Sunday Dinner for a Soldier (1944) User Reviews

Who could resist Anne Baxter?

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 15 November 2012]

Here's a nice little movie that seems to have lapsed into a partial obscurity despite its most attractive cast headed by the super-lovely Anne Baxter and the always convincing John Hodiak. The support roster, headed by Charles Winninger, features some of my favorite players, including Anne Revere, Chill Wills and Jane Darwell.

While the screenplay always offers top entertainment, it's true to say that the story is somewhat unusual. To me, that's an advantage. Critics like me get sick of seeing the same old plot with the same old variations time after time after time.

In addition to its fine acting, this movie is beautifully photographed by Joe MacDonald and very capably directed by the always reliable Lloyd Bacon. And I especially enjoyed Edward Powell's orchestral arrangements, particularly of "I'll See You In My Dreams".

Ceertainly not a 10

[jacksflicks · 6/10 · 2 April 2008]

People are letting themselves get carried away. Ann Baxter is lovely, the music is lovely, Connie Marshall is a real sweetheart (reminds me a little of Peggy Ann Garner), Anne Revere as usual steals the show, and there are a few touching scenes, particularly the flyovers and in the resort ruins. Unfortunately, Lloyd Bacon's direction is execrable. This was a cheap movie, and Bacon makes it show. The sets are obviously sound stage or back lot, which a couple of location shots don't compensate for at all. And the process shots are terribly phony.

But what's worse is the cloying sentimentality. Bacon has everyone calling Charles Winninger's cartoonish grandfather "Grandfeathers" every other line, just to remind us how cute the movie is. Bobby Driscoll stands on his head while blowing a whistle to show us how cute he is. The hen's noises are so obviously human (was it Mel Blanc?) it's embarrassing, as are the piles of rubber prop chickens.

Next-to-top-billed John Hodiak doesn't make his appearance until near the end, which is a rip-off, given that he gets less screen time than the chicken. The movie could have spent its time developing the Baxter and Hodiak characters, using the Florida shanty, the kids the gramps and other colorful characters as a backdrop, but Bacon front-loads the movie with bathos and the antics of the side characters, while trying to sell the notion of two people falling in love over Sunday dinner in a couple of brief scenes. (Yeah, yeah, they really were an item, but that's certainly not a given in the story. Bacon has The Soldier looking like he's smitten before he's even met the lady! Maybe it was the pheromones.)

I like war morale movies, especially those which capture the era. I even like sentiment. But Lloyd Bacon's clumsy, manipulative and saccharine directing wastes a fine cast and a potentially moving story.

Reminding us of a time when America knew who its true heroes were.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 16 July 2015]

There's something sentimental about the years of World War II, a war where world peace was at stake and 90 percent of the world gathered together to fight against three tyrants who wanted to take over and destroy civilization altogether. Motion picture footage, popular music and still photography document the romantic side of this horrible war which killed possibly billions of innocent young men and civilians on both sides. It's probably the one war in history that young men went in eager, even if reluctantly, to wipe out fascism and restore order to a world gone wild.

In 1944 alone, movie goers got an abundance of touching stories of how war affects the home, from the lengthy but outstanding "Since You Went Away", the tear-jerker romance "I'll Be Seeing You" and the tragic "The Sullivans", as well as all-star musicals like "Hollywood Canteen" and "Four Jills in a Jeep" which showed how celebrities were getting involved to "entertain the boys both over there and at home". The majority of the world played cheerleader to the millions of soldiers fighting for home, the girl (or boy) they loved, giving them encouragement that they would have something to return to when the war was finally over.

"Sunday Dinner For a Soldier" documents how a struggling poor family on the coast of Florida went out of their way to make an effort to participate in the tradition of inviting visiting military personnel over for dinner to help remind them of what remained back at home while they were on active duty. Anne Baxter is the struggling older sister of four children, and living with them is their irascible grandfather (a wonderful Charles Winninger) who is trying to avoid unwanted attentions by the much married town matriarch (Anne Revere). After Revere maliciously rips up Winninger's request for soldiers to attend Sunday dinner as their guests, she has second thoughts when she comes across two of the children selling berries in an effort to raise money for the dinner.

Chill Wills is delightful as the local bus driver who escorts visiting soldiers all around the town and provides kindly words of wisdom to his riders. Jane Darwell plays the head of the committee arranging these dinners and is bombarded with late night phone calls by Revere inquiring if she's found at least one soldier to attend. By the time Sunday shows up, it appears that nobody will appear, leaving Baxter, Winninger and the three spunky children all depressed. But miracles happen, and in this case, it's in the form of handsome John Hodiak who happens along the beach near the houseboat where the family resides.

There's a ton of luscious subplots galore, including one corny but adorable storyline involving the kid's pet hen whom Winninger hates and presumably plucks and beheads in preparation for that Sunday dinner with the unknown soldier. Baxter plays a hard character on the surface but obviously dreams of romance as evidenced in a scene where she dances in the abandoned facade of a long destroyed building which resembles ancient Greek or Roman ruins. Later, she repeats the dance with Hodiak who is so kind and a perfect representation of the type of young man any family would love to have as a visitor during a time of war, or even peace. Like the other romantic war films I mention above, this has a bit of a tear-jerking finale that shows off the American propaganda machine at its best. Yet, it is filled with hope, which is all America could ask for as the war reached its last year.

So painfully beautiful, the kind they have no clue how to make anymore

[overseer-3 · 10/10 · 12 October 2006]

Sunday Dinner for a Soldier is a class act. From first scene to last it will tug on your heartstrings and make you long for a time in America when people took pride in their country, in their families, in being responsible, without always thinking of themselves first. It was a time when home was where the heart was, since so many young men were in Europe or Asia fighting to liberate the world from fascism.

The story is about a poor family living in a ram-shackled houseboat, who have to scrounge for a living, but who have big hearts. They want to share their gifts of love, friendship and food with a US soldier, whom they have been told will be delivered to their house on a Sunday by an aid society. There is a mix up and it looks like he won't show up when all of a sudden God - it had to be God! - brings one to their home by chance. It turns out he is a man from a broken family (John Hodiak) and he quickly warms to the old grandpa of the house, the little children, and the eldest daughter (Anne Baxter, who never looked lovelier than in this film). They quickly become his surrogate family.

Exceptional performances by everyone, particularly Anne and John, who fell in love while making this picture and got married and had a child together. You can sense there was a real attraction there, it wasn't just acting. I loved the scene where they danced together in the unfinished dance hall by the sea. Oh my gosh, how romantic! Of the children it's Connie Marshall whom you'll remember the most. What a delightful child actress she was; she doesn't deserve to be forgotten. I actually sought this film out just to see another film she was in, after seeing her give another luminous performance in Sentimental Journey, with Maureen O'Hara. She didn't disappoint! This film needs to be seen by more people. How can they continue to ignore gems like Sunday Dinner for a Soldier and put out total junk on DVD every day? It's beyond me. Here's hoping some saner heads will prevail and we'll one day see an official release of this unforgettable film.

A Great Picture.

[malcolmjames · 10/10 · 4 October 2009]

I feel I have to take issue with the previous comments from a reader who says they cannot understand why previous readers gave it ten stars. This is the reason I am giving it ten stars as my favourite picture that I first saw in the early 50s. The comments made about John Hodiak not appearing until the end of the picture are wrong. When Hodiak does appear he works solid through to the end of the picture. The comments made about this not being a great film as it was shot on the back lot of Fox are rubbish. I have a lot of the backlot stills that were never seen by the public but were kept by the child star Connie Marshall. A lot of work was put into this picture.Sure it was shot on the back lot of Fox. So was "Casablanca" shot on the back lot of WB and the airport scene at the end shot at Van Nuys airport. That was a great film wasn it? This was child star Connie Marshall's first picture and she was not on the credits as "Introducing" but among the lead cast. As somebody who has been in the film industry and a film buff all his life I appreciate cinema more that anybody. If you are going to vote on a film learn the history about it and not that it was cheaply made. There was a war on at the time this was made and it was made as fantasy to please the picturegoing public. Looking at the votes given on this site it appears to have just done that.The cinema was there for all of us to escape the outside world and live in a fantasy world for a few hours, this picture gave us just that.Top stars, great story, great music and make believe. A pure gem. I hope I have explained now why I personally gave this a top rating and why it will always be my favourite picture.

Desperately needs DVD release!

[derricker · 10/10 · 10 December 2001]

This should be out on Criterion DVD, and sadly, it has never even been released on ANY format. Unless you are lucky enough to catch it on AMC, you won't see it. Which is sad. The only thing I can add to what has already been said here in other comments and in the summary is that it is easily one of the 100 best movies of all time, and a MUST if you are a fan of this era!!!!!!

You'll feel good after seeing this one!

[mellicott65 · 12 July 2003]

I saw this in original release as a teenager. Ann Baxter and John Hodiak were later married, I think they fell in love while making this movie. This flick is so heartwarming, it has everything - humor, romance, family values, and yes...dialogue!

The last scene when Hodiak goes back to camp and on to war is so good. As he gets on the bus, he's holding a picture of himself taken with those that took him in for the holiday. Answering another soldier's question, he says THIS IS MY FAMILY! You know he's going to come back after the war and marry Baxter's character.

See it if you can. We've got to get this on DVD or VHS.

A 10 for this little film?! Sure, it's sweet and watchable...but not much more.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 23 May 2008]

Despite a very schmaltzy start, the film did have a certain silly charm. It's about an impossibly nice and incredibly poor family that wants to take what little they have and invite a soldier to dinner as a way of saying thank you. Unfortunately, for so many reasons, it looks like this evening won't come off properly--only in the end does everything magically work out for the best.

Anne Baxter did a good job in the lead, as did John Hodiak, though their instant romance at the end of the film completely strained credibility. Charles Winninger was quite the character--I'm not sure if I liked him or not--he did come on awfully strong. As for the kids, the older two were fine but the part for the youngest (Bobby Driscoll) was WAY too annoying and cutesy. Of all the family members, he was by far the most unlikable.

There are a lot of cute little movies that I really enjoy, but I'd hardly consider giving them a score of 10. So when I looked on IMDb at the reviews for this film, I was shocked to see two 10s for such an insignificant film--especially since although this film is rather cute, it's also a bit too saccharine and, at times, hard to take. I really wish there were two ratings on each film on IMDb--the quality/aesthetic value of the film and an enjoyability scale.

Quality-wise, this is just a run of the mill B-movie from the WWII era--neither bad nor particularly distinguished. The direction and sets are not particularly inspired nor is the script (for the most part). In fact, despite being very watchable, I can't think of any way that this is a stand-out film. Don't believe the high ratings--this is not GONE WITH THE WIND or THE GODFATHER in quality!

uplifting...

[markystav · 10/10 · 24 January 2008]

I have to agree with all the positive comments here. "Sunday Dinner For A Soldier" is a wonderful family film. I'm very surprised that it isn't in either DVD or VHS release. Everyone in the cast shines, and the plot is simple, yet beautiful, with just enough humor to keep it rolling along. I've always been a big fan of both John Hodiak and Anne Baxter, so this was perfect casting, in my opinion. Baxter was never lovelier than during this period in her career.

It shows up on the Fox Movie Channel every now and then, as it was a Fox Studio production, but I wish it was available for purchase. I'd pull it out every couple of months, just to get spiritually recharged. It is an uplifting film, filled with hope and resolve in the midst of wartime.

James Agee said it best

[rhoda-9 · 4/10 · 29 April 2018]

One of the two great film critics America produced (the other of course being the very different Pauline Kael) said that to criticise this terrible movie in detail would be like sneering at a sincere, well-meaning family with terrible taste (not just in clothes or books, but everything, including social relations). At that he was too kind, for the grossly aggressive sentimentality and cuteness in the movie were clearly not innocent but were deliberately inflicted on the audience by the filmmakers for commercial purposes.

You don't have to have Agee's perceptiveness and honesty, certainly not more than 70 years later, to wince, for instance, at Charles Winninger (unbearably cutesy at the best of times) being constantly called "Grandfeathers" instead of Grandfather. This kind of thing actually undermines (for intelligent people, anyway) the warmth and sentimentality desired. It shows that the movie is not really sweet and unaffected but extremely aggressive: Listen to how cute this is! Fall into line!

This movie wants you to say "Aah!" more often than you do at the dentist, and to smile more often than a Miss America contestant. Avoid.

A lovely family movie!

[mkadlec_1 · 10/10 · 16 September 2007]

I have been looking for this movie for a long time! I first saw it when it was a new movie and I was a child about the age of the little girl in the movie. It made a big impression on me at the time, partly because my father was away serving in the Navy. As an adult, I had vague memories of it but could not remember the title of the film. I remembered the older sister and the soldier (although I thought of him as a Navy man) on the beach, and I remembered the little girl, and an overall feeling that it was a good movie I had really enjoyed. Over the years I watched a lot of movies made during the war, hoping to find the right one, but never having success. A couple of years ago I found a description on the internet that sounded like the movie I was looking for, but I still couldn't be sure it was the right one. At least I had a title to look for, but the movie apparently was not available for sale and did not turn up on TV until today! I just saw it on the Fox movie channel and it was the movie I remembered! I loved the movie this time, too; it is a wonderful, heartwarming family film.

Heart Warmer

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 15 December 2004]

A poor family living on a houseboat plans a very special Sunday DINNER FOR A SOLDIER.

Here is an excellent example of the type of movie Hollywood produced during World War Two as morale boosting entertainment. It depicts the decency of the folks on the Home Front that the guys in the military were fighting to preserve and protect. Today, its unabashed nostalgia & romanticism greatly add to its appeal.

Anne Baxter stars as the determined young woman who must hold her family together during difficult times; the prospects of an affluent, but loveless, marriage only add to her strain. Appearing late in the film is John Hodiak as the gentle sergeant who comes wandering along Baxter's beach at exactly the right time. Together they epitomize the wistful longing which is forever associated with the warrior leaving for battle and the loved one left behind. Appropriately, Baxter & Hodiak were later to marry in real life. (Tragically, John Hodiak would die of a heart attack in 1955 at the age of only 41.)

Old Charles Winninger steals most of his scenes as Baxter's delightfully incorrigible 'Grandfeathers.' Her younger siblings are very well played by Billy Cummings, Connie Marshall, with her beloved pet hen, and little Bobby Driscoll, standing on his head, in one of his earliest film roles.

Two Oscar winning actresses enliven their smaller roles: Anne Revere as an outspoken chicken farmer who enjoys a playful feud with Winninger; and Jane Darwell as the community's liaison with the local air base. Gravel-voiced Chill Wills plays a friendly bus driver.

Near the end of the film movie mavens will recognize silent screen comic Chester Conklin as a photographer and Rory Calhoun as the sergeant who grabs Hodiak's strawberry cake, both uncredited.

'I'll See You In My Dreams' is the lovely old tune which ties together the romantic elements throughout the film.

Excellent movie that caught the war time era to a tee.

[Fred1937 · 10/10 · 26 October 2009]

I first saw Sunday Dinner for a Soldier in 1945 or 1946 when I was about 8 and it has stuck with me all these years. The last scene, when John Hodiak's plane is dipping its wings as they are leaving to go overseas caused me to choke up when I first saw and it still affects me the same way. The scene in which John Hodiak and Anne Baxter are dancing in the unfinished night club is very moving and projects the feelings between them much better then the bedroom scenes of today's movies. Sunday Dinner for a Soldier is a very enjoyable movie especially for people who lived through that era. I wish it would be released on DVD and I agree with one of the other comments about so many trashy movies having been released on DVD.

Excellent WW2 Propaganda Film

[fakbigal · 10/10 · 18 August 2001]

Made use of the emotions of the citizens during the war on the homefront. I did love the movie and have found that is no where to be purchased. One may find it on cable TV. I saw it four years ago on American Movie Classics. Anne Baxter is a very attractive young woman in her role. One can easily fall for her in this film.

sent email to fox

[ssthompsonIII · 10/10 · 11 January 2010]

I last saw this flick 30-40 years ago,just sent 20th.century-fox a email about it,as it has never been released in any format,also made mention that there were reviews on the IMDb,hopefully it will stir some people up over there,will have to see.funny,a really great little known film from the waning days of the war hold so little interest. i think this film stands well on it's own merit,it is up there with it's a wonderful life but not as sappy. don't get me wrong that is a good movie but me thinks it has been overplayed,glad it is out of the public domain,how many times during the holidays can it be shown??the cast in soldier was out-standing,when thinking about it i thought it was a MGM movie!! kudos to the talent that was involved in making this fine little film,hope it does get released on DVD/blu-ray

Tessa's feast

[dbdumonteil · 26 June 2010]

It's only when the movie is over you 'll realize how deeply moving this very simple story is.A propaganda movie,it certainly is ,but a good propaganda movie which speaks to the heart .In those WW2 trouble times , a poor family is preparing a Sunday dinner for a guest : a soldier on furlough who will be back to the front after these fleeting moments of happiness.It's just a joy to see this family give all they have (and it is not much) to treat their guest like a member of their family ,with a little help from their neighbor.Ann Baxter and John Hodiak are a good romantic couple and their meeting when she's dancing alone is a good moment .

Like this? try this....

"Babettes Gaestebud" (Babette's feast),Gabriel Axel,1987

USO

[microaerobe · 10/10 · 30 March 2021]

My dad was deployed to New Guinea in 1942 from the 41st Division Infantry from Montana via Australia for Jungle Training. He was part of the" Bring a Soldier home for an Australian family dinner " before the Hellhole of Biak. I was honored to hear him share this story.

War-time story about love and hope

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 17 September 2014]

Sunday DINNER FOR A SOLDIER has a well-chosen cast. It brings a simple, yet extraordinary war-time story about love and hope to the screen, courtesy of 20th Century Fox. The movie pairs, for the first time, Anne Baxter with John Hodiak as the young romantic leads. For those that do not know, Baxter would become Mrs. Hodiak a short time later. The rest of the players are seasoned professionals— Charles Winninger as Baxter's father; Anne Revere as a townswoman trying to get Winninger to the altar; and Jane Darwell as another townswoman trying her best to provide accommodations for visiting servicemen. Bobby Driscoll is also seen as one of the youngsters involved in the goings-on. The film has all the typical feel-good elements a family picture made during the war would be expected to have. Take a seat at this cinematic table and help yourself to a serving of sweet corn.

John Hodiak---the dullest man in show business.

[sogoodlooking · 4 October 2020]

Hodiak sank the very promising Somewhere In The Night (1946) with his repetitious line delivery, where every utterance was all but identical.

You know those films you go to solely because the cast or lead is so talented? Hodiak is the opposite. Sunday Dinner for a Soldier sounds mildly promising, and its 6.6 rating isn't a deal breaker, but the lead is so free of charisma that this romantic drama can't possibly work well. No thanks.