Back Street (1941)

Synopsis
Charles Boyer and Margaret Sullavan star in this adaptation of Fannie Hurst's tearjerking novel about a woman who chooses to stand beside a man who cannot marry her. Rae (Margaret Sullavan) is a woman from Ohio who meets a dashing gentleman from out of town, Walter (Charles Boyer). They soon fall for each other, but he's due to leave town shortly. As he's about to leave, he calls her from the ship with a question: there's a minister on board who can marry them. Will she join him? As she dashes to the docks, she meets an old flame, and the delay causes her to miss the boat. Five years later, Rae is in New York City and unexpectedly runs into Walter; assuming that she left him behind intentionally, he married another woman. When he realizes that she still loves him, they begin an affair. Rae is content to live her life as "the other woman" until Walter travels to Europe and neglects to call her when he returns; convinced that their romance is over, Rae goes back to Ohio and agrees to marry Curt (Richard Carlson), who loved her long ago. When Walter discovers that Rae has gone back home, he races to Ohio to reclaim her hand. This was the second film version of Back Street, following a 1932 adaptation starring Irene Dunne and John Boles and preceding a 1961 remake with Susan Hayward and John Gavin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide