"Another Time, Another Place" (1958) is not one of the most exciting classic films, unless of course, you are a fan of Sean Connery. This is one of his early films - his first being "Lilacs in the Spring" (1954).

Connery plays Mark Trevor, a BBC war correspondent whose too-many nights away from his wife, Kay (Glyns Johns) and son, Brian (Martin Stephens), send him into the arms of a beautiful blonde.

Sara Scott (Lana Turner) is that beautiful blonde. A female American journalist working in London, she's expected to marry her boss Carter Reynolds (Barry Sullivan), who is based out of New York.

Sara and Mark begin a passionate love affair, and on the night that she gets ready to inform Carter that she hopes to marry Mark, Mark blindsides her with the news that he's married and loves his wife.

lots of angst and tissue sniffing up until the moment that Mark leaves on assignment for Paris. He and Sara embrace one last time and vow to be together somehow, someday.

Within a few days Sara learns of Mark's death. She's so upset she retreats to a rest home until some of the grief subsides. Carter arrives and books her on a boat back to the states, but Sara decides to visit Mark's hometown instead. She doesn't intend on meeting Kay, but suddenly she's a guest in her home and tutoring Brian, of course, with Kay unaware of who she really is.

Through no fault of the actors, the plot is slow moving and the character's reactions and motivations unlikely. Kay is way too kind when she discovers the real truth about Sara and her husband, and Sara too shallow to really like.

Someone however, fell for the on-screen romance. In fact there was probably more action off the set than on. It seems that during the shooting of the film in England, Johnny Stompanato, Turner's hoodlum boyfriend, approached Sean Connery waving a gun and warned him to stay away from Lana. Connery wasted no time in establishing himself as a man who could take care of himself; he deck Stompanato, who was later killed by Turner's daughter, Cheryl Crane.

"Another Time Another Place" did however establish Connery as a serious actor who could commit to any part. With his big dark eyes and expressive face, it was not hard to imagine his future, which to this day has slowed down, but is still going.

One of the worst elements of the film is one that is present in many early films. The volume between dialogue scenes and those of no talking where the orchestra music swings into emotional melodies, is not on the same level. I found myself raising and lowering the volume all the way through the film, which takes away from its enjoyment.

Director: Lewis Allen

Unrated

Black & White

Run Time: 95 minutes

Dolby Digital

Paramount Pictures