The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
“How many times have I said I hated you and believed it in my heart? How many times have you said you were sick and tired of me, and that we were all washed up? How many times have we had to fall in love all over again?”
One of the many reasons to love The Best Years of Our Lives is because there are so many different characters, ensuring that everyone in the audience can identify with someone. This is a story that touches you, no matter how old you are. It may be the most beloved movie celebrating our veterans, but it isn’t necessarily a “coming home” movie. This is a movie that shows how different people cope with the same problem: What do you do when the best years of your life are behind you?
Another of the many reasons to love this movie is Hugo Friedhofer’s Academy-Award winning score. This is one of the few movies ever made where each character has his or her own theme. His music evokes so many emotions from his listeners, the perfect mixture of nostalgia, tragedy, hope, love, resignation, patriotism, and perseverance. One of the many times you watch the film—because I’m sure you’ll buy a copy and watch it all the time—try and imagine how terribly Max Steiner or Franz Waxman would have ruined the tender scenes.
Three veterans, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, and Harold Russell, return to the same hometown at the end of WWII. They’re extremely different, and had they not been travelling companions on the way back, they probably wouldn’t have even met. As it is, they make a fast friendship, and it changes the course of their lives. Freddie returns home to two grown children and must readjust to life at home with his wife and work at the bank. Dana left for the war a hotshot soda jerk, and he married just before shipping out. When he comes home, he’s in for two rude awakenings: he’s not qualified for civilian work, and his wife wants everything to be fun and carefree as it was before. Harold has to make the greatest adjustment of all: he lost his hands. His character, Homer, was different in the original novel; director William Wyler rewrote the character to have lost his hands because he’d met veteran Harold Russell and wanted him to act in the movie. There are no special effects in this film; the hooks you see are really Harold’s hooks. It’s no wonder he won Best Supporting Actor in 1946 and also took home a second Oscar for inspiring our veterans!
One of the many reasons to love The Best Years of Our Lives is because there are so many different characters, ensuring that everyone in the audience can identify with someone. This is a story that touches you, no matter how old you are. It may be the most beloved movie celebrating our veterans, but it isn’t necessarily a “coming home” movie. This is a movie that shows how different people cope with the same problem: What do you do when the best years of your life are behind you?
Another of the many reasons to love this movie is Hugo Friedhofer’s Academy-Award winning score. This is one of the few movies ever made where each character has his or her own theme. His music evokes so many emotions from his listeners, the perfect mixture of nostalgia, tragedy, hope, love, resignation, patriotism, and perseverance. One of the many times you watch the film—because I’m sure you’ll buy a copy and watch it all the time—try and imagine how terribly Max Steiner or Franz Waxman would have ruined the tender scenes.
Three veterans, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, and Harold Russell, return to the same hometown at the end of WWII. They’re extremely different, and had they not been travelling companions on the way back, they probably wouldn’t have even met. As it is, they make a fast friendship, and it changes the course of their lives. Freddie returns home to two grown children and must readjust to life at home with his wife and work at the bank. Dana left for the war a hotshot soda jerk, and he married just before shipping out. When he comes home, he’s in for two rude awakenings: he’s not qualified for civilian work, and his wife wants everything to be fun and carefree as it was before. Harold has to make the greatest adjustment of all: he lost his hands. His character, Homer, was different in the original novel; director William Wyler rewrote the character to have lost his hands because he’d met veteran Harold Russell and wanted him to act in the movie. There are no special effects in this film; the hooks you see are really Harold’s hooks. It’s no wonder he won Best Supporting Actor in 1946 and also took home a second Oscar for inspiring our veterans!
It’s impossible to choose a favorite of the three veterans’ stories, because they’re all relatable, cleverly written, and realistically acted. Even the smallest roles are acted beautifully. For example. Dana Andrew’s father and stepmother, Roman Bonen and Gladys George, are only onscreen for about five minutes, but their scene is one of the most touching for parents in the audience to watch. Fredric March won his second Oscar for this movie, and he gives yet another incredible performance. As his character frequently uses alcohol to help him adjust to his new life, his levels of intoxication are flawlessly realistic. Myrna Loy, Freddie’s wife, is one of the most underrated classic actresses, and she gives the perfect portrayal of “the wife”. Donna Reed and June Allyson were often cited as ideal wives during that time period, but they’ve got nothing on Myrna Loy. Not even nominated by the Academy, the Hot Toasty Rags awarded Myrna for supporting her husband and daughter in their own crises.
Dana Andrews was best known for his cool, fedora noir roles, but when he was given parts that showed off his dramatic talents, he absolutely shone. Even though he received third billing in this movie, his character was the lead (as well as in the original novel), he was given many choice scenes to show other veterans they were not alone in their disappointments, regrets, and recurrent nightmares from the battlefield.
I read once that the Stanislavski method taught actors to speak softly and think loudly. I don’t know if Dana studied that method, but his expressions steal the show in The Best Years of Our Lives. In one of my favorite scenes, he gets told to stay away from Teresa Wright. He doesn’t say a word, but the camera lets his face say an entire monologue. You can tell every single thought he has, as if there are subtitles below his chin. Once again, not even nominated, the Rags put him in the correct category and were proud to nominate him for Best Actor.
As usual, William Wyler’s impeccable directions adds to the dramatic essence of the film. He knows how to get to the core of the scene and never uses the camera to distract the audience. Equal to his talent is that of screenwriter Robert E. Sherwood. He took one of the most depressing, morbid novellas The Bishop’s Wife and turned it into a delightful Christmas classic, and he adapted the novel Glory for Me, written entirely in verse, into a two-and-a-half hour masterpiece. I’ve read Glory for Me, and it’s incredibly moving in its own right, but the talent it took to turn it into a screenplay is mindblowing.
This is not only a wonderful tribute to our veterans, but it shows the serious adjustments they make when they come home, without ever becoming overly dramatic. This is not only one of the best old movies ever made, but it’s one of the greatest films of all time. If you’ve never seen it, or you’ve only seen the remake The Lucky Ones, buy a copy, along with a box of Kleenex. You’ll feel a clutch in your heart when Cathy O’Donnell makes her entrance as the literal girl next door. Freddie and Myrna will seem like they’re your own parents. You’ll hope Dana will leave his frivolous wife, Virginia Mayo for the substantial Teresa – but I always hope he leaves both of them and asks me out instead. No matter how many times you watch it (my parents are past their thirtieth viewing), there are still new things to notice and appreciate.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Myrna Loy movies here!
More Fredric March movies here!
More Teresa Wright movies here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the original novel Glory for Me here!
Dana Andrews was best known for his cool, fedora noir roles, but when he was given parts that showed off his dramatic talents, he absolutely shone. Even though he received third billing in this movie, his character was the lead (as well as in the original novel), he was given many choice scenes to show other veterans they were not alone in their disappointments, regrets, and recurrent nightmares from the battlefield.
I read once that the Stanislavski method taught actors to speak softly and think loudly. I don’t know if Dana studied that method, but his expressions steal the show in The Best Years of Our Lives. In one of my favorite scenes, he gets told to stay away from Teresa Wright. He doesn’t say a word, but the camera lets his face say an entire monologue. You can tell every single thought he has, as if there are subtitles below his chin. Once again, not even nominated, the Rags put him in the correct category and were proud to nominate him for Best Actor.
As usual, William Wyler’s impeccable directions adds to the dramatic essence of the film. He knows how to get to the core of the scene and never uses the camera to distract the audience. Equal to his talent is that of screenwriter Robert E. Sherwood. He took one of the most depressing, morbid novellas The Bishop’s Wife and turned it into a delightful Christmas classic, and he adapted the novel Glory for Me, written entirely in verse, into a two-and-a-half hour masterpiece. I’ve read Glory for Me, and it’s incredibly moving in its own right, but the talent it took to turn it into a screenplay is mindblowing.
This is not only a wonderful tribute to our veterans, but it shows the serious adjustments they make when they come home, without ever becoming overly dramatic. This is not only one of the best old movies ever made, but it’s one of the greatest films of all time. If you’ve never seen it, or you’ve only seen the remake The Lucky Ones, buy a copy, along with a box of Kleenex. You’ll feel a clutch in your heart when Cathy O’Donnell makes her entrance as the literal girl next door. Freddie and Myrna will seem like they’re your own parents. You’ll hope Dana will leave his frivolous wife, Virginia Mayo for the substantial Teresa – but I always hope he leaves both of them and asks me out instead. No matter how many times you watch it (my parents are past their thirtieth viewing), there are still new things to notice and appreciate.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Myrna Loy movies here!
More Fredric March movies here!
More Teresa Wright movies here!
Be sure and check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of the original novel Glory for Me here!
Hot Toasty Rag Awards:
Best Picture of 1946
Best Director: William Wyler
Best Supporting Actress: Myrna Loy
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Musical Score: Hugo Friedhofer
Honorary Award: Harold Russell
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Actor: Dana Andrews
Best Actor: Fredric March
Best Supporting Actor: Roman Bohnen
Best Supporting Actor: Harold Russell
Best Supporting Actress: Teresa Wright