such as when the adult couple break up their impending nuptials.

The 4 main actors here are: Fredric March does quite well as the man trying to raise a German child with a Nazi past who has come to America. Betty Field plays his fiancé and the local teacher who has to put up with the child...and she's Jewish. Agnes Moorehead plays March's spinster sister; a fairly good performance. Skip Homeier plays the juvenile Nazi; frankly it;s a poor performance.

And then comes the finale. The boy attempts murder (and the victim only gets annoyed at him). Then the most tremendous fist fight between young boys you'll pretty much ever see in a film results in the Nazi-child getting a severe beating. Then a tearful admission and the family of the girl who was nearly murdered forgives all and they all apparently live happily ever after, It's an exciting, but ludicrous ending.

Another problem here is that this independent film has deteriorated. It is more noticeable early in the film, at least in terms of the video, but the sound is not crisp throughout.

At least from today's perspective, this film is a mess. There are two good reasons to watch this film. First, to see Frederick March in a bad film; that's a rarity. Second to see just what a mess of a film this is.

The Bad Seig!

[Poseidon-3 · 8 November 2005]

Made smack dab during WWII (but with America's victory ever-anticipated), this is the story of an American family who takes in a war orphan relative who turns out to be a brainwashed Hitler youth! March plays a man who idolized the young boy's father and was saddened at his death. Homeier plays the boy who has been taught that his father was a traitor and a coward. Other members of the household include March's spinster sister Moorehead, his spunky, but affectionate daughter Carroll and feisty German maid Angold. March's girlfriend (Field) has the misfortune, in Homeier's eyes, to be Jewish. Homeier is barely in the door before he's spouting Nazi propaganda and wearing a swastika to the supper table! Even though he makes his plans of espionage clear to Angold and his views on Judaism clear to Field, everyone treats him as if he's a normal kid who just needs to learn to fit in. He never hides his disdain for anyone ethnic or his plans to overthrow the United States, but people regard him as harmless! This makes for quite a bit of unintentional (?) humor as he responds to anyone with an undesirable bloodline with a "dat's most unfortunate..." and then proceeds to try to raise an army of US youth to aid him in his plans for conquest! Eventually, he crosses the line and the adults FINALLY begin to put two and two together, but by then, he's already endangered the life of one of their loved ones. Understandably, considering the wartime era, this film is tinged with patriotism and propaganda of it's own. Unfortunately, the tone of the film is muddled. It's difficult to tell how seriously the makers expect the audience to take Homeier. It often comes off like very black comedy, even though there's nothing funny about Nazism. He's capable of a lot of nasty deeds and vicious thoughts, but goofy "Leave it to Beaver"-esquire music plays, even during the most menacing scenes. In fact, the entire musical score is intrusive and inept, sometimes making it impossible to concentrate on the dialogue. One highlight is a remarkable fight scene, which was apparently done without the benefit of doubles, Homeier and another boy beat each other senseless! March doesn't have much to do at all until the (rather anticlimactic) ending. He's stuck in one of those roles in which if his character would only open his eyes and listen, a lot of trouble could have been avoided. If any of the characters in the piece would have compared notes, Homeier could have been found out much sooner. This is sloppy story-telling. Field comes off pretty well in a sympathetic part. She's the only one who attempts to stand up to Homeier and injects a fair amount of feeling into her role. Moorehead does well in familiar territory. Carroll is impressive and holds her own well against the much more highly-touted Homeier. As for him, his performance may have wowed the crowds at the time (in the original Broadway production and in the film), but it comes off as rather cartoonish now. His accent is far from authentic and it's difficult to see what he's trying to get across. One minute he's fairly low-key and the next he's a monster. Much like Patty McCormack in the later "The Bad Seed", his supposed cuteness is never convincing to the audience. He's always visibly evil to everyone except those right next to him. He comes off best at the very end (and it's a challenging role to say the least), but prior to that, he seems to be undone by the indirect tone of the direction. The finale is pat and unbelievable. It's an interesting time capsule and a neat precursor to "The Bad Seed", but it contains very little reality. A darker approach would have made the film resonate much deeper.

Adopting a Nazi Youth into the Family

[whpratt1 · 1/10 · 26 January 2005]

After viewing this film and trying to understand why a family would try to welcome a Nazi Youth into their family, who had all kinds of hatred for all people and was brain washed by monster's who killed Thousands upon Thousands of Jews and many other races. I realized this is only a Hollywood dream works during 1944, which was probably quite amazing to the public who viewed this film. Fredric March(Mike Frame),"The Iceman Cometh",'73, and Joan Carroll,(Pat Frame),"Tower of London",'39, did their very best to help their adopted Hitler Youth, Skip Homerier,(Emil Bruckner),"Halls of Montezuma",'51, try to adjust to the American way of living. Emil was a devil on wheels who did everything horrible you can even think about doing. Betty Field,(Leona Richards),"Birdman of Alcatraz",'62 and Agnes Moorehead,(Jessie),"Dragon Seed",'44, gave great supporting roles to this twisted story. Just imagine if we tried to adopt Usama Bin Laden's son into our homes today, I doubt very much if this film would win an Academy Award. I am happy to say that Skip Homerier did play a fantastic role in "Halls of Montezuma",'51 as Pvt (Pretty Boy) Riley.