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Now, Voyager

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Cast & crew, irving rapper, bette davis, paul henreid, claude rains, gladys cooper, bonita granville, photos & videos, technical specs.

Dowdy, thirtyish Charlotte Vale lives with her dictatorial, aristocratic mother in a Boston mansion. Fearing that Charlotte is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law Lisa brings psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith to the Vale home to examine her unobtrusively. Jaquith's observations and conversation with Charlotte convince him that she is, in fact, very ill, and he recommends that she visit his sanitarium, Cascade. Away from her domineering mother, Charlotte recovers quickly, but does not feel ready to return home and accepts Lisa's proposal of a long cruise as an alternative. On board the ship, a newly chic Charlotte is introduced to Jerry Durrance, who is also traveling alone. The two spend a day sight-seeing together, during which time the married Jerry asks Charlotte to help him choose gifts for his two daughters. Charlotte is touched when Jerry thanks her with a small bottle of perfume. Subsequently, Charlotte tells Jerry about her family and her breakdown and learns from his good friends, Deb and Frank McIntyre, that Jerry is unhappily married but will never leave his family. After the ship docks in Rio de Janeiro, Jerry and Charlotte become stranded on Sugarloaf Mountain and spend the night together. Having missed her boat, Charlotte stays with Jerry in Rio for five days before flying to Buenos Aires to rejoin the cruise. Although they have fallen in love, they promise not to see each other again. Back in Boston, Charlotte's family is stunned by her transformation. Her mother, however, is determined to regain control over her daughter. Charlotte's resolve to remain independent is strengthened by the timely arrival of some camellias. Although there is no card, Charlotte knows the flowers are from Jerry because he had called her by the nickname "Camille," and, reminded of his love, she is able to forge a new relationship with her mother. Charlotte eventually becomes engaged to eligible widower Elliot Livingston. One night, at a party, Charlotte encounters Jerry, who is now working as an architect, a profession he had renounced years before in deference to his wife's wishes. His youngest daughter Tina is now seeing Dr. Jaquith for her own emotional problems. Charlotte asks Jerry not to blame himself for their affair as she gained much from knowing that he loved her. This chance encounter forces Charlotte to realize that she does not love Elliot passionately, and they break their engagement, so angering Mrs. Vale that during an argument with Charlotte, she has a heart attack and dies. Guilty and distraught, Charlotte returns to Cascade, where she meets Tina. Seeing herself in the girl, Charlotte takes charge of her, with Jaquith's tentative approval. When Tina improves enough, Charlotte takes her home to Boston. Later, Jerry and Jaquith visit the Vale home, and Jerry is delighted by the change in Tina. Charlotte warns him, however, that she is only able to keep Tina with her on condition that she and Jerry end their affair. Jerry believes that he is responsible for her decision not to marry Elliot, but Charlotte reassures him otherwise, saying that Tina is his gift to her and her way of being close to him. Jerry then asks if Charlotte is happy and she responds, "Well, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon; we have the stars."

Lee Patrick

Franklin Pangborn

Katherine Alexander

James Rennie

Mary Wickes

Michael ames.

Charles Drake

David clyde.

Frank Puglia

Janis wilson, claire du brey.

Don Douglas

Charlotte wynters, lester matthews, sheila hayward, bill edwards, isabel withers, yola d'avril, georges renavent, bill kennedy, reed hadley, elspeth dudgeon, george lessey.

Constance Purdy

Corbet morris, hilda plowright, tempe pigott, dorothy vaughan, martha acker, al alleborn, eddie allen, george becker, edward blatt, meta carpenter, phyllis clark, joseph cramer, emmett emerson, frank evans, leo f. forbstein, hugh friedhofer, robert haas, robert b. lee, rydo loshak, fred m. maclean, scotty more, harold noyes, charles o'bannon, casey robinson, marguerite royce, sherry shourds, gilbert souto, max steiner, willard van enger, perc westmore, photo collections.

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No member of the Vale family has ever had a nervous breakdown. - Mrs. Henry Windle Vale

Well there's one having one now. - Dr. Jasquith

Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. - Charlotte Vale

Remember what it says in the Bible, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." - Dr. Jasquith

How does it feel to be the Lord? - Charlotte Vale

Not so very wonderful, since the Free Will Bill was passed. Too little power. - Dr. Jasquith

I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid, mother. I'm not afraid. - Charlotte Vale

A maiden aunt is an ideal person to select presents for young girls. - Charlotte

Producer Hal B. Wallis originally wanted Irene Dunne for the lead role, but Bette Davis convinced him otherwise.

The Walt Whitman poem Bette Davis reads (just before leaving Cascades) is "The Untold Want" from Songs of Parting (just 2 lines): "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted / Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find."

Bette Davis complained about 'Max Steiner' 's Academy Award-winning musical score, saying that it was too intrusive on her performance.

The film is remembered for the scene in which Paul Henreid places two cigarettes in his mouth, lights them, and then passes one to Bette Davis, but it wasn't an original idea - a similar exchange occurred ten years earlier between Davis and 'George Brent' in _Rich Are Always With Us, The (1932)_ .

The title of Olive Higgins Prouty's novel was taken from Walt Whitman's poem "The Untold Want." In a letter to literary agent Harold Ober included in the Warner Bros. Collection at the USC Cinema-Television Library, Prouty made the following suggestions about the novel's adaptation: "...In my novel I tell my story by the method of frequent flashbacks....It has occurred to me, however, that by employing the silent picture for the flashbacks, in combination with the talking picture, similar results can be accomplished, and with much interest to an audience because of the novelty of the technique....I am one of those who believe the silent picture had artistic potentialities which the talking picture lacks. The acting, facial expressions, every move and gesture is more significant....Of course the silent picture has 'gone out' now, but I believe it has a place, for depicting what goes on in the mind of a character...."        Various contemporary sources add the following information about the production: Mary Astor was first signed as the second female lead and Norma Shearer and Irene Dunne were approached to play the role of "Charlotte." Producer Hal Wallis sent Ginger Rogers a copy of Olive Higgins Prouty's novel, hoping to interest her in the film. Juanita Quigley tested for the role of "Tina." Director Edmund Goulding wrote a treatment for the film and, at that time, was scheduled to direct; later Michael Curtiz was assigned to direct the film. Some scenes were filmed on location in Laguna Beach, CA and the Cascade scenes were filmed at Lake Arrowhead, CA. Although Frank Puglia's character is called "Giovanni" in the film, contemporary reviews, the screenplay and the CBCS list it as "Manoel."        According to modern sources, Prouty had written an elaborate cigarette-lighting ceremony for her characters, which proved too awkward to complete on film. In its place, Henreid invented a romantic gesture which has since become famous. He lit two cigarettes at the same time and handed one of the cigarettes to "Charlotte." Modern feminist critics have described Now Voyager as an "initiation" or "coming of age" film in which a psychologically immature woman becomes a self-determining adult and comment favorably on the accurate depiction of the mother-daughter relationship. Although contemporary critics derided the film as contrived and melodramatic, it was Warner Bros. fourth-highest grossing film in 1942 and has enjoyed an enduring popularity. Max Steiner won an Oscar for Best Score, and both Gladys Cooper and Bette Davis were nominated for Academy Awards. The film was adapted for radio and, starring Bette Davis and Gregory Peck, was broadcast on The Lux Radio Theatre on February 11, 1946 and May 24, 1955.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States 1942

Released in United States on Video April 5, 1988

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Now, Voyager

• Charlotte's bemoaning of her entirely-aborted life: "What man would ever look at me and say, 'I want you.'? I'm fat. My mother doesn't approve of dieting. Look at my shoes. My mother approves of sensible shoes. Look at the books on my shelves. My mother approves of good solid books. I'm my mother's well-loved daughter. I'm her companion. I am my mother's servant. My mother says! My mother. My mother! MY MOTHER!"
• after running from the living room with a nervous breakdown, Charlotte was invited to attend Jaquith's Vermont sanitarium known as Cascade; before returning home, Jaquith sent his recuperated patient forth on a long ocean voyage, urged by Lisa's suggestion and a typed up Walt Whitman poem: 'Untold Want, By Life and Land Ne'er Granted, Now, Voyager, Sail Thou Forth to Seek and Find'
• the first major transformation of Charlotte, seen on an ocean cruise, from a dowdy, 30-ish aging female to a vibrant beauty
• during a shore trip, her introduction to handsome and suave European, Jeremiah 'Jerry' D. Durrance (Paul Henreid); while dining together on an outdoor patio, in the first of many cigarette lightings in the film, Charlotte was impressed that he graciously lit her cigarette that she held to her mouth
• the sequence in Rio when Jerry and Charlotte hired a car and driver for sightseeing, but their vehicle ran off a windy, mountainous road, and the stranded couple were forced to seek overnight shelter in an abandoned cabin during a rainstorm (they kissed and presumably had sex after the fade-out); afterwards, as they began to fall in love, seen in a travelogue montage, they spent five amorous days together in Rio - sight-seeing, eating in restaurants, and dancing
• the balcony scene in Rio when Jerry for the first time lit two cigarettes simultaneously and gave one to Charlotte, who confessed: "I'm immune to happiness," but then shed tears of gratitude (she admitted: "I'm such a fool, such an old fool. These are only tears of gratitude - an old maid's gratitude for the crumbs offered...")
• their goodbye scene in South America at the airport - the two believed that they might never see each other again (Charlotte: "I hate goodbyes") - knowing that Jerry was lovelessly married to a dependent Isabel and wouldn't leave her; in the scene, Jerry lit two more cigarettes and passed one to Charlotte and then told her: "Would it help you to know I'll miss you every moment?" - she replied: "So will I, Jerry, so will I" before a few parting kisses
• the sequence of Charlotte's return to Boston for a dramatic confrontation with her waiting, tight-lipped, tyranically-hostile, disdainful mother, who wished to reestablish control over her daughter; although changed, Charlotte was still ridiculed and victimized, but this time, she asserted her independence: "I've come home to live with you again here in the same house. But it can't be in the same way. I've been living my own life, making my own decisions for a long while now. It's impossible to go back to being treated like a child again. I don't think I'll do anything of importance that will displease you, but Mother, from now on, you must give me complete freedom, including deciding what I wear, where I sleep, what I read"
• once she again encountered Jerry in Boston, Charlotte realized that she was still in love with him, although she had another suitor, attractive widower and eminent, wealthy Bostonian Elliot Livingston (John Loder) and they were engaged; however, she remained uncertain, indecisive and uncommitted to Elliot
• in a sensitive scene, she met with Jerry at the Back Bay Station as he prepared to board a train, and honestly confessed: "I thought I was getting over you, Jerry"; shortly later, she broke off the engagement with Elliot, realizing that she could only be happy with someone she was passionately in love with ("You ought to marry someone who would enjoy what you enjoy. Let's not linger over it, Elliot. (Elliot: "Well, I-I suppose you'll meet somebody sometime.") No, I don't think I'll ever marry. Some women just aren't the marrying kind. But you'll meet someone. Thank you for thinking it was me. I have that on my record anyway"); after she courteously said goodbye to him, to her inner self, in voice-over, she lamented the loss of a marriage prospect as she climbed her stairs: "It's like the time when my father died. His breathing just stopped. All over. Finished. Ended forever. You fool, oh you fool! Now you'll never have a home of your own, or a man of your own, or a child of your own"
• the scene of a bitter quarrel with her mother after informing her of the breakup with Elliot; her mother was cruelly incensed: "You've never done anything to make your mother proud, or to make yourself proud either. Why, I should think you'd be ashamed to be born and live all your life as Charlotte Vale. Miss Charlotte Vale"; when Charlotte disowned her mother ( If that's a mother's love, I want no part of it") - her independent actions contributed to her mother's fatal stroke and heart attack in her chair while Charlotte was on the other side of the room; afterwards, Charlotte blamed herself and suffered from deep feelings of guilt and insecurity - and experienced a relapse
• at the sanitarium, Charlotte met and befriended Jerry's twelve year-old daughter Christine ("Tina") (Janis Wilson), a shy, braces-wearing, paranoid, depressed and withdrawn young girl who had been at the sanitarium for almost two weeks - a kindred spirit; Charlotte restored her own condition by identifying with and growing close to Tina, becoming her adoptive mother and therapeutic counselor
• although Charlotte knew that Jerry would never leave his legal wife, Charlotte had found something far happier and more enduring in their present platonic arrangement - with his 12 year-old daughter Tina as "their" newly-restored, changed child
• the final famous tearjerking scene between them, including his cool question: "Shall we just have a cigarette on it?" - symbolizing his assent that Tina would be in Charlotte's charge; again, Jerry lit two cigarettes, as Charlotte delivered the final closing line; she gratefully looked up at the night sky while Max Steiner's score swelled, realizing that she would be happy taking care of Tina - "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon...we have the stars"

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Film / Now, Voyager

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"My mother didn't think that Leslie was suitable for a Vale of Boston. What man is suitable, Doctor? She's never found one. What man would ever look at me and say, 'I want you'? I'm fat. My mother doesn't approve of dieting. Look at my shoes. My mother approves of sensible shoes. Look at the books on my shelves. My mother approves of good, solid books. I'm my mother's well-loved daughter. I'm her companion. I'm my mother's servant. My mother says. My mother! My mother! MY MOTHER!" — Charlotte Vale

An Academy Award -winning 1942 film directed by Irving Rapper, starring Bette Davis , Paul Henreid , and Claude Rains . A romantic weepie, Now, Voyager is probably a perfect example of the "woman's film" of the '40s.

The story centers around Charlotte Vale (Davis), a repressed Boston spinster whose tyrannical mother (Gladys Cooper) has driven her to the edge of a nervous breakdown. Lisa, Charlotte's well-intentioned sister-in-law, feels something must be done. Enter the renowned Dr. Jaquith (Rains), who takes her to his sanitarium to begin her transformation. Part of her healing involves a South American cruise, where she meets the charming Jerry (Henreid)...

This classic Hollywood melodrama was well-received at the time and is seen as one of Davis' definitive films. The scene where Jerry lights two cigarettes and hands one to Charlotte became famous as a subtle way of implying an intimate relationship. The three stars reunited later for Deception .

• Absurdly Elderly Mother : Lampshaded. Charlotte's mother had three boys in her youth but gave birth to her daughter when she was already in her forties - which is rare but possible depending on what age specifically she was. Her actress Gladys Cooper was only fifty-six, but Charlotte is said to be over twenty.
• Abusive Parents : Both Tina and Charlotte's respective mothers are abusive. This helps Charlotte understand and help Tina.
• Affectionate Nickname : Camille becomes an endearing nickname for Charlotte.
• Amicable Exes : Late in the film, Charlotte chooses to break her engagement to Elliot Livingston. They do so amicably and acknowledge that they'll probably still see each other regularly in high society.
• …And That Little Girl Was Me : How Charlotte tells Tina about her difficult past.
• Animal Motifs : Charlotte is compared to a butterfly, as she wears a cape with one embroidered on it - fittingly in one of the first post-makeover scenes.
• One of the earliest examples. Bette Davis is first dressed down with glasses, frumpy hair, bushy eyebrows, and an unflattering dress - only to get a glamorous makeover early on. However, the physical makeover doesn't automatically make her life better; it's just one of the steps. It's also worth noting that the twenty-year-old Charlotte is shown to be quite pretty as well, meaning the makeover is bringing out the beauty she already had that had just been lost over the years.
• Tina as well, who's introduced with messy hair, thick glasses, and braces on her teeth. For her party towards the end, the glasses and braces are gone and her hair is done in an updo.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows : Pre-makeover Charlotte has very thick eyebrows. She gets them plucked, naturally.
• Bittersweet Ending : Leading to one of the most famous lines in film history. Charlotte: Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars.
• Bowdlerization : The novel made it clear that Jerry had a nervous breakdown similar to Charlotte's thanks to his wife's abusive nature. It isn't mentioned in the film, because of course, the romantic male lead can't have mental health problems - but the subtext is still quite obvious to a modern audience.
• Bratty Teenage Daughter : Tina from her mother's point of view. But Charlotte has been there and knows the brattiness is because the girl is hurting deep down.
• Butt-Monkey : Charlotte's status at the beginning of the film. Her niece's teasing leads to this outburst: Charlotte: Go on, torture me. Go on, torture me. You like making fun of me, don't you? You think it's fun making fun of me, don't you?
• Call-Back : When we're introduced to Charlotte, Lisa holds her arms open for a hug that the former slowly and awkwardly walks into. After she returns from the cruise, this time Charlotte throws her arms open and hugs her just as tenderly.
• Chick Flick : One of the most famous woman-oriented films of The '40s .
• Children Raise You : Downplayed. Caring for Tina does help Charlotte find her calling in life; although she's best suited to raising Tina because she's experienced similar problems and can relate to her .
• Cool Aunt : June comes to see Charlotte as such after she returns from her cruise a new woman.
• Costume Porn : Charlotte's makeover allows her to be dressed in lots of 1940s high fashion.
• Crazy Cat Lady : Charlotte jokes that she'll become a crazy cat lady after she decides she won't marry anyone.
• Charlotte collapses crying into Jerry's arms when she realises that he does indeed love her.
• This is echoed in Cascade later when this time it's Charlotte comforting the crying Tina.
• Did Not Get the Girl : Jerry and Charlotte realise that they can't act on their feelings and they must put Tina first .
• Disappeared Dad : Charlotte's father died shortly after she was born, with the result that she never knew him.
• Disposable Fiancé : Charlotte gets engaged to a handsome suitor after coming back to Boston, but she doesn't love him, so she calls it quits.
• Distracted from Death : Charlotte turns away from her mother for a few seconds, and she appears to have a heart attack .
• Driven to Madness : Charlotte is here when the film begins. Her mother might not have done this deliberately, but as Dr. Jaquith tells her Jaquith: My dear Mrs. Vale, if you had deliberately and maliciously planned to destroy your daughter's life, you couldn't have done it more completely.
• Dude, She's Like in a Coma : Jerry kisses Charlotte while she's asleep. It's unknown if she knew about it and was just pretending to sleep.
• Everything's Better with Sparkles : A good portion of Charlotte's post-makeover outfits are dresses with sequins or glitter on them.
• Evil Matriarch : Mrs. Windle Vale is a cruel old lady who is openly abusive to her youngest daughter. She isn't much kinder to her other relatives, either.
• Expository Hairstyle Change : Tina is introduced with her hair completely down and messy, symbolising her antisocial nature. After being given a pep talk by Charlotte, she's wearing it in Girlish Pigtails . By the final sequence of the film, when she's doing much better, it's in a glamorous updo.
• Extreme Doormat : Jerry is a pawn of his wife Isabelle, and is constantly apologising and putting Honor Before Reason - in fact wanting to stop Tina's therapy because he feels guilty for Charlotte having responsibility of it.
• Flower Motifs : Charlotte is associated with camellias. White camellias specifically - which symbolise adoration.
• Funny Foreigner : Giuseppe, the chauffeur of Charlotte and Jerry's touring car in Rio.
• The Ghost : We never meet or see Jerry's wife Isabelle, except for a picture. Most of the information about her we get from other characters.
• The Glasses Gotta Go : Dr. Jaquith takes Charlotte's glasses off her nose and snaps them in two. Of course in this case it's implied that Charlotte has never needed them - or else they corrected her vision long ago - and her mother insisted on her wearing them to look more demure.
• Good Adultery, Bad Adultery : Jerry's wife Isabelle is abusive in the same way Charlotte's mother is to her. This allows their affair to be treated sympathetically by the narrative, even if they don't end up together at the end.
• Good Girls Avoid Abortion : Played subtly. It's said that Jerry's wife Isabelle went to a doctor to try and have him say she wasn't medically safe to have another child (allowing her to abort Tina). Of course she didn't, but the fact that she wanted to is to foreshadow what an abuser she is.
• Played with once, when Charlotte is dowdy and overweight, played straight the second time, after The Makeover .
• Tina gets one too towards the end.
• June, unfortunately, pushes a lot of Charlotte's Berserk Buttons early on, resulting in an outburst.
• Jerry likewise insults Charlotte's pre-makeover appearance when looking at a photo and assuming the "fat lady with the heavy brows and all the hair" is another relative.
• Irony : Charlotte previously fell in love with a man aboard a cruise ship. He would have married her, but her mother put a stop to it. She meets another man on a cruise ship, this time away from her mother's influence...and she can't be with him for different reasons.
• It's All About Me : According to Jerry's friend Deb, Isabelle likes to go on about what a "self-sacrificing mother she's been" - ignoring that she made Jerry give up the work that made him happy to provide for her and their children, which ended up causing a nervous breakdown (in the book anyway).
• Literary Allusion Title : The title is a quote from a Walt Whitman poem, which Dr. Jacquith reads and then gives to Charlotte.
• Little Black Dress : A more modest one than most examples, but Charlotte dons a nice one for dinner after arriving home - against her mother's wishes. It's plain, and the only ornament she wears are the camellias Jerry sent her.
• Madwoman in the Attic : Charlotte could be seen as a deconstruction. As the Old Maid of the family with mental health problems, she's kept in a room on the highest floor of the family's mansion. Instead of this being to keep her safe from the cruel world, it's instead conditioning brought on because of her mother's wishes. By letting Charlotte out into the world - and giving her the right therapy - she's able to blossom as a person.
• Maiden Aunt : Charlotte is this, and she's the protagonist! She's vaguely late twenties or early thirties (her actress Bette Davis was 33 at the time of filming) and is unmarried and reclusive. She cynically says to Jerry that every family has one like her.
• The Makeover : Charlotte is first introduced to us feet-first, walking down the stairs. The camera pans up. We see sensible shoes, fat ankles, thick tights and a dowdy dress. After her makeover, she is re-introduced to us in the same way. This time, we see fashionable high-heels, trim ankles, stockings, and a tailored suit. It is played with a little, though, as Charlotte is still shown to be mentally fragile under her sophisticated new look.
• Mental Health Recovery Arc : For both Charlotte and Tina, in a very ahead-of-the-time depiction for the 1940s.
• The Mistress : Charlotte is Jerry's mistress. Treating adultery as sympathetic was unusual for a movie made in The '40s .
• Motor Mouth : June doesn't know the art of short and snappy sentences.
• My Beloved Smother : A particularly malign example. Charlotte's domineering mother seems to take pleasure in tormenting her.
• Nice to the Waiter : A contrast is drawn between Charlotte and her mother in this regard; Charlotte treats all the servants nicely, even giving some of her old clothes to one of them. Her mother orders them about like dogs.
• Not Afraid of You Anymore : Charlotte says this to her mother after coming home from her cruise and her romance with Jerry.
• "Pan Up to the Sky" Ending : After Charlotte's "we have the stars" closing line, the camera pans up to show those stars as the movie ends.
• Parental Substitute : Charlotte takes on this role for Tina. It fulfills a lot of psychological needs for all parties concerned.
• Parents Are Wrong : The plot revolves almost entirely around the fact that Charlotte's mother is wrong about everything and has inflicted some serious psychological damage as a result. Charlotte's character arc is all about finding herself and learning to stand up to her mother, including one case where she turns down a marriage proposal despite her mother's wishes.
• Parting-Words Regret : Charlotte's mother dies during an argument with her, literally right before Charlotte apologises.
• Pet the Dog : Charlotte's mother leaves the majority of wealth to her, even calling her "my beloved daughter" in the will.
• Pretty in Mink : Charlotte's new glamorous wardrobe includes a mink coat.
• Purely Aesthetic Glasses : Part of Mom's attempt to make Charlotte as frumpy as possible is forcing her to wear glasses she doesn't really need.
• The Remake : It's subtle, but the telenovela La otra takes a lot of background and plot points from the movie: the mistreated daughter of an abusive female patrician who did not wish for her to be born develops mental health issues as a result of her mother's constant emotional and financial abuse. She briefly finds love but her mother takes it from her because of her need for control and she becomes a recluse and an "old maid". Later, she has a full mental health breakdown but a kind friend and a nice doctor bring her to a sanatorium and she recovers. She goes on a cruise, gets a makeover, and has an affair (briefly under an assumed identity) with a man who is abused by his manipulative wife and tries to protect his daughter, whose experience of abuse echoes the heroine's. The heroine ends up developing maternal feelings for the child, whom she supports and loves, fulfilling her longstanding desire for a child. Other similiarities include a short-lived attempt to get over the man she loves through a more reasonable engagement and her finally standing up to her mother, who proceeds to fake a fall down a flight of stairs. Besides, the protagonist briefly considers the nickname Carlota (as a secret nickname that her surrogate daughter might use).
• Rule of Symbolism : Charlotte's outfit when she first has dinner with Jerry has a cape embroidered with butterflies - showing how she herself is a butterfly that has finally blossomed.
• Servile Snarker : Dora, the nurse who tends to Charlotte's mother. She's more than a match for the old battleax (as Charlotte puts it: "Dora, I suspect you're a treasure."). Mrs. Vale: Dora, I want my head rubbed, my pillows fluffed and another of those hot toddies. Dora: ( completely deadpan ) Which would you like first?
• She Cleans Up Nicely : Charlotte after she gets rid of the frumpy look. Tina as well when Jerry arrives at the house for her party.
• The Shrink : Dr. Jaquith, who runs a retreat for rich people suffering from depression.
• Smoking Is Cool : The movie's most famous scene features Jerry and Charlotte lighting each other's cigarettes.

• Staircase Tumble : The malevolent Mrs. Vale pulls a tumble down the stairs deliberately to guilt Charlotte.
• Stepford Smiler : Jerry is hurting deep down because of his unhappy marriage, but he does take The Pollyanna route most of the time.
• Sweet and Sour Grapes : Charlotte can rely on getting a nice inheritance if she complies with her mother's wishes, so she's not written out of the will (though she says she isn't afraid to try making it on her own). Part of something mother approves of is an engagement to Elliot Livingston. Charlotte doesn't go through with the marriage, which her mother disapproves of, but her mother dies shortly after. So Charlotte gets the inheritance after all .
• There Is Only One Bed : Jerry and Charlotte end up in a variation of this situation in Rio when they get put in the same cabin of a cruise ship.
• Train-Station Goodbye : Jerry and Charlotte have one after their reunion in Boston.
• Troubled Child : Tina, who has similar neuroses to Charlotte due to being raised in a similar household.
• Unexplained Accent : Jerry speaks with Paul Henreid's Austrian accent, and his daughter Tina speaks with an American one. We can only assume that the unseen wife and mother Isabelle is American, and Tina's speech patterns came from her.
• Charlotte is the youngest of four, and she's the protagonist. She's also the one who inherits her family's wealth when her mother dies.
• Tina is likewise the youngest in her family.
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Now, voyager, common sense media reviewers.

Lots of appeal for highly romantic teens.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Some tense family scenes

A lot of smoking, drinking.

Parents need to know that this movie has a lot of appeal for highly romantic teenagers of both sexes, and for those who are interested in the dynamics and impact of dysfunctional families.

Violence & Scariness

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie has a lot of appeal for highly romantic teenagers of both sexes, and for those who are interested in the dynamics and impact of dysfunctional families. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

You can have the stars

What's the story.

Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) is the repressed and depressed daughter of an imperious mother (Gladys Cooper). Miserable and insecure, she begins seeing psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains). At his sanitarium she develops some self worth, and takes a cruise before returning home. On the ship, she meets Jerry (Paul Henreid), begins to bloom under his attention, and they fall in love. But Jerry is married and can't consider divorce. They say goodbye, and Charlotte returns home to her controlling mother. Charlotte meets Elliott (John Loder), a kind businessman, who wants to marry her, and her mother approves. But when she sees Jerry again, she turns Elliott down. This so infuriates her mother that she has a heart attack and dies. Overcome with guilt, Charlotte returns to Dr. Jaquith. But at the sanitarium, she meets a troubled young girl, Tina, Jerry's daughter. In reaching out to Tina, she strength and sense of purpose. When Charlotte goes home, Tina moves in with her. Jerry at first wants to take Tina away, thinking it is too much of an imposition, but Charlotte persuades him that it is a way for them to be close.

Is It Any Good?

NOW, VOYAGER has a lot of appeal for highly romantic teenagers of both sexes, and for those who are interested in the dynamics and impact of dysfunctional families. Charlotte's mother is completely self-obsessed, consumed with power, incapable of compassion, much less love, for her daughter, but it is also clear that there is no way for Charlotte to be successful in pleasing her mother. In the end, Charlotte's independence and self-respect are much more threatening to her mother, who literally cannot survive Charlotte's assertion of her right to her own life.

The title of the movie is from a line by Walt Whitman that Dr. Jaquith gives to Charlotte: "Now voyager, sail forth to seek and find." Charlotte learns not to be afraid of what she will find, to risk getting hurt, to risk allowing herself to be known, to risk caring about someone else. It is also worthwhile for kids to see that Charlotte must love herself before she is able to love someone else, and that just as Jerry's love helps her to bloom, she is able to do the same for Tina.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about why Charlotte had such a hard time feeling good about herself. Why did Jerry and Charlotte decide not to see each other any more? Why did seeing Jerry make Charlotte change her mind about marrying Elliott? What did Charlotte's mother want from Charlotte? Was that fair? What should Charlotte have said to her mother? Why did helping Tina make Charlotte feel better?

Movie Details

• In theaters : October 31, 1942
• On DVD or streaming : November 6, 2001
• Cast : Bette Davis , Paul Henreid
• Director : Irving Rapper
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 117 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : June 2, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Star Trek: Voyager Trivia

Star trek: voyager trivia quizzes.

• Star Trek Universe

11 .   Average Star Trek Voyager Trivia     Multiple Choice   10 Qns Please just pick one of the four options or fill in the blank when needed. The rest is up to you. All I want for you is to have fun and test your "Voyager" knowledge. Average , 10 Qns, Tetley5000, Aug 12 03 Average Tetley5000 3017 plays

12 .   Take this 'Star Trek: Voyager' Quiz     Multiple Choice   15 Qns Just how much do you know about 'Star Trek: Voyager?' Easier , 15 Qns, TrekkieMage, Dec 28 09 Easier TrekkieMage 2320 plays

13 .   20 "Star Trek: Voyager" General Knowledge Questions     Multiple Choice   20 Qns A 20 question quiz for more avid "Voyager" fans Average , 20 Qns, edjthompson, Nov 30 14 Average edjthompson 314 plays

14 .   "Star Trek Voyager": The Lost Files #1     Multiple Choice   10 Qns In each of the imagined quotations below, a character from the "Star Trek: Voyager" universe is writing a personal log. Figure out which character the personal log would have belonged to based on the information given...or will you be lost for words? Tough , 10 Qns, NEXUSDARKBLUE, Oct 27 15 Tough NEXUSDARKBLUE 190 plays

15 .   'Star Trek Voyager' Quiz     Multiple Choice   10 Qns A regular viewer of the show should know the answers to most of these questions. Easier , 10 Qns, hsolo, Aug 07 21 Easier hsolo Aug 07 21 5606 plays

17 .   Very Easy 'Star Trek Voyager' Quiz     Multiple Choice   10 Qns 'Star Trek Voyager' is my favorite TV show. Easier , 10 Qns, VoyagerFanatic, Sep 24 11 Easier VoyagerFanatic 3398 plays

18 .   The Ultimate Star Trek Voyager Quiz     Multiple Choice   15 Qns Just a little quiz to test my quiz making skills, guess the episode from all 7 seasons. Average , 15 Qns, kat1703, Dec 23 09 Average kat1703 1575 plays

21 .   Name That Episode #19     Multiple Choice   10 Qns Trekking along further in this series with another challenging quiz! What entities will you encounter this time around? Difficult , 10 Qns, NEXUSDARKBLUE, Jan 13 16 Difficult NEXUSDARKBLUE 139 plays

22 .   'Star Trek: Voyager' Trivia     Multiple Choice   20 Qns A quiz to test your knowledge of the tv show 'Star Trek: Voyager.' Tough , 20 Qns, Rogue1686, Jul 09 12 Tough Rogue1686 2408 plays

23 .   Questions on "Star Trek: Voyager" General Knowledge     Multiple Choice   10 Qns General knowledge of "Voyager." Easier , 10 Qns, Ruffle3, Oct 05 23 Easier Ruffle3 Oct 05 23 844 plays

24 .   "Star Trek: Voyager" - General Knowledge     Multiple Choice   10 Qns Ten straightforward questions on "Star Trek: Voyager". Average , 10 Qns, Arnott_90, Nov 30 14 Average Arnott_90 237 plays

25 .   Name That Episode #2     Multiple Choice   10 Qns Part 2 of my challenging "Name That Episode" series! Can you figure out the episode from the information that is given? Difficult , 10 Qns, NEXUSDARKBLUE, Oct 20 15 Difficult NEXUSDARKBLUE 143 plays

26 .   Name That Episode #4     Multiple Choice   10 Qns The fourth installment to my challenging "Name That Episode" quiz! Ready to engage? Difficult , 10 Qns, NEXUSDARKBLUE, Oct 20 15 Difficult NEXUSDARKBLUE 141 plays

27 .   "Voyager" Trivia!     Multiple Choice   10 Qns A quiz about the first Federation ship to chart the Delta Quadrant. Easier , 10 Qns, rexguns, Aug 10 05 Easier rexguns 1786 plays

28 .   'Voyager' Aptitude     Multiple Choice   15 Qns This quiz is just a fun, sometimes challenging test of your knowledge of some of the intracacies of the show. Enjoy! Difficult , 15 Qns, bigkihap, Apr 25 15 Difficult bigkihap 2316 plays

29 .   "Star Trek: Voyager" Quiz #3     Multiple Choice   10 Qns Ten tough question that will test your knowledge of the show. Tough , 10 Qns, 25or6to4, Feb 22 12 Tough 25or6to4 359 plays

30 .   10 "Star Trek: Voyager" Questions     Multiple Choice   10 Qns This quiz is about Voyager and its adventures in the Delta Quadrant. Average , 10 Qns, bash-um, Apr 14 11 Average bash-um 2199 plays

31 .   Fractured "Star Trek: Voyager" Characters     Multiple Choice   10 Qns This quiz should be fairly easy if you know the names of the main characters on the show. All you have to do is enter the name of the character that the words sound like. Make sure you know how to spell the names correctly. Good luck. Average , 10 Qns, milesprower18, Jul 04 21 Average milesprower18 Jul 04 21 440 plays

32 .   'Star Trek: Voyager' IQ Test     Multiple Choice   10 Qns Think you know "Star Trek: Voyager"? Take this IQ test and find out. Questions are designed to gradually increase in difficulty. Good luck! Average , 10 Qns, captainkirk19, Mar 12 10 Average captainkirk19 1980 plays

33 .   'Star Trek: Voyager' Quiz for Experts     Multiple Choice   10 Qns A quiz all about my faveorite three characters in 'Star Trek: Voyager': Seven of Nine, Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay. Enjoy. Average , 10 Qns, Teryl.125, Jan 14 16 Average Teryl.125 160 plays

34 .   Multiple Choice Quiz about Star Trek: Voyager     Multiple Choice   10 Qns Here's a little quiz concerning all seven seasons of the best 'Trek' spin-off created. Tough , 10 Qns, kat1703, Mar 01 09 Tough kat1703 1005 plays

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37 .   10 Questions on Star Trek Voyager     Multiple Choice   10 Qns This is very easy quiz if you watch the show. It's a mixture of all seasons. 'Voyager' rocks ! Tough , 10 Qns, nikyah, Apr 30 11 Tough nikyah 3113 plays

38 .   Average "Star Trek: Voyager" General Knowledge Quiz - 10 Questions     Multiple Choice   10 Qns This quiz will test you on your general knowledge of "Star Trek: Voyager". Average , 10 Qns, Ruffle33, Sep 01 10 Average Ruffle33 334 plays

39 .   "Star Trek: Voyager" Episodes     Multiple Choice   10 Qns This quiz will test you on your knowledge of the episodes. Tough , 10 Qns, Ruffle33, Sep 06 10 Tough Ruffle33 354 plays

40 .   'S.T. Voyager'     Multiple Choice   15 Qns 'Voyager' is a great show. Here are some easy questions. Good luck! Average , 15 Qns, nikyah, Mar 21 10 Average nikyah 2947 plays

41 .   Tough 'Star Trek: Voyager' Trivia     Multiple Choice   5 Qns This is a little difficult you must really know 'Voyager' to get a good score on this quiz. Tough , 5 Qns, nikyah, Jan 26 12 Tough nikyah 3468 plays

42 .   U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656     Multiple Choice   10 Qns A quiz on the technology used in the U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656. Average , 10 Qns, rexguns, Feb 25 10 Average rexguns 1118 plays

Star Trek: Voyager Trivia Questions

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Now, Voyager Reviews

It fits within the genre and it is a great show for Davis’s talents.

Full Review | Feb 7, 2023

Davis gives a captivating career-high turn as Charlotte Vale...

Full Review | Jul 21, 2022

It was directed by a certain Irving Rapper, who, quite possibly, may not be a fool. Unfortunately, this is how they degrade the tragic heroine of The Little Foxes, The Letter, Of Human Bondage.

Full Review | Dec 15, 2021

This is a movie in which all the elements come together in perfect harmony to give an essentially hackneyed theme the imprint of greatness.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 14, 2021

In this conflict between inner and outer beauty, loving oneself without the affirmation of others, altruism, self-truth vs societal expectation and discovering that happiness comes from within, Now, Voyager -- and its leading lady -- soars.

Full Review | Aug 5, 2021

This film is exquisitely crafted and passionately acted.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 4, 2021

Bette Davis, as the neurotic daughter, Claude Rains, the doctor, and Paul Henreid, combine to make a fine production.

Full Review | Nov 19, 2020

It may be a standard tale of forbidden romance, but it dwells on an uncommon twosome; these past-their-prime souls aren't the typical fare for a melodramatic love yarn.

Full Review | Original Score: 10/10 | Aug 13, 2020

Tender, poignant and lusciously calibrated by Rapper, Now, Voyager is one of the few romantic melodramas which manages a timelessness due to its almost accidental universality.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 11, 2020

...a part that's perfect for Davis, which makes it odd that Now, Voyager feels the need to do so much of the work for her.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 3, 2020

Davis' performance anchors [the story], preventing it from flying off into the realm of camp, turning an outlandish story into one painfully human and universal.

Full Review | Original Score: 9/10 | Jan 9, 2020

the emotional resonance of Charlotte and Tina's surrogate mother-daughter connection is so strong that the film's plot contrivances are easy to forgive

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 27, 2019

Now, Voyager contains one classic image and one classic line of dialogue. As for the rest? It's soap opera par excellence.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 9, 2019

It's one of the better 'women pictures,' though it got too weepie, mushy and full of itself for me.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Feb 4, 2015

A superlative, juicy mother-daughter melodrama with top notch performance from Bette Davis, at the top of her form, and the rest of the cast.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Mar 5, 2011

Lots of appeal for highly romantic teens.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Dec 26, 2010

If you can resist Bette Davis in fat suit, hideous dress, and monobrow, you're not as gay as you think you are. I guess I kind of liked it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 28, 2010

It's all far more complicated than it needs to be, but then again, what would you cut?

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 27, 2010

Compulsively watchable four-hankie weepie.

Full Review | Oct 18, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 14, 2006

Things are finally looking up for the Voyager 1 interstellar spacecraft

Two of the four science instruments aboard the Voyager 1 spacecraft are now returning usable data after months of transmitting only gibberish, NASA scientists have announced.

I was once sitting with my father while Googling how far away various things in the solar system are from Earth. He was looking for exact numbers, and very obviously grew more invested with each new figure I shouted out. I was thrilled. The moon? On average, 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away. The James Webb Space Telescope ? Bump that up to about a million miles (1,609,344 km) away. The sun? 93 million miles (149,668,992 km) away.  Neptune ? 2.8  billion  miles (4.5 billion km) away. "Well, wait until you hear about Voyager 1," I eventually said, assuming he was aware of what was coming. He was not.

"NASA's  Voyager 1  interstellar spacecraft actually isn't even in the solar system anymore," I announced. "Nope, it's more than 15 billion miles (24 billion km)  away from us  — and it's getting even farther as we speak." I can't quite remember his response, but I do indeed recall an expression of sheer disbelief. There were immediate inquiries about how that's even physically possible. There were bewildered laughs, different ways of saying "wow," and mostly, there was a contagious sense of awe. And just like that, a new Voyager 1 fan was born.

It is easy to see why Voyager 1 is among the most beloved robotic space explorers we have — and it is thus easy to understand why so many people felt a pang to their hearts several months ago, when Voyager 1 stopped talking to us.

Related:  After months of sending gibberish to NASA, Voyager 1 is finally making sense again

For reasons unknown at the time, this spacecraft began sending back gibberish in place of the neatly organized and data-rich 0's and 1's it had been providing since its  launch in 1977 . It was this classic computer language which allowed Voyager 1 to converse with its creators while earning the title of "farthest human made object." It's how the spacecraft relayed vital insight that led to the discovery of new Jovian moons and, thanks to this sort of binary podcast, scientists incredibly identified a new ring of Saturn and created the solar system's first and only "family portrait." This code, in essence, is crucial to Voyager 1's very being.

Plus, to make matters worse, the issue behind the glitch turned out to be associated with the craft's Flight Data System, which is literally the system that transmits information about Voyager 1's health so scientists can correct any issues that arise. Issues like this one. Furthermore, because of the spacecraft's immense distance from its operators on Earth, it takes about 22.5 hours for a transmission to reach the spacecraft, and then 22.5 hours to receive a transmission back. Alas, things weren't looking good for a while — for about five months, to be precise.

But then, on April 20, Voyager 1  finally phoned home  with legible 0's and legible 1's.

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"The team had gathered early on a weekend morning to see whether telemetry would return," Bob Rasmussen, a member of the Voyager flight team, told Space.com. "It was nice to have everyone assembled in one place like this to share in the moment of learning that our efforts had been successful. Our cheer was both for the intrepid spacecraft and for the comradery that enabled its recovery."

And  then,  on May 22 , Voyager scientists released the welcome announcement that the spacecraft has successfully resumed returning science data from two of its four instruments, the plasma wave subsystem and magnetometer instrument. They're now working on getting the other two, the cosmic ray subsystem and low energy charged particle instrument, back online as well. Though there technically are six other instruments onboard Voyager, those had been out of commission for some time.

The comeback

Rasmussen was actually a member of the Voyager team in the 1970s, having worked on the project as a computer engineer before leaving for other missions including  Cassini , which launched the spacecraft that taught us almost everything we currently know about Saturn. In 2022, however, he returned to Voyager because of a separate dilemma with the mission — and has remained on the team ever since.

"There are many of the original people who were there when Voyager launched, or even before, who were part of both the flight team and the science team," Linda Spilker, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory , who also worked on the Voyager mission, told Space.com in the This Week from Space podcast on the TWiT network. "It's a real tribute to Voyager — the longevity not only of the spacecraft, but of the people on the team."

To get Voyager 1 back online, in rather cinematic fashion, the team devised a complex workaround that prompted the FDS to send a copy of its memory back to Earth. Within that memory readout, operators managed to discover the crux of the problem — a corrupted code spanning a single chip — which was then remedied through another (honestly,  super interesting ) process to modify the code. On the day Voyager 1 finally spoke again, "you could have heard a pin drop in the room," Spilker said. "It was very silent. Everybody's looking at the screen, waiting and watching." 

Of course, Spilker also brought in some peanuts for the team to munch on — but not just any peanuts. Lucky peanuts. 

It's a longstanding tradition at JPL to have a peanut feast before major mission events like launches, milestones and, well, the possible resurrection of Voyager 1. It  began  in the 1960s, when the agency was trying to launch the Ranger 7 mission that was meant to take pictures of and collect data about the moon's surface. Rangers 1 through 6 had all failed, so Ranger 7 was a big deal. As such, the mission's trajectory engineer, Dick Wallace, brought lots of peanuts for the team to nibble on and relax. Sure enough, Ranger 7 was a success and, as Wallace once said, "the rest is history." 

Voyager 1 needed some of those positive snacky vibes. 

"It'd been five months since we'd had any information," Spilker explained. So, in this room of silence besides peanut-eating-noises, Voyager 1 operators sat at their respective system screens, waiting. 

"All of a sudden it started to populate — the data," Spilker said. That's when the programmers who had been staring at those screens in anticipation leapt out of their seats and began to cheer: "They were the happiest people in the room, I think, and there was just a sense of joy that we had Voyager 1 back."

Eventually, Rasmussen says the team was able to conclude that the failure probably occurred due to a combination of aging and radiation damage by which energetic particles in space bombarded the craft. This is also why he believes it wouldn't be terribly surprising to see a similar failure occur in the future, seeing as Voyager 1 is still roaming beyond the distant boundaries of our stellar neighborhood just like its spacecraft twin,  Voyager 2 .

To be sure, the spacecraft isn't fully fixed yet — but it's lovely to know things are finally looking up, especially with the recent news that some of its science instruments are back on track. And, at the very least, Rasmussen assures that nothing the team has learned so far has been alarming. "We're confident that we understand the problem well," he said, "and we remain optimistic about getting everything back to normal — but we also expect this won't be the last."

In fact, as Rasmussen explains, Voyager 1 operators first became optimistic about the situation just after the root cause of the glitch had been determined with certainty. He also emphasizes that the team's spirits were never down. "We knew from indirect evidence that we had a spacecraft that was mostly healthy," he said. "Saying goodbye was not on our minds."

"Rather," he continued, "we wanted to push toward a solution as quickly as possible so other matters on board that had been neglected for months could be addressed. We're now calmly moving toward that goal."

The future of Voyager's voyage

It can't be ignored that, over the last few months, there has been an air of anxiety and fear across the public sphere that Voyager 1 was slowly moving toward sending us its final 0 and final 1. Headlines all over the internet, one written by  myself included , have carried clear, negative weight. I think it's because even if Voyager 2 could technically carry the interstellar torch post-Voyager 1, the prospect of losing Voyager 1 felt like the prospect of losing a piece of history. 

"We've crossed this boundary called the heliopause," Spilker explained of the Voyagers. "Voyager 1 crossed this boundary in 2012; Voyager 2 crossed it in 2018 — and, since that time, were the first spacecraft ever to make direct measurements of the interstellar medium." That medium basically refers to material that fills the space between stars. In this case, that's the space between other stars and our sun, which, though we don't always think of it as one, is simply another star in the universe. A drop in the cosmic ocean.

"JPL started building the two Voyager spacecraft in 1972," Spilker explained. "For context, that was only three years after we had the first human walk on the moon — and the reason we started that early is that we had this rare alignment of the planets that happens once every  176 years ." It was this alignment that could promise the spacecraft checkpoints across the solar system, including at Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Those checkpoints were important for the Voyagers in particular. Alongside planetary visits come gravity assists, and gravity assists can help fling stuff within the solar system — and, now we know, beyond.

As the first humanmade object to leave the solar system, as a relic of America's early space program, and as a testament to how robust even decades-old technology can be, Voyager 1 has carved out the kind of legacy usually reserved for remarkable things lost to time.

"Our scientists are eager to see what they’ve been missing," Rasmussen remarked. "Everyone on the team is self-motivated by their commitment to this unique and important project. That's where the real pressure comes from." 

Still, in terms of energy, the team's approach has been clinical and determined. 

— NASA's Voyager 1 sends readable message to Earth after 4 nail-biting months of gibberish

— NASA engineers discover why Voyager 1 is sending a stream of gibberish from outside our solar system

— NASA's Voyager 1 probe hasn't 'spoken' in 3 months and needs a 'miracle' to save it

"No one was ever especially excited or depressed," he said. "We're confident that we can get back to business as usual soon, but we also know that we're dealing with an aging spacecraft that is bound to have trouble again in the future. That's just a fact of life on this mission, so not worth getting worked up about."

Nonetheless, I imagine it's always a delight for Voyager 1's engineers to remember this robotic explorer occupies curious minds around the globe. (Including my dad's mind now, thanks to me and Google.)

As Rasmussen puts it: "It's wonderful to know how much the world appreciates this mission."

Originally posted on Space.com .

Monisha Ravisetti is Space.com's Astronomy Editor. She covers black holes, star explosions, gravitational waves, exoplanet discoveries and other enigmas hidden across the fabric of space and time. Previously, she was a science writer at CNET, and before that, reported for The Academic Times. Prior to becoming a writer, she was an immunology researcher at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She graduated from New York University in 2018 with a B.A. in philosophy, physics and chemistry. She spends too much time playing online chess. Her favorite planet is Earth.

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Now, Voyager (1942)

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