Very disappointing...

Great Film overall

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

"If Tomorrow Comes" was a made for TV movie that dealt with the prejudices against Japanese-Americans that came to a head when WWII arrived. It's a very sad film but important one, as it's important we learn from the events of this time period.When the film begins, Eileen (Patty Duke) and her parents have just moved to California just before the United States became involved in WWII. She soon meets a nice Japanese-American guy, David (Frank Michael Liu) and they have a lot in common. But because he's not a white guy, they decide to start meeting in secret. After a while, they decide to marry and intend to tell their respective families about this. Unfortunately, their timing stinks because that same morning they marry, the war begins! Now they are afraid to tell anyone and keep waiting for the right time. But in the meantime, prejudices against the Japanese-Americans explode and laws are enacted taking away their rights and freedom. What's to become of the couple?This is a hard film to watch, as prejudices are nasty and painful...but thank goodness films like this were made to remind us of our past. Well made and very reminiscent of Romeo & Juliet in many ways.By the way, like too many films, the 'young people' in this movie are far from being young! Patty Duke's supposed to be in high school and she's 24 but even worse is Mako who also is supposed to be about that age...and he was nearing 40!

TV movies back in the 70s were, well they were TV movies. Some good, some silly, some not so good. This was an excellent movie. When it came out in 1971, I was 15 going on 16 girl. The movie was done with compassion and let those who did not live it, the realization of what transpired in the US during WWII. Is is so relevant in this day an time when so much is spinning the world out of control again. Those that are old enough to remember that time have warned us this is what it felt like back then. This movie has stuck with me all my life. Years later after I left the Army I came home back to Sacramento and I had two good friends, one Japanese, one Chinese. I learned both sides of the story of WWII. May's parents immigrated from Hong Kong. Her mother absolutely hated Japanese for her whole family was wiped out during the war. Erin's parents were just kids when they were moved and put into the camps here in the US. I also worked with a gentleman who was one of the Japanese men allowed to be in the military. He had fought in Italy. I am a history buff and that era, and especially the war, has intrigued me. To think that a hundred million people died in the last century due to the prejudices of all the races. You would think by now that man would have gotten past all this. Now I am reading a free book I bought on my Kindle. It is "It Had to Be You" by Cheryl Bolen. It and the movie now playing with Claudett Colbert called "Three Came Home" brought this movie back into my mind. The other book is about a couple who marry right before WWII and she goes with him to the camps. This one is the story of a woman living in a camp in the East Indies. I do wish they would air the TV movies again, especially this one. The current generation should be able to see what the world was like and what it could be again if we do not learn from it.

This movie aired a week after the original Brian's Song movie in 1971. I remember I missed Brian's Song and everyone was talking about it at school the next day, how they cried etc. I thought this movie was a great consolation prize for having missed Brian's Song. It too was a tear jerker in some ways. I often wonder why can't they make TV movies like this any more. I was very moved by it. I watched it every time it was rerun in the 1970s. It's based on an old theme - Romeo and Juliet but that always seems to work well. Many years later I saw it again and now it seems like Westside Story, substituting Japanese for Puerto Rican, and cutting the music/dance numbers. Still a very good picture. An above average made for TV movie and I certainly recommend it. A few questionable details regarding some parts of the story. Why were they able to find a priest to marry them on a Sunday while her family was away at church? Wouldn't that priest have been saying mass at that time? Seems strange he'd be available to perform a shotgun wedding on a Sunday morning (Dec 7th 1941 of course) especially while everyone else was at church. Other interesting aspects that hint at the political correctness that was to come in the following decades: When Eileen happens upon the Japanese family who are holding their traditional observance, they are all dressed in Japanese garb, except of course for David who is dressed in a suit and tie. I wonder what ever happened to Frank Liu? He did a very good job in this picture. Despite these insignificant details it is still a very moving story with some very emotional scenes - the scene where Eileen (Patty Duke) is sitting alone crying in the arbor, not knowing why David has not shown up (Because "The Japanese aren't allowed out after 6 0'clock, now that's a brand new law" David is informed). It seems older TV movies are seldom aired but if you see it in your local listings, it is definitely worth watching.

I was not prepared for the impact that this movie had on me when I first saw it, over 20 years ago. I came through the era of the Patty Duke Show, and saw her in Helen Keller, but this film is my all time favourite. I have sat up and watched it again when it was relegated to the late movie, and again when it was relegated to the late, late movie. I have not seen it for a very long time, but it stays in my mind and the best of the best that I have ever seen. Definitely, an oldie, but a goodie.