The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Three WWII veterans return home to small-town America to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Robert E. Sherwood (screen play), MacKinlay Kantor (from a novel by)

Stars:

Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews

Top 250 #178 | Won 7 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Myrna Loy	...	Milly Stephenson
Fredric March	...	Al Stephenson (as Frederic March)
Dana Andrews	...	Fred Derry
Teresa Wright	...	Peggy Stephenson
Virginia Mayo	...	Marie Derry
Cathy O'Donnell	...	Wilma Cameron
Hoagy Carmichael	...	Butch Engle
Harold Russell	...	Homer Parrish
Gladys George	...	Hortense Derry
Roman Bohnen	...	Pat Derry
Ray Collins	...	Mr. Milton
Minna Gombell	...	Mrs. Parrish
Walter Baldwin	...	Mr. Parrish
Steve Cochran	...	Cliff
Dorothy Adams	...	Mrs. Cameron

Storyline

The story concentrates on the social re-adjustment of three World War II servicemen, each from a different station of society. Al Stephenson returns to an influential banking position, but finds it hard to reconcile his loyalties to ex-servicemen with new commercial realities. Fred Derry is an ordinary working man who finds it difficult to hold down a job or pick up the threads of his marriage. Having had both hands burnt off during the war, Homer Parrish is unsure that his fiancée's feelings are still those of love and not those of pity. Each of the veterans faces a crisis upon his arrival, and each crisis is a microcosm of the experiences of many American warriors who found an alien world awaiting them when they came marching home.

---

Plot Keywords:

veteran | banker | marriage | love | pity | 

---

Taglines:

The Most Honored Picture of All Time (1954 widescreen reissue)

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 October 1947 (France)

Also Known As:

Glory for Me

Filming Locations:

Walnut Hills High School - 3250 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,100,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$23,650,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

172 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Robert E. Sherwood had been the head of the Office of War Information during the Second World War, one of the reasons why Samuel Goldwyn approached him to write the script.

---

Goofs

Reflected on the car on the left side of the screen, when Fred kisses Peggy.

---

Quotes

Mr. Mollett: Say, uh, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?
Homer Parrish: I know what it is. How did I get these hooks and how do they work? That's what everybody says when they start off, "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Well, I'll tell ya. I got sick and tired of that old pair of hands I had. You know, an awful lot of trouble washing them and manicuring my nails. So I traded them in for a pair of these latest models. They work by radar. Look.
[He takes a scoop of his ice cream sundae with a spoon]
Homer Parrish:

---

Crazy Credits

"and introducing Cathy O'Donnell"

---

Connections

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies (2006)

---

Soundtracks

"Lazy River"
(1931) (uncredited)
Music by Hoagy Carmichael & Sidney Arodin
Played on piano by Hoagy Carmichael

User Reviews

An Extraordinary Picture

Sometimes, but very rarely, a movie tells a story so well that it almost becomes difficult. This movie tells several stories so well simultaneously that it was the first few times a movie I could not watch to completion. It was too real....and the characters SO STRONG that watching it became a personal struggle. Seeing these three men and their families deal with their hardships, one in particular, often hit me too hard. Now, I have watched in its entirety without interruption several times, and I realize what I always suspected. This movie is a masterpiece. The writing, the acting, the blending of several stories without being even the least bit choppy, everything about this movie is exceptional. Seven Academy Awards? No wonder, it certainly must have deserved them.