Consensus #54. The Best Years of Our Lives

SYNOPSIS: The movie is about three returning WWII veterans and their readjustment to civilian life. One is a disabled vet who is returning to his fiance. He feels she will not accept him since he returns a lesser man. A second vet is a family man who returns to a banking job. The third is returning to his quickie marriage spouse from before his service. Their stories intertwine.

BACKSTORY: “The Best Years of Our Lives” is one of the most beloved movies of its time. It was directed by the acclaimed William Wyler and released in 1946. Wyler had earlier done the famous documentary “Memphis Belle”. Producer Samuel Goldwyn wanted to make a movie about returning veterans so it is set in the period immediately after WWII. It is based on a blank verse novel by MacKinley Kantor and was adapted into the screenplay by Robert Sherwood – two heavyweights. The movie was a box office smash in America and was actually even more popular in England. It won seven Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Frederic March), Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell), Editing, Adapted Screenplay, and Original Score. AFI ranked it as the 37th best motion picture of all time.  Wyler insisted on the crew being veterans.

TRIVIA:  Wikipedia, imdb, TCM

1.  Also entitled “Glory for Me” (after the novella by MacKinley Kantor) or “Home Again”. 

2.  Samuel Godwyn got the idea from a Time magazine article from August, 1944 about Marines returning home.  As they got closer they became more sober about the readjustment into society.  The railway car had “Home Again” chalked on the side. 

3.  Russell lost his hands when a defective fuse caused an explosive to go off during the making of a training film.  He was discovered by William Wyler after he saw him in an Army film about rehabilitation of wounded veterans.  Russell was given an Honorary Oscar because the Academy did not think he would win Best Supporting Actor.  He is the only actor ever to win two Oscars for the same role.  He is also one of only two nonprofessional actors to win an Oscar.  The other was Haing Ngor in “The Killing Fields”.  Russell is the only Oscar winning actor to auction off his Oscar.  He needed the $60,500 to pay for an operation for his wife. He made only two more movies after this one. 

4.  It was the highest grossing film and most attended movie since “Gone With the Wind” in both the U.S. and United Kingdom. 

5.  Wyler used life-sized sets instead of the normal larger ones for ease of filming to get a more natural look.  The film is famous for cinematographer Gregg Toland’s use of deep focus.

6.  Wyler was very upset when Goldwyn sent Russell to get acting lessons. He wanted Russell to turn in a natural performance. 

7.  This was Wyler’s first post-war movie after spending the war making documentaries like “Memphis Belle”.  His combat missions on B-17s influenced the movie. 

8.  Russell’s character was originally suffering from PTSD, it was changed to match Russell’s disability. 

9.  Wyler insisted on the crew being vets. 

10.  Virginia Mayo campaigned for her role by having pictures taken of her in a bar.  She was working on “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” at the same time and sometimes shot scenes for both on the same day. 

11.  Sherwood Anderson had been head of the Office of War Information during WWII. This was the reason Goldwyn hired him.

12.  The movie was remade for TV as “Returning Home” in 1975 starring Dabney Coleman, Tom Selleck, and James Miller.  Miller had lost his hands in Vietnam.

13.  Theresa Wright was only twelve years younger than Myrna Loy, who played her mother. 

14.  It was the first movie to deal with the problems of returning vets.

Belle and Blade  =  4.0

Brassey’s              =  4.0

Video Hound       =  5.0

War Movies         =  5.0

Military History  =  #40

Channel 4             =  no

Film Site                =  yes

101 War Movies  =  no

Rotten Tomatoes  =  no 

OPINION: “The Best Years of Our Lives” is one of the best of the small subgenre of post-war home front movies. It is an excellent companion to all the good WWII movies. Many of the survivors in those movies would have had experiences similar to Al, Freddy, and Homer. It’s almost like a sequel to many of those movies. It is definitely a must-see, but a bit overrated because of its overly optimistic ending. Contrast it to the second half of “The Deer Hunter”. But then again, perhaps that movie was too pessimistic.