#beyond tomorrow

[70sscifiart]

Interior art by Roy G. Scarfo, for Beyond Tomorrow, by Dandridge M. Cole, 1965

[crowwolf]

So - uh - here's the thing. I've had a Yautja OC/Female OC story running rampant in my head. It wants out. I will still be working on my other story (eventually), but right now Beyond Tomorrow has become an obsession.

Am I up to date on all the Yautja lore? Fuck no. Is it canon compliant? I highly doubt it LOL!

This is a story, that is written for me, by me that I thought maybe someone else may want a boo at.

[enfys-squees]

A thread of tweets from Enfys Book (AKA Lucky Annie) (@enfysbook) on Twitter, from 20 December 2020. [Note that I disabled my account in December 2022, so this tweet thread is no longer accessible on Twitter.] Text follows. You can watch the movie free on YouTube here (under its alternate title, “Beyond Tomorrow”).

I had some unexpected downtime yesterday, so I watched “Happiest Season.” When I finished the movie, I was in the mood for another chill holiday movie, and looked through Amazon Prime’s offerings. I found one called “Beyond Christmas” from 1940, and it’s totally bananas.

The first 30 min of “Beyond Christmas” (which has an 80-minute runtime) are basically “old rich white guys being nice to poor people, just for funsies,” and honestly, I’m here for it. But then it gets weird. Let’s break this movie down. It is a RIDE.

The movie opens with street scenes of Christmas and gently falling snow in New York. We are then brought to a nice living room, where two older businessmen are dictating Very Businessy Things to their secretaries.

A third older businessman enters, arms full of gifts. He basically tells everyone they need to stop working, because it’s Christmas Eve. Secretaries are given gifts, and they go home. Businessmen start getting ready for a Fancy Meal with two expected Fancy Guests.

But oh - Fancy Guests cancel, last-minute. And here these men are, on Christmas Eve, in their own home, in tuxedos (yes, really), with nobody but their deposed-Russian-countess maid (yes, really) and butler (who fled Russia with her) to keep them company. WHAT DO

I’m going to pause the plot description for just a moment to describe these dudes. We have Optimist Guy, Pessimist Guy, and Moderate Guy. That’s basically all you need to know about them, except they are all older, unmarried men and are BUST BUDS and love each other very much.

Optimist Guy gets an idea. Why don’t they take the extra wallets they had intended as client gifts, put $10 in each of them, as well as a business card, and fling them into the street below? Any honest person who attempts to return a wallet would then be invited to Fancy Dinner.

Other Business Bros agree. They make a bet on whether anyone will turn up.

Dinner is at 7. Clock strikes 7, nobody has turned up, and it appears Optimist has lost the bet.

But then - the doorbell rings! It’s a shabby man from Texas, returning a wallet. He has holes in his shoes.

Soon after, a pretty young woman turns up with a second wallet.

Both are invited to dinner. The whole household has a marvelous time. Texas sings a song & woman is 😍.

When the party ends, Business Bros slyly give Texas a nice overcoat, because he didn’t have one. 

Then we get a montage showing the next few weeks - this newly-formed polycule of 3 Business Bros, Texas, and Pretty Young Woman are inseparable. They go to parties & bowling.

Then Business Bros get called to a Business Trip. They need to fly somewhere to do a thing. Deposed Countess Maid begs them to take the train, because planes are scary. They laugh at her.

While Business Bros are gone, Texas and Pretty go for a walk and get engaged. They rush to Business Bros’ house to share the news, in hopes they’ve returned.

They haven’t returned. They’re dead. And now they’re ghosts, haunting the house.

Countess invites the young couple to live in the house, and the ghosts nudge her to find an envelope of bonds left for the couple’s wedding. Business Bros knew what was up.

Journalists take an interest in Business Bros’ death and want to keep writing about it, even when there isn’t much else to say. They learn about the couples’ little inheritance and decide to write about it, for reasons. Which leads to the couple being invited onto the radio.

Pretty is excited for Texas to go on the radio, because he’s such a good singer and this could be his big break. I guess it’s normal to get interviewed about a death and then be invited to sing? Did New York really lack content to fill airtime back then? Who knows.

At the radio station, Texas meets Famous Singer Lady, who is excited to hear him sing.

Texas sings, blows it out of the park. Famous Singer Lady invites him to be part of her Famous Singer Lady Tour. His big break!

Cut to Business Bro Ghosts. Optimist Ghost is Jazzed AF for Texas and wants him to chase his dreams.

Pessimist Ghost says becoming a singer will lead Texas to a life of depravity.

Pessimist Ghost says this, then immediately gets sucked into Hell.

Yes, really.

Other two Ghost Bros: “WELP.”

Sure enough, though, Pessimist was right. Texas gets caught up in The Life and immediately begins neglecting his wife Pretty and flirting with Famous Singer Lady.

Pretty is sad. Optimist tells her to fight for Texas. She goes over to the house and they have an awkward conversation that’s basically Texas saying, “Uh, being a famous singer is, like, A Lot, so maybe I’ll just call you when the tour is over?” And she’s like, “K, bye” & leaves.

Optimist tells Texas to chase after her, and he almost does, but then the phone rings and it’s Famous Singer Lady saying she’ll pick him up in 20 minutes for their vacation together in the country.

Ghost Bros (minus one) are upset, but then the sky opens up and a young man in military uniform comes down from Heaven to get his dad, Moderate Ghost. We didn’t know Moderate had a kid. He’s never been mentioned. But here he is. Moderate asks son what heaven is like.

Ghost Army Boy says “what do you want heaven to be like?” And Moderate gets all misty-eyed and says he wants it to be like the barracks, minus the front. He was happy in the war, surrounded by “ready young men.” !!!

Cool, so it shall be. Moderate goes to Gay Heaven. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎

Optimist Ghost is alone, but he’s determined to do...something...to protect Texas from committing infidelity. He rides along in the car going to the country, petulantly knocking Famous Singer’s hood off her head.

They get to the country resort, they’re having dinner, and they get called up on-stage to perform a song because they are famous. As they stand up, both Texas and Famous are shot by Famous’ ex-husband, who had secretly followed them there.

Oh shoot, I forgot something. Right before the dinner scene, Optimist is outside the resort and God calls him to heaven. He says no, he has to stay and help Texas.

God says “you only get asked once, if you don’t come now, you wander the earth as a ghost forever, and also your mom really misses you.”

Optimist says no, he has to stay. God’s all, “K, fuck you, walk the Earth as a shattered soul” and the gates to heaven close.

OK, restaurant scene happens. Texas and Famous are shot, cut to hospital. Surgery is happening. Optimist is pacing the waiting room. Pretty is sobbing in Countess’ arms.

Ghost of Texas walks out of surgery and runs into Optimist. “What up, friend”

Texas sees Pretty and is full of regret. He asks where Famous is. Optimist says, “Gone. She didn’t have a soul to begin with.” (HOLY SHIT)

Heavens open up AGAIN. God calls for Optimist. Says “your mother wouldn’t leave me alone until I gave you another chance.” (Thanks, Mom!) Optimist says he’s ready, but asks God to do him a solid and bring Texas back to life, because he’s learned his lesson. God is all “FINE.”

As Optimist starts walking into the night, Pessimist shows up! Optimist is like “wtf where did you come from” and Pessimist says he was in darkness for a long time, but thoughts of Optimist and Moderate melted his heart full of angst and brought him to the light. (!) ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎

Ghost Bros go to Gay Heaven and Texas gets another shot at life.

FIN.

Merry Christmas?

[gloriousspaceridersworld]

Listen/purchase: Beyond Tomorrow (Original Soundtrack) by All India Radio

[tcm]

The Horror of Christmas By Jessica Pickens

“There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago,” goes the song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” released in 1963. That Christmas song’s lyric may have left you scratching your head each time you hear it. Written by Edward Pola and George Wyle, the song looks back at old holiday traditions. Ghosts, goblins and creepy murderous tales are strictly relegated to Halloween, right? That’s how it stands today, at least. But in the Victorian era, telling ghost stories was part of the Christmas tradition.

The death and rebirth of a new year during the Winter Solstice seemed like an appropriate time for telling ghost stories. “Whenever five or six English-speaking people meet round a fire on Christmas Eve, they start telling each other ghost stories,” wrote author and humorist Jerome K. Jerome in Told After Supper (1891). “Nothing satisfies us on Christmas Eve but to hear each other tell authentic anecdotes about specters. It is a genial, festive season, and we love to muse upon graves, and dead bodies, and murders, and blood.”

Even while we don’t tell ghost stories today at Christmas, one ghost story is still one of the most beloved Christmas tales, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. But even when it was published in 1843, it was not the first, or last, paranormal story told about Christmas. While the tradition of sharing Christmas ghost stories died long before the dawn of film, it still found its way onto the screen:

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (’38 and ‘51) 

Ebenezer Scrooge is a bitter and mean old man who has no patience for humanity or happiness. On Christmas Eve, a series of ghosts visit Scrooge and take him on a journey of self-exploration. Scrooge revisits his past, present and future and is warned to change his ways before it’s too late.

Since first appearing in a short film in 1901, A CHRISTMAS CAROL has been retold on film and television numerous times for over 100 years. The story has even been retold by The Muppets and Mickey Mouse for family-friendly audiences. It has also been modernized into various time periods, with Scrooge-like characters portrayed by Bill Murray, Henry Winkler, Cicely Tyson, Matthew McConaughey, Vanessa Williams and Susan Lucci.

But there are still several, more faithful retellings of the Dickens novel, including the 1938 version, starring Reginald Owen, and the 1951 version, starring Alastair Sim as the main character.

Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the 1938 version has a lighter and more joyful vibe. Owen’s Scrooge is more of a grump rather than entirely mean-spirited. He is almost immediately remorseful and says he loves Christmas while he’s with the Ghost of Christmas Present. Gene Lockhart plays Bob Cratchit as a cheerful man, despite having to work for a tyrannical boss. The 1951 version, made in England and released by Renown Pictures Corporation, is a darker telling of the Dickens story. Alastair Sim’s Scrooge is more brutish, cruel and dismissive to Bob Cratchit, played by Mervyn Johns. Johns plays Cratchit as a meeker and more browbeaten character.

Regardless of the films’ differences, the message of both versions is the same. The ghosts in A CHRISTMAS CAROL aren’t meant to frighten the audience but to encourage self-reflection. Scrooge isn’t just haunted by Jacob Marley and the three ghosts; memories of his past haunt him — that’s why he’s so bitter.

BEYOND TOMORROW (’40) 

On Christmas Eve, we meet three elderly businessmen: George Melton (Harry Carey), Allan Chadwick (C. Aubrey Smith) and Michael O’Brien (Charles Winninger). The three men live together and are old friends, but they all have very different pasts. George is a man of little faith and is business-focused with a dark past. Distinguished Allan has a military background and lost his only son in World War I. Michael is the most whimsical of the three.

On Christmas Eve, Michael has the idea that they throw three wallets out into the street to see if an honest person returns them. A young man and woman, Jean Lawrence (Jean Parker) and James Houston (Richard Carlson), return the wallets. Neither having a family to go to that night, they join the gentlemen — all becoming fast friends by the end of the night. As Jean and James fall in love, they become close friends with the three men. Tragedy strikes when all three men are killed in a plane crash, leaving money to the couple so they can marry. However, with the new wealth and publicity, James becomes a singing radio star, forgetting about Jean in favor of another woman. The three men's ghosts try to guide James away from the other woman and encourage Jean to fight for her love.

In this story, the past lives of the three men don’t affect them in life, but in death. Carey’s character, George, is sort of like Scrooge. It’s hinted that he has a dark past, which may involve another woman and murder. Also, in his old age, anything but money is foolish to him. In death, George’s friends warn him that all he has to do is feel sorry for his past, but George has no regrets, even if it means going “to the dark place.”

In contrast, the other two characters are rewarded in death. Smith’s character gets to see his son again, who comes to fetch him. His son tells him that heaven is anything he wants it to be. Charles Winninger’s character is reluctant to leave his friends on Earth because he wants to continue to help them. But before leaving for heaven, he is able to. Even in death, the ghosts have to do good deeds not only to help their friends who are still living but to allow them to rest in the great beyond.

While we may not still tell ghost stories around the fire, the holiday season closes another year, allowing us to reflect on past memories. Some memories may be good, and others may haunt us in a way. However, 2020 may haunt us forever.

[katiecarter]

Holiday Classics: “Beyond Tomorrow” (1940)

In the grand scheme of classic holiday films, the 1940 drama “Beyond Tomorrow” remains largely forgotten. It’s rather a shame, because it’s quite a charming story, about three wealthy but lonely bu…

Today's holiday classics feature is the charming 1940 drama BEYOND TOMORROW, alternately released as BEYOND CHRISTMAS. You can find this one for free on Tubi TV! Read my review here.

[theendofthefilm]

Beyond Tomorrow

A. Edward Sutherland USA, 1940

[thegikitiki]

Heavy Lift Reusable Space Vehicle Concept...

  From the Book ‘Beyond Tomorrow - The Next 50 Years in Space’, 1965

   Artwork by Roy Kerswill