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On 11 Nov 1918, "Smith," an amnesiac, shell-shocked
officer, who has lived in a county asylum in Melbridge, England for many
months, wanders into town for the first time, attracted by the sounds of
celebration at the end of World War I. In a tobaccon shop, Smith's
hesitating speech alerts the owner that he is from the asylum, but a
kindly entertainer, known as Paula Ridgeway, whispers that he should
leave, then takes him to a local pub.
Paula invites him to her show and gently draws him out.
Because "Smithy," as Paula calls him, has come down with the influenza,
she and her friend, barkeep "Biffer," take him in and nurse him back to
health. Smithy thrives under Paula's care and she obtains a job
for him with her troupe. When an asylum caretaker reveals that
they are still looking for a missing inmate, though, Paula runs away
with Smithy and takes him to a small town in Devon. They stay at a
local inn; soon she gets a job as a typist, while a thriving Smithy
begins to write. When he sells his first article to the Liverpool
Mercury, Smithy tells Paula that he loves her and proposes.
After their marriage, they move into a small cottage and,
in November 1920, Paula gives birth to a baby boy. A few days
later, Smithy receives a telegram from the Mercury asking him to
come to Liverpoool to discuss a permanent position on the paper.
Because Paula is still recovering from a difficult birth, he reluctantly
travels alone, planning to return the following night.
After checking into his hotel, Smithy walks toward the
Mercury office but is hit by a car and knocked unconscious.
When he comes to, he has no memory of the past three years and recalls
only his life as aristocrat Charles Rainier. Although confused,
Charles returns home, where he finds that his father has died and his
siblings are anticipating their inheritance. He also meets Kitty,
the teenaged daughter of his sister's new husband.
By 1932, Charles has become known as "the industrial
prince of England" for vastly increasing his family's fortunes, but is
haunted by the missing past that is tied to a latchkey he found in his
vest pocket after the accident. He has been loyally served for two
years by his private secretary, Margaret Hanson, whom Charles does not
recognize as Paula. One day, while dining with Kitty in a London
restaurant, Charles hears the voice of Melbridge psychiatrist Dr.
Jonathan Benet and is briefly reminded of something in his past but, as
always, the memory passes before he can capture it.
That same day, Charles tells Kitty, who has always loved
him, that he returns her feelings and later announces to Margaret that
he is going to marry Kitty. Margaret, whose son died in infancy,
struggles to maintain her composure and that night begs Benet, who has
become a good friend, to let her tell Charles everything. Benet
makes her realize that Charles has to find memories of "Smithy" on his
own.
On the day that Kitty and Charles are selecting music for
their wedding, one melody inexplicably reminds him of his past and he
momentarily looks at Kitty as if she were a stranger. Seeing her
cry brings him back to the present, but she tells him that they cannot
go through with the wedding because he can never return feelings for her
that belong to someone from his past.
After Charles goes to Liverpool for clues to his past,
Margaret follows him to say that the Liberal party has requested that he
stand for election to a newly vacated seat in Parliament. While in
Liverpool, Margaret tries gently to lead him to clues about his lost
life, but even finding "Smithy's" suitcase does not jar his memory.
Charles is soon elected to Parliament and confesses to Margaret that,
from time to time, he has had the feeling that he knew her in the past.
He then proposes that they marry in a kind of "merger" in which she
would help him in his political life and says that he can offer only
sincere friendship. She discusses the proposal with Benet, who
loves Magaret himself, and disregards his admonition that she will be
hurt.
After Margaret and Charles marry, she becomes his
greatest asset and dearest friend. Charles is soon knighted and on their
third anniversary Charles gives her an expensive necklace. Despite
Charles' affection and friendship, Margaret yearns for the love she
shared with Smithy and decides that she needs to go away for a few
weeks. As Charles uneasily sees her off on the train, he receives
word that there is labor unrest in his cable works in Melbridge.
He soon settles the dispute and, as he goes through the town, he
surprises his assistant, Harrison, by going right to the tobacco shop,
even though he had just said that he had never been in Melbridge before.
The next day, Margaret, who had been staying at the old
Devon inn, learns from the proprietress that a man has just been by
asking for the former owner and inquiring about a nearby cottage.
Margaret then rushes to her old home. At the cottage, Charles's
memories begin to flood back as his latchkey opens the front door.
When Margaret arrives and calls him "Smithy," he finally recognizes that
Margaret is Paula and the two happily embrace. |
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