DirectorAlfred L. Werker Music directorGeorge Antheil Duration LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 22, 1947 (1947-05-22) WriterWalter Bullock (screenplay), William OFarrell (novel) CastLouis Hayward (Barney Page), Joan Leslie (Sheila Page), Virginia Field (Paula Costello), Tom Conway (John Friday), Richard Basehart (William Williams, Poet), Natalie Schafer (Eloise Shaw) Similar moviesSurvivor, The Whistler, Mysterious Intruder, Groundhog Day, (500) Days of Summer, Sunset Boulevard TaglineTime stopped in it's tracks when she pulled the Trigger!
Repeat Performance is a 1947 American film noir crime film starring Louis Hayward and Joan Leslie. The time travel picture combines elements of a 1940s drama with a science fiction twist. The film was released by Eagle-Lion Films, directed by Alfred L. Werker, and produced by Aubrey Schenck.
Eddie muller introduces repeat performance 1947 at noir city seattle uptown theater 2 23 2013
Plot
On New Year's Eve 1946, a woman is standing over her dead husband with a gun in her hand. She panics and goes to her friends for help. While seeking help from her friends at a pair of parties, she wishes that she could live 1946 all over again.
Magically, because she wished exactly at the strike of midnight on New Year's, her wish is granted and she is transported back to the beginning of 1946 with her husband alive. She attempts to relive the year without making the mistakes she and her friends made throughout the year, but certain events repeat themselves nonetheless, leaving Sheila to question whether there really is such a thing as fate or not.
The story climaxes again on New Year's Eve, when through Sheila's interferences over the year, her husband becomes convinced that she's trying to destroy him. He violently confronts her. Her friend William, who believed in Sheila's foresight, shoots her husband with her gun.
Cast
Louis Hayward as Barney Page
Joan Leslie as Sheila Page
Virginia Field as Paula Costello
Tom Conway as John Friday
Richard Basehart as William Williams
Natalie Schafer as Eloise Shaw
Benay Venuta as Bass Michaels
Ilka GrĂ¼ning as Mattle (as Ilka Gruning)
Production
The film changed the original story where the girl was the villain because it was felt Joan Leslie could not play a villain.
Remake
This film was remade as the television film Turn Back the Clock (1989) directed by Larry Elikann. It featured Jere Burns, Wendy Kilbourne and original cast member Joan Leslie.