Dead serious in its day and now considered a camp cult classic, MGM's The Next Voice You Hear (1950) focuses upon the reactions of the Smiths, a typical American family, when the voice of God begins delivering messages to the world's citizens over the radio. Adding to the camp element -- although she gives a pleasantly understated performance -- is the casting of Nancy Davis (later to become better known as First Lady Nancy Reagan) in the role of Mrs. Smith.

Although Voice is not a sequel, its leading characters are borrowed from an earlier MGM film, Joe Smith, American (1942). James Whitmore plays Joe, the dad who toils at an airplane factory, and Gary Gray completes the family unit as son Johnny. It is no coincidence, given the religious tone, that the parents are named Joe and Mary, and that the wife is pregnant. Like other listeners around the world, the Smiths are at first frightened, then inspired by the overriding theme of "Love thy Neighbor" as God takes over the airwaves on six consecutive evenings. A young, uncredited Chet Huntley is one of the radio announcers.

The movie was the pet project of Dore Schary, MGM's chief of production from 1947 to 1956. A champion of earnest "message pictures," Schary lavished more attention on this modestly budgeted film than on some of the studio's more lavish productions. William A. Wellman directs with a typically keen eye for no-nonsense characterization, helping to soften the film's potential for preachiness.

The Next Voice You Hear marked Davis's first leading role at MGM, where she was a contract player from 1949 to 1952. Although she never achieved true star status, Davis had her own dressing room on the studio lot, and her name appeared in giant letters on the marquee of Radio City Music Hall when Voice had its premiere there on June 29, 1950. Her marriage to Reagan came two years later.

Producer: Dore Schary
Director: William A. Wellman
Screenplay: Charles Schnee, from story by George Sumner Albee
Cinematography: William Mellor
Original Music: David Raksin
Editing: John D. Dunning
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons, Eddie Imazu
Principal Cast: James Whitmore (Joe Smith), Nancy Davis (Mrs. Mary Smith), Gary Gray (Johnny Smith), Lillian Bronson (Aunt Ethel), Art Smith (Mr. Brannan), Tom D'Andrea (Hap Magee).
BW-83m. Closed captioning.

by Roger Fristoe