I Met My Love Again (1938)

Ives Towner (Henry Fonda) is an idealistic young man with dreams of a wonderful future with his love, Julie Wier (Joan Bennett). They plan to marry, but not until Ives has finished college and made something of himself.

After waiting years for Ives to finally marry her, Julie starts to go a little stir-crazy in her small Vermont town. When she gets lost one day during a snow storm, she seeks shelter at a nearby cabin, occupied by writer Michael Shaw (Alan Marshall). Will she be lured away from her home and long-time love by the promise of an exciting life with Michael?

Arthur Ripley and Joshua Logan direct 1938’s I Met My Love Again.

Henry Fonda and Joan Bennett were nice choices to lead this film. They’re cutesy when they need to be, Bennett bringing restlessness and frustration to the young relationship. In the scenes they share later, there’s a sweet, nostalgic chemistry to their interactions.

The love of their characters is, in the beginning, quite typical “young love” — corny, but full of promise, and with high hopes for the future. The catch is that Ives’ schooling and family obligations keep them apart a lot, which is frustrating for Julie, who just wants them to begin their life together.

Alan Marshall provides a solution for Julie (in the form of a new man!), but a problem for Ives. Bennett’s scenes with Marshall are just as good as those shared with Fonda. He’s a smooth talker, and it’s easy to see both why she would fall for him… and why her family would disapprove of him.

Of course, Julie’s decision to leave hometown Ives and leave town with big-dreams Michael has consequences. Convention is the way to happiness, don’tcha know?

Julie marries Michael and they end up in Paris, which seems like it’d be romantic and glamorous… except that Michael reveals himself to be a lazy party boy rather than the intelligent, refined writer Julie saw in him when they met on that fateful snowy evening.

I won’t spoil the way it goes wrong, but I will say that it involves a ketchup painter… which should give you an idea of how ridiculous and soapy the film becomes at times. There are two big, wacky moments of drama bringing on the cheese, but for the most part the film is even-toned. Almost too even-toned, in my opinion. If you’re gonna go for corn at all, go big!

More moments like those mentioned above and we would’ve had a genuine Classic of the Corn on our hands, which I would have loved. Instead we’ve got a mostly-mild romantic drama with a few out-of-place, ridiculous scenes. I can’t recommend it highly, but I’d say it’s worth a look if you’re a big fan of either of the stars.