Now, Voyager

This article is about the film. For the album by Barry Gibb, see Now Voyager. For the musician, see The Source (musician). For the album by The Cape Race, see Now, Voyager (album).
Now, Voyager
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIrving Rapper
Screenplay byCasey Robinson
Based onNow, Voyager
Olive Higgins Prouty
Produced byHal B. Wallis
StarringBette Davis
Paul Henreid
Claude Rains
Gladys Cooper
CinematographySol Polito
Edited byWarren Low
Music byMax Steiner
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • October 22, 1942 (1942-10-22) (New York City)[1]
  • October 31, 1942 (1942-10-31) (USA)
Running time
117 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$877,000[2]
Box office$4,177,000[3][2] ($73.5 million in 2023 dollars)

Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty.[4]

Prouty borrowed her title from the Walt Whitman poem "The Untold Want," which reads in its entirety,

The untold want by life and land ne'er granted,
Now, voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find.

In 2007, Now, Voyager was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[5][6] The film ranks number 23 on AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Passions, a list of the top love stories in American cinema. Film critic Steven Jay Schneider suggests the film continues to be remembered for not only its star power, but also the "emotional crescendos" engendered in the storyline.

  1. ^ Chandler, Charlotte (2006). The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis, A Personal Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 315. ISBN 978-0743289054.
  2. ^ a b Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1–31 p. 23 doi:10.1080/01439689508604551
  3. ^ "101 Pix Gross in Millions". Variety. 6 Jan 1943. p. 58.
  4. ^ Prouty, Olive Higgins (2013). Now, Voyager. Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN 978-1558614765.
  5. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  6. ^ "Librarian of Congress Announces National Film Registry Selections for 2007". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-05-06.