| Only Yesterday | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Only-Yesterday-1933-Lobbycard.jpg) lobby card | |
| Directed by | John M. Stahl |
| Written by | William Hurlbut George O'Neil Arthur Richman |
| Produced by | Carl Laemmle Jr. |
| Starring | Margaret Sullavan John Boles |
| Cinematography | Merritt B. Gerstad |
| Edited by | Milton Carruth |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Only Yesterday is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film, directed by John M. Stahl, about a young woman who becomes pregnant by her boyfriend before he rushes off to fight in World War I. It stars Margaret Sullavan (in her film debut) and John Boles.
According to the on-screen credit, the film's story line was "suggested" by the 1931 nonfiction bestseller Only Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen,[1] who had sold Universal the rights to his book.[2] The film is set in a time frame close to that of Allen's book but otherwise bears no resemblance to it, and the film's title may simply have been an attempt to capitalize on the book's fame at the time of the film's release. The plot of the film appears to be based closely on Letter from an Unknown Woman (Briefe einer Unbekannten) by Stefan Zweig,[3] published first in 1922 and in English translation a decade later.[4]
According to the New York Times, some moviegoers contacted Zweig's publisher, Viking Press, noting similarities between the film and his book. The Times reported that "These similarities were bought and paid for by Universal Pictures", which moved the story to the United States, "altered the story greatly, and made no mention of Zweig's name in the film". The studio also paid "a large sum" for the right to use the title of Allen's book.[5]
- ^ Hall, Mordaient (November 19, 1933). "Margaret Sullavan Makes Her Film Debut in a Story Suggested by F.L. Allen's Book, 'Only Yesterday.'". New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ^ Payne, Darwin (1975). The man of only yesterday: Frederick Lewis Allen, former editor of Harper's magazine, author, and interpreter of his times. Harper & Row. p. 104.
- ^ Dumont, Hervé (2006). Frank Borzage: The Life and Films of a Hollywood Romantic. McFarland & Company. p. 217. ISBN 9780786440986. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
...the melodrama Only Yesterday (1933)–plagiarized from Stefan Zweig's Letter from an Unknown Woman.
- ^ Strauss, Harold (June 19, 1932). "A Masterly Novelette by Stefan Zweig" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ^ "Book Notes" (PDF). New York Times. December 16, 1933. Retrieved January 1, 2018.