It All Came True (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Lewis SeilerRelease Date(s)
1940 (March 31, 2026)Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures (Warner Archive Collection)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: B
- Extras Grade: C+
Review
Seeing an actor on his ascendancy to stardom can be fun. In It All Came True, Humphrey Bogart is billed third in a supporting role that balances his tough guy persona with sentiment. He would go on to full stardom the next year with with High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon.
When a nightclub owned by big-time racketeer Chips Maguire (Bogart) is raided for illegal gambling, Chips kills the man who tipped off the cops and blackmails his club’s piano player, Tommy Taylor (Jeffrey Lynn), into letting him hide out at the boarding house run by Tommy’s mother Nora (Jessie Busley) and her friend Maggie Ryan (Una O’Connor). because the murder weapon was registered under Tommy’s name. Tommy introduces Chips to the old ladies as “Mr. Grasselli,” a friend who needs peace and seclusion to recover from a nervous breakdown.
Back now at his mother’s house after an absence of five years, Tommy encounters his old flame Sarah Jane Ryan (Ann Sheridan). Sarah Jane has also been away for five years, struggling to make a living as a nightclub singer under the professional name Sal. Though their interest in each other is obvious, she’s upset that he never wrote to her and he needs to keep her from learning his secret, so any time they’re together, they spend quarreling. It’s no secret that their quibbles will end in a smooch.
Intrigued by the mysterious Mr. Grasselli, Sarah Jane sneaks around to get a look at him. Recognizing him as the shady nightclub owner she once worked for as a showgirl, she figures that he must have something over Tommy. Meanwhile Nora and Maggie have gone out of their way to be motherly to Grasselli/Chips, who does his best to politely ward off their good intentions.
But on learning that they’re about to lose the boarding house to a bank foreclosure for unpaid taxes, Chips pays what they owe and transforms their boardinghouse into a Gay 90s-themed nightclub to assure a steady income for the elderly ladies. Tommy and Sal become the headliners.
Top-billed Ann Sheridan, one of Warner Brothers busiest contract players, is convincing as a woman who’s had rough breaks in her career yet pushes on, undeterred by defeat. Her clipped delivery reflects Sal’s emotional armor, so it seems out of character for her to fall all over a guy who keeps rejecting her. In typical Hollywood fashion, however, there had to be a romantic interest. Sheridan sings the ballad Angel in Disguise and sings and dances The Gaucho Serenade. A number of period songs performed in the gay 90s nightclub by Sheridan and the Lady Killers Quartet include The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady, Cuddle Up a Little Closer, Ain’t We Got Fun, Oh, You Beautiful Doll, and When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.
Bogart is perfect as the soft-hearted thug who isn’t immune to the way two caring old ladies cater to his needs. At the beginning, Chips is a cold murderer, but as the film progresses a gentler, kinder side emerges. Bogart sells both aspects of his character’s personality and makes Chips endearing and sympathetic, not an easy task in an era when murder could not go unpunished. Bogart has one of the picture’s best lines: “I hate mothers: all this silver-threads-among-the-gold stuff!”
Jeffrey Lynn is bland as Tommy and doesn’t have to do much except look downcast and petulant. He simply can’t command the screen like Bogie. Una O’Connor, best known for screaming bloody murder in The Invisible Man and Bride of Frankenstein, is amusing as the co-proprietor of the struggling boarding house. Her scenes with Sheridan have a brittle sensibility as motherly love combines with disapproval of Sal’s career choice. Maggie is never still. She’s always in motion, stirring a pot, cleaning away grime, wiping her hands on her apron. O’Connor is an expert at “business”—the incidental things an actor does to make a character seem real. Zasu Pitts plays boarder Miss Flint in her trademark fluttery style. Miss Flint believes she’s constantly followed by men and makes her concerns known to fellow boarders, who’ve heard her unfounded complaints all too often. Felix Bressart plays another colorful boarder, the Great Boldini, a quirky vaudevillian.
It All Came True is an odd hybrid of a film. It starts as a drama with some light comic moments and then, halfway through, turns into a musical. Based on the novel Better Than Life, the film was adapted by Michael Tessier and Lawrence Kimble, who provide snappy tough-girl dialogue for Sal. The supporting cast adds warmth and humor to this Runyonesque story.
Director Lewis Seiler gives the picture a fast pace in the Warners style, so that when it transforms into a musical in its second half, it’s done with a sleight-of hand deftness. When the boarding house is turned into an 1890s-themed nightclub, the art department amps up the production design and Howard Shoup’s costumes add period atmosphere. It All Came True is a variation of the old “Let’s put on a show” theme with a gangster who isn’t that bad, a striving showgirl who finally gets a chance to shine, and a couple of sweet old biddies who tie the plot together.
It All Came True was shot by director of photography Ernest Haller on 35mm black & white film with spherical lenses and presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1. Clarity on the Blu-ray from the Warner Archive Collection is excellent. Details are well delineated, such as patterns on the gay 90s vaudeville period costumes, Chips’ “sick room” at the boarding house, decor at the nightclub, Miss Flint’s flowery dresses, and Sal’s elaborate stage gown with massive ostrich feathers and a huge hat. There are no visible scratches, embedded dirt specks, or emulsion clouding to hamper enjoyment. In keeping with Warner Archive’s high standards for older movies, It All Came True looks great.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio. English SDH subtitles are an option. The sound mix by RCA is somewhat muddy, though the dialogue can be understood. The musical numbers, in particular, aren’t heard at their best with the mono track. Sound effects include a dramatic gun shot, ambient noise in the nightclub, car engines, and Tommy’s solo piano playing.
Bonus materials on the Blu-ray release from the Warner Archive Collection include the following:
- Circus Today (9:02)
- The Sour Puss (7:33)
- Original Theatrical Trailer (2:14)
Circus Today – In this 1940 Technicolor Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Tex Avery, a barker is the guide to a gag-filled sideshow, a menagerie, and the actual big top. Hot-Foot Hogan, a man who can walk over hot coals in his bare feet, demonstrates his ability while yelling the entire time. Captain Clamor, a human cannonball, circles the world before landing. The trapeze artists, the Flying Cadenzas, actually fly. A lion puts his head into the tamer’s mouth. Finally, Count Maurice Leepov climbs a ladder onto a tiny board and jumps into a small tank of water. Mel Blanc provides voice characterizations.
The Sour Puss – Directed by Bob Clampett, this 1940 black & white Looney Tunes cartoon stars Porky Pig, who plans a fishing trip with his cat and promises fish for dinner. That night, the cat has trouble sleeping, so he takes a bottle of sleeping pills containing a mallet and knocks himself out with it. The next day, they encounter a flying fish that outsmarts them both. Eventually, they mistake a shark for the elusive catch, resulting in a quick retreat. Lots of slapstick mayhem ensues. In the end, the shark remarks on the absurdity of their adventure with the comment, “Pussy cats is the cwaziest peoples.” Once again, the versatile Mel Blanc provides the voices.
It All Came True is filled with sentimentality yet is engaging with its cast of interesting and diverse characters. Ann Sheridan and Humphrey Bogart add star power and supporting players add their trademark quirkiness. With its light humor, music, and simple plot, it offers an amusing sample of the studio system at its height. Though formulaic, the film has a joyous feel. It’s good for a few chuckles.
- Dennis Seuling