Best years of our lives (1946)

[Tommy Tainant]

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) ⭐ 8.1 | Drama, Romance, War

2h 50m | Approved

www.imdb.com

I saw this once in the mid 80s and was keen to see if it was as good as I remembered. I think it is really good and stands up well today.

Its the type of film we dont really see any more and perhaps out of step for Hollywood at the time. Three men come home from the war and adjust back to Civvy Street. They all have issues to sort out, disbility, shell shock and so on. Relationships to rebuild, jobs to get and lives to pick up.

One of the actors is an amputee basically playing himself and he does a great job. Top class cast headed by Myrna Loy as the films moral compass. But the cast are all first class including the incredible Virginia Mayo as a slut with a bit of depth. Maybe the best part she ever had.

It tackles some grown up stuff and does it really well. Two and a half hours and you can see it on Amazon for free. Treat yourself it is time well spent.

 

[rightwinger]

Good flick covering the troubles of returning vets adapting to their old lives

 

[Flopper]

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) ⭐ 8.1 | Drama, Romance, War

2h 50m | Approved

www.imdb.com

I saw this once in the mid 80s and was keen to see if it was as good as I remembered. I think it is really good and stands up well today.

Its the type of film we dont really see any more and perhaps out of step for Hollywood at the time. Three men come home from the war and adjust back to Civvy Street. They all have issues to sort out, disbility, shell shock and so on. Relationships to rebuild, jobs to get and lives to pick up.

One of the actors is an amputee basically playing himself and he does a great job. Top class cast headed by Myrna Loy as the films moral compass. But the cast are all first class including the incredible Virginia Mayo as a slut with a bit of depth. Maybe the best part she ever had.

It tackles some grown up stuff and does it really well. Two and a half hours and you can see it on Amazon for free. Treat yourself it is time well spent.

Best years of Our Lives is great move. Apparently, a lot of people agreed as it won 8 Academy Awards in 1947. What makes this movie so good is that it's unhurried, relatively low-key, and realist. The film makes no effort to paint the central characters as extraordinary. Their lives, their characters, their prospects are all more or less average, and Wyler doesn't pump in superfluous drama. That's why the movie is so effective, and maybe why it doesn't seem as dated as some 1946 dramas.

Another fine WWII movie is "Since You Went Away" which is not really a movie about the war but about the people back home. It was made in 1943 when the war was raging in Europe and the Pacific, service flags were proudly hanging in windows across the country, black armband and wreaths on doors were common. Unlike Best Years, the movie is about the way people lived and reacted during the war. So be warned it is a sentimental movie with a lot of joy and sadness punctuated by laughter. Although sad at time, it's a feel good movie. It doesn't appear on TV very often but it's worth watching if you like this kind of movie. This is a good movie for Christmas





You can watch the movie for free on Youtube but video and sound is not that great. .

 

[whitehall]

Harold Russel who won an Oscar for best supporting was injured and lost his hands in a training accident in the Army.

 

[Flopper]

Harold Russel who won an Oscar for best supporting was injured and lost his hands in a training accident in the Army.

William Wyler, who directed the film, called his performance "the finest performance I have ever seen on the screen.'' Not bad for an actor with no training and no experience. For the rest of his life he was active in veterans affairs and equal treatment for the disabled. The movie is worth seeing just for his performance.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Harold Russel who won an Oscar for best supporting was injured and lost his hands in a training accident in the Army.

William Wyler, who directed the film, called his performance "the finest performance I have ever seen on the screen.'' Not bad for an actor with no training and no experience. For the rest of his life he was active in veterans affairs and equal treatment for the disabled. The movie is worth seeing just for his performance.

I lost a leg just before Christmas. All the stuff he had to deal with is absolutely spot on. People not knowing how to react and so on. When he drops the drink it made me start crying.

 

[Flopper]

Harold Russel who won an Oscar for best supporting was injured and lost his hands in a training accident in the Army.

William Wyler, who directed the film, called his performance "the finest performance I have ever seen on the screen.'' Not bad for an actor with no training and no experience. For the rest of his life he was active in veterans affairs and equal treatment for the disabled. The movie is worth seeing just for his performance.

I lost a leg just before Christmas. All the stuff he had to deal with is absolutely spot on. People not knowing how to react and so on. When he drops the drink it made me start crying.

My uncle who was an oil field worker prior to WWII. He came home from the war crippled. The law guaranteed service men a job when they returned provided the job still exist and the person was able to do the work. He had some experience repairing farm equipment and tried to start a business, however the banks were not near as helpful as in the movie. He finally landed a job with a farm equipment dealer. He stay with them for many years and became a manger. So things did work out for him although he hard a bad time for several year. A lot injured boys that came were not so lucky.

 

[whitehall]

Harold Russel who won an Oscar for best supporting was injured and lost his hands in a training accident in the Army.

William Wyler, who directed the film, called his performance "the finest performance I have ever seen on the screen.'' Not bad for an actor with no training and no experience. For the rest of his life he was active in veterans affairs and equal treatment for the disabled. The movie is worth seeing just for his performance.

Yeah H'wood loved Russell when he made money for them. When he was in his 70's and his wife was sick he had to sell his "Oscar" for around $60 grand.

 

[Flopper]

Harold Russel who won an Oscar for best supporting was injured and lost his hands in a training accident in the Army.

William Wyler, who directed the film, called his performance "the finest performance I have ever seen on the screen.'' Not bad for an actor with no training and no experience. For the rest of his life he was active in veterans affairs and equal treatment for the disabled. The movie is worth seeing just for his performance.

Yeah H'wood loved Russell when he made money for them. When he was in his 70's and his wife was sick he had to sell his "Oscar" for around $60 grand.

He sold one of two Oscars he was awarded. After his death, the unidentified collector who purchased it was identified as Lew Wasserman, a studio executive and talent agent, who donated it back to the Academy.

.After the movie he attended Boston University. He later went on to help establish AMVETS as a viable alternative to the American Legion for veterans, though his dream of an international veterans organization was never realized. He later appeared in Inside Moves (1980) and Dogtown (1997). He lived with his wife on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He wrote 2 biographies: "Victory In My Hands" (1947) & "The Best Years Of My Life" (1981).

Harold Russell - Biography - IMDb

Harold Russell. Actor: The Best Years of Our Lives. Harold John Russell was born in Nova Scotia in 1914. His family moved to Cambridge Massachusetts when his father died in 1919. He was training paratroopers at Camp MacKall NC on June 6, 1944 when some TNT he was using exploded in his hands. He...

www.imdb.com

 

[whitehall]

Harold Russel who won an Oscar for best supporting was injured and lost his hands in a training accident in the Army.

William Wyler, who directed the film, called his performance "the finest performance I have ever seen on the screen.'' Not bad for an actor with no training and no experience. For the rest of his life he was active in veterans affairs and equal treatment for the disabled. The movie is worth seeing just for his performance.

Yeah H'wood loved Russell when he made money for them. When he was in his 70's and his wife was sick he had to sell his "Oscar" for around $60 grand.

He sold one of two Oscars he was awarded. After his death, the unidentified collector who purchased it was identified as Lew Wasserman, a studio executive and talent agent, who donated it back to the Academy.

.After the movie he attended Boston University. He later went on to help establish AMVETS as a viable alternative to the American Legion for veterans, though his dream of an international veterans organization was never realized. He later appeared in Inside Moves (1980) and Dogtown (1997). He lived with his wife on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He wrote 2 biographies: "Victory In My Hands" (1947) & "The Best Years Of My Life" (1981).

Harold Russell - Biography - IMDb

Harold Russell. Actor: The Best Years of Our Lives. Harold John Russell was born in Nova Scotia in 1914. His family moved to Cambridge Massachusetts when his father died in 1919. He was training paratroopers at Camp MacKall NC on June 6, 1944 when some TNT he was using exploded in his hands. He...

www.imdb.com

"Best Years" cost about 2 million to make and made about 25 million at the box office. The Academy knew that Russell was in bad shape financially and he planned to sell his "Oscar". Instead of raising or donating money to deal with the Veteran's medical bills the cheap bastards in the Academy offered him a low interest loan. What a deal.

 

[whitehall]

Aside from the shoddy treatment of Harold Russell, I thought the characters Dana Andrews and Fred March to be much too old for the part. Andrews looked to be in his 40's and the average age for a WW2 Veteran pilot/navigator was still in his 20's during the time the movie portrayed. 50 year old March born in 1897 as a Soldier in the Pacific Theater? Give me a break. All in all the intent was right on the mark and the acting was superb. .

 

[Flopper]

Aside from the shoddy treatment of Harold Russell, I thought the characters Dana Andrews and Fred March to be much too old for the part. Andrews looked to be in his 40's and the average age for a WW2 Veteran pilot/navigator was still in his 20's during the time the movie portrayed. 50 year old March born in 1897 as a Soldier in the Pacific Theater? Give me a break. All in all the intent was right on the mark and the acting was superb. .

I believe March's character also served in WWI. Out of 12 million men who served in the military during WWII, over 100,000 served in WWI. The military accepted men between ages of 18 through 45. Exceptions were made for those with special skills. When the movie was made, March was 48. Andrews was born in 1909 thus he was 36. IMHO, March was an excellent choice. His age was right because he had a grown daughter who became the love interest of Andrews. A 25 or 30 year old would not have worked.

 

[Tommy Tainant]

Aside from the shoddy treatment of Harold Russell, I thought the characters Dana Andrews and Fred March to be much too old for the part. Andrews looked to be in his 40's and the average age for a WW2 Veteran pilot/navigator was still in his 20's during the time the movie portrayed. 50 year old March born in 1897 as a Soldier in the Pacific Theater? Give me a break. All in all the intent was right on the mark and the acting was superb. .

I believe March's character also served in WWI. Out of 12 million men who served in the military during WWII, over 100,000 served in WWI. The military accepted men between ages of 18 through 45. Exceptions were made for those with special skills. When the movie was made, March was 48. Andrews was born in 1909 thus he was 36. IMHO, March was an excellent choice. His age was right because he had a grown daughter who became the love interest of Andrews. A 25 or 30 year old would not have worked.

Andrews character would probably have benefitted from a sequel or a prequel. He didnt seem to have much drive to get on. I suppose thats why Mayo got tired of him. Maybe he just needed the right girl.

 

[Gdjjr]

I always enjoy the old, memorable, movies- it's interesting to see the actors in their before they became "stars" and household names- and the girls were so pretty!

 

[whitehall]

Aside from the shoddy treatment of Harold Russell, I thought the characters Dana Andrews and Fred March to be much too old for the part. Andrews looked to be in his 40's and the average age for a WW2 Veteran pilot/navigator was still in his 20's during the time the movie portrayed. 50 year old March born in 1897 as a Soldier in the Pacific Theater? Give me a break. All in all the intent was right on the mark and the acting was superb. .

I believe March's character also served in WWI. Out of 12 million men who served in the military during WWII, over 100,000 served in WWI. The military accepted men between ages of 18 through 45. Exceptions were made for those with special skills. When the movie was made, March was 48. Andrews was born in 1909 thus he was 36. IMHO, March was an excellent choice. His age was right because he had a grown daughter who became the love interest of Andrews. A 25 or 30 year old would not have worked.

48 years old might be right for an admiral or a general in WW2 (MacArthur was born in 1880 and served in WW1) but a combat soldier in the Pacific? I don't mean to nitpick, maybe March and Andrews were right but they looked too old.

 

[Flopper]

I always enjoy the old, memorable, movies- it's interesting to see the actors in their before they became "stars" and household names- and the girls were so pretty!

The one thing I love about the better old movies is the director could not rely on computer generated special effects, high definition imaging and sound, and the enhancement of color to save a poor movie. A good movie required that scenes had to be composed just as an artist would composes a picture. What made these movies great was the story, the acting, and cinematography.

Long ago, the only way to a tell a story was voce, pen, or picture. It got easier with moving pictures, even easier when sound was added, and with each new enhancement the creator could rely less on story and it's presentation and more the enhancements.

 

[Flopper]

Aside from the shoddy treatment of Harold Russell, I thought the characters Dana Andrews and Fred March to be much too old for the part. Andrews looked to be in his 40's and the average age for a WW2 Veteran pilot/navigator was still in his 20's during the time the movie portrayed. 50 year old March born in 1897 as a Soldier in the Pacific Theater? Give me a break. All in all the intent was right on the mark and the acting was superb. .

I believe March's character also served in WWI. Out of 12 million men who served in the military during WWII, over 100,000 served in WWI. The military accepted men between ages of 18 through 45. Exceptions were made for those with special skills. When the movie was made, March was 48. Andrews was born in 1909 thus he was 36. IMHO, March was an excellent choice. His age was right because he had a grown daughter who became the love interest of Andrews. A 25 or 30 year old would not have worked.

48 years old might be right for an admiral or a general in WW2 (MacArthur was born in 1880 and served in WW1) but a combat soldier in the Pacific? I don't mean to nitpick, maybe March and Andrews were right but they looked too old.

Often in movies, the director has to deviate from the most realist presentation in order tell the story effectively. For example, Al's conflict with Fred over his young daughter's involvement with him would not have worked with a younger actor, nor Al's conflict with his old boss. And the scene with Fred working for the kid who was his junior in the drug store would have been far less effective with a Fred, 10 or 15 years younger. If the goal of the movie was realism, it would have been very unlikely that Homer would have accomplish what he did over that period time.

 

[whitehall]

Aside from the shoddy treatment of Harold Russell, I thought the characters Dana Andrews and Fred March to be much too old for the part. Andrews looked to be in his 40's and the average age for a WW2 Veteran pilot/navigator was still in his 20's during the time the movie portrayed. 50 year old March born in 1897 as a Soldier in the Pacific Theater? Give me a break. All in all the intent was right on the mark and the acting was superb. .

I believe March's character also served in WWI. Out of 12 million men who served in the military during WWII, over 100,000 served in WWI. The military accepted men between ages of 18 through 45. Exceptions were made for those with special skills. When the movie was made, March was 48. Andrews was born in 1909 thus he was 36. IMHO, March was an excellent choice. His age was right because he had a grown daughter who became the love interest of Andrews. A 25 or 30 year old would not have worked.

48 years old might be right for an admiral or a general in WW2 (MacArthur was born in 1880 and served in WW1) but a combat soldier in the Pacific? I don't mean to nitpick, maybe March and Andrews were right but they looked too old.

Often in movies, the director has to deviate from the most realist presentation in order tell the story effectively. For example, Al's conflict with Fred over his young daughter's involvement with him would not have worked with a younger actor, nor Al's conflict with his old boss. And the scene with Fred working for the kid who was his junior in the drug store would have been far less effective with a Fred, 10 or 15 years younger. If the goal of the movie was realism, it would have been very unlikely that Homer would have accomplish what he did over that period time.

Al's conflict with Fred would have worked with a younger Al if Fred was a normal 20 something Vet like Homer. Did they ever explain how a guy who worked as a soda jerk ended up as a navigator in a bomber and a captain in the Army Air Corps?

 

[Flopper]

Aside from the shoddy treatment of Harold Russell, I thought the characters Dana Andrews and Fred March to be much too old for the part. Andrews looked to be in his 40's and the average age for a WW2 Veteran pilot/navigator was still in his 20's during the time the movie portrayed. 50 year old March born in 1897 as a Soldier in the Pacific Theater? Give me a break. All in all the intent was right on the mark and the acting was superb. .

I believe March's character also served in WWI. Out of 12 million men who served in the military during WWII, over 100,000 served in WWI. The military accepted men between ages of 18 through 45. Exceptions were made for those with special skills. When the movie was made, March was 48. Andrews was born in 1909 thus he was 36. IMHO, March was an excellent choice. His age was right because he had a grown daughter who became the love interest of Andrews. A 25 or 30 year old would not have worked.

48 years old might be right for an admiral or a general in WW2 (MacArthur was born in 1880 and served in WW1) but a combat soldier in the Pacific? I don't mean to nitpick, maybe March and Andrews were right but they looked too old.

Often in movies, the director has to deviate from the most realist presentation in order tell the story effectively. For example, Al's conflict with Fred over his young daughter's involvement with him would not have worked with a younger actor, nor Al's conflict with his old boss. And the scene with Fred working for the kid who was his junior in the drug store would have been far less effective with a Fred, 10 or 15 years younger. If the goal of the movie was realism, it would have been very unlikely that Homer would have accomplish what he did over that period time.

Al's conflict with Fred would have worked with a younger Al if Fred was a normal 20 something Vet like Homer. Did they ever explain how a guy who worked as a soda jerk ended up as a navigator in a bomber and a captain in the Army Air Corps?

I think he was bombardier. No they did not explain how he went from Soda Jerk to Captain. However, he was married and he did mention never finding the right job.

The idea for the movie came from Samuel Goldwyn whose son was injured in the war and he was concerned about how he would adjust to civilian life. His idea was to show 3 totally different vets returning from war with different problems.

• Homer, a young vet with a bright future having to adjust to a serious disability, parents that pitied him, and Peggy the kid next door he was to marry who idolize him but he was afraid of the impact of his disability would have on her.
• Fred, a bit older with a floozy of a wife who dumped him faces the problem of his feelings for Peggy, Al's daughters, and finding a job.
• Al, older than most soldiers faces the adjustment to a wife and kids he hardly knows as well as changes in his job.

This movie is notable for it's cast of over 80 members which includes in major roles:

• Myrna Loy
• Fredric March
• Dana Andrews
• Teresa Wright
• Virginia Mayo
• Cathy O'Donnell
• Hoagy Carmichael
• Harold Russell
• Gladys George
• Ray Collins

 

[odanny]

Aside from the shoddy treatment of Harold Russell, I thought the characters Dana Andrews and Fred March to be much too old for the part. Andrews looked to be in his 40's and the average age for a WW2 Veteran pilot/navigator was still in his 20's during the time the movie portrayed. 50 year old March born in 1897 as a Soldier in the Pacific Theater? Give me a break. All in all the intent was right on the mark and the acting was superb. .

I believe March's character also served in WWI. Out of 12 million men who served in the military during WWII, over 100,000 served in WWI. The military accepted men between ages of 18 through 45. Exceptions were made for those with special skills. When the movie was made, March was 48. Andrews was born in 1909 thus he was 36. IMHO, March was an excellent choice. His age was right because he had a grown daughter who became the love interest of Andrews. A 25 or 30 year old would not have worked.

Reminds me of one of the best first person books written on WWII, "With The Old Breed"", by Eugene Sledge. A Marine in the Pacific, their entire company of young Marines were always talking about WWI veteran Gunnery Sgt. Haney, who was extremely peculiar and odd, but a battle hardened Marine. He would shower and use a stiff bristle brush to clean his scrotum. Sledge wrote quite a bit about him. He was in his mid to late 40's at wars end.