Remember? (1939)

Through my travels of watching films from all decades I have seen some really good ones that I have loved and obsess over and then there have been some where I ask what on earth were the writers and producers thinking this is so bad. Proving that not every film released in 1939 was a huge success MGM released the film Remember? with two of their biggest stars Greer Garson and Robert Taylor.

            Sky Ames (Lew Ayres) comes back from vacation engaged. His friend Jeff (Taylor) is not happy with Sky for leaving him behind. Sky takes Jeff out to lunch with Linda (Garson) his fiancée. Linda is waiting for them in the lobby of a hotel. Jeff just stares at her. He thinks she is beautiful and wants to marry her that day. Jeff tricks Sky into going back to his office to be alone with Linda. No one knows where Linda has gone. Her parents are waiting for her at their house to throw her a party. Her mother tells Sky Linda called saying she was with Jeff. Linda and Jeff finally arrive at the party. During a fox hunt the next day Jeff and Linda get caught kissing. Sky is not really mad at Linda he actually says it was alright for her to do that to get Jeff out of her mind. Jeff says the Linda that they should put Sky out their minds.

            Back in the city Jeff has Linda meet him at his office. She was supposed to say the time and he would know what that means and he would stop everything to be with her. Jeff completely forgets. She gets upset but he tells her he just has to see someone before they can run off together. Of course he does not get out when he says he will and Linda is ready to leave by herself. And of course Jeff shows up right on time for them to run away together and elope somewhere.

            When they arrive back in New York City Linda invites Sky over. She tells Sky that she and Jeff are now married and that she still wants the three of them to be friends. Before Jeff and Linda go away for a honeymoon her parents hold a surprise party for her. Her mother has everyone hide to surprise Linda and wants them to come out when she says a specific word. Jeff starts talking about all their friends he cannot stand and they are all hiding listening to everything. Jeff gets a call to go into town to meet with a client. Linda does not want him to go and he does anyway. And big shock they get a divorce.

            Sky works for Jeff’s important client Mr. McIntyre. McIntyre has come up with a serum that makes people forget. He gives the serum to Linda and Jeff thinking he could get back Linda before Jeff took her. They forget everything that happened in the past six months. Jeff thinks he is back when Sky returns home from his vacation and Linda still thinks she is engaged to Sky. Sky makes the same mistake having Jeff and Linda meet exactly the same way they met the last time.

            Linda and Jeff go to get married again and get pulled by the same cop that pulled them over the first time they got married. The cop thinks they are crazy and takes them to judge again.

            I cannot believe Louis B. Mayer put Greer Garson in a film like this. According to IMDB Garson became so popular with the release of Goodbye Mr. Chips that Mayer rushed her into this film to capitalize on her. Garson, no actress for that matter, did not deserve to be put into a film like this. She was so talented and this film was so beneath her talent. I feel even worse for Lew Ayres and Robert Taylor. They did not deserve to be in a film like this either. Despite the story all three actors did a good job with what they were given. I wish all three of them could have been in a better film together.

            Remember? flopped at the box office and is today a forgotten film. I do not blame anyone for forgetting this. It is very unimpressive with a story that was even silly for the time.