The Impatient Years

When he is called to testify at his daughter Janie's divorce hearing, William Smith advises the judge against granting the divorce. Smith suggests that the couple's problems arose during their long separation after a whirl-wind courtship and recalls the day that Janie's soldier husband, Andy Anderson, returned home on medical leave: After serving overseas in the military for a year and a half, Andy arrives at the bus station in a small town outside San Francisco and is met by his nervous bride. Having known each other for only four days before Andy was sent overseas, the two greet each other as strangers. Taking Andy home to the house that she shares with her father and their boarder, Henry Fairchild, Janie introduces him to their infant son Bill. Henry, who has fallen in love with Janie and has served as a surrogate father to Bill, resents Andy's presence. That night, Andy insists on sleeping on the floor, and when he is late for breakfast the next morning, he incurs Janie's wrath. When Andy accuses his wife of being stuck in her housekeeping routine, she charges him with living with his head in the sky. She then slugs him with a diaper, and after he retaliates, they wind up in divorce court. His testimony complete, Smith urges the judge to send the couple back to San Francisco, where they met, and allow them to relive their courtship. The judge embraces Smith's suggestion, and makes their divorce contingent upon them retracing the four days they spent together in San Francisco. After leaving Bill in the custody of the court, the couple travel to the city. At the hotel, their request for separate rooms piques the interest of the desk clerk and bellboy. After restaging their meeting in the coffee shop, they proceed to the point overlooking the Bay Bridge, where Andy recalls the romantic speech that he made to Janie prior to proposing. Andy's kiss begins to melt Janie's icy attitude and they return to the hotel. Janie's door is guarded by the curious bellboy, and when Janie leaves her room to visit the bathroom down the hall, Andy, who has the adjoining room, taps a tentative love message on the wall. The knocking upsets the bellboy, who chastises Andy for disturbing the other hotel guests. The next morning, Andy and Janie go to city hall to apply for a marriage license, and confound the clerk by informing him that they are already married. That night, Andy takes Janie dancing and is about to admit that he missed her when another soldier interrupts and asks Janie to dance. When Andy begins to argue with the soldier, an MP intervenes and Janie comes to her husband's defense. Back at the Smith house, meanwhile, a letter arrives revoking Andy's leave and ordering him to report to a San Francisco hospital. When Smith calls the hotel to tell Andy the news, the desk clerk claims that Andy has gone insane. Alarmed, Smith and Henry rush to San Francisco. On the day of their wedding, Janie and Andy reluctantly climb the stairs to the minister's house and ring the doorbell. When they tell the minister that he has already married them, he invites them to tea. Remembering the ceremony, the minister's wife voices her certainty that they are a good match and discusses the sanctity of marriage. Her speech causes Janie and Andy to reflect on their marriage, and Andy realizes that he wants to be around to see Bill take his first steps. At dinner, Janie becomes ill and Andy helps her back to the hotel. As they pass the registration desk, they joke with the clerk that Andy has poisoned her. After Andy puts Janie to bed, they decide to reconcile and work to overcome their differences. Meanwhile, downstairs in the lobby, Smith and Henry have just arrived at the hotel, and when the clerk informs them that Andy has poisoned Janie, Smith rushes upstairs and bursts into Janie's room just as Andy is trying to cure Janie's hiccups by holding a pillow over her face, causing Smith to think that he is trying to suffocate her. At that moment, the MPs, summoned by Henry, enter the room, arrest Andy and take him to the hospital. When Smith and Janie go to the hospital in search of Andy, they are informed that he has been ordered back to duty and, with only a few hours of liberty remaining, has gone. Downhearted, Janie returns to the courthouse and tells the judge that she no longer wants a divorce because she and Andy have decided to keep their feet in housekeeping and their heads in the sky. When the judge informs Janie that her baby is at home waiting for her, Janie returns to the house and finds Andy teaching Bill to walk. Father and son then walk to Janie, and they all embrace.