The Next Voice You Hear was a film made in 1950 by the MGM Studio. I first saw this film on a late night movie program and it was a curiously interesting find. Surprisingly produced by a major Hollywood studio it would today probably have been an indie.
The story follows the life of a family after the War. Life is starting to become normal and suburbia is in full swing. James Whitmore is "Joe Smith"- a working class man who is married, has debts, needs a new car. His wife is portrayed by Nancy Davis, who would one day be Mrs. Nancy Reagan. She is expecting a child, their second as their son is about ten years old.
Now, the title refers to an introductory method used by radio in the pre-TV era. One evening Joe is listening to the radio ready for his favorite program. It starts at 8:30 P.M. Apparently there is no radio program for the next day at work he mentions the fact if his coworkers heard the strange, yet peaceful voice that said it was God and He'd be talking on the radio for a few days. Naturally everyone thinks it's an Orson Welles prank or a new contest wherein you have to guess whose voice it is. The conspiracy theorists think it might be the Russians; after all the Cold War has started.
God continues to "chat" on the radio; we never hear His voice. We get the gist of His messages from the radio announcers or family members who write down what the voice states. The voice is heard in all the languages of the Earth, but the world is full of people with little faith; asking for miracles. So, one evening after He talks the suburb where Joe's family lives gets a tremendous deluge. The next day the voice talks about the miracles that already have happened- the air, the sun, the moon, the plains and hills. And more importantly the miracles we can create with each other.
On the 7th evening the churches are filled to capacity and at Joe's church he and his family await the voice at 8:30.
Personally, this film would make a nice re-make, especially in these days of world turmoils. Of course, radio and even television would be pre-historic. So, would God choose social media? Imagine if at 8:30 in the evening everyone gets a Tweet, FaceBook message, or whatever from someone claiming to be God? What would the international reaction be? Could a heavenly voice convince the world of love, peace, and justice?
But perhaps such a film today would be laughed at and criticized badly as religious fodder. It's still a film worth watching, no matter what one's faith is. Every day is a miracle; every breath we take; every thing we take for granted. The best miracle we could perform is to just be kind to each other, starting with our loved one and pay that love forward to the rest of the world.
