Homer (Harold Russell), Fred (Dana Andrews), and Al (Fredric March) wonder what awaits them back home in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (William Wyler, 1946)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
June 6-12
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org
It is more than fitting that a new restoration of William Wyler’s American classic, The Best Years of Our Lives, opened on the seventieth anniversary of D-Day, just as serious questions about the Veterans Administration’s care of military personnel have been dominating the news. The 1946 film, which won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, tells the story of three men returning to their suburban homes in the close-knit town of Boone City. The well-off Sergeant First Class Al Stephenson (Best Actor winner Fredric March) is welcomed with open arms by his wife, Milly (Myrna Loy), his adult daughter, Peggy (Teresa Wright), and his boss at the bank, Mr. Milton (Ray Collins). Hero bombardier Captain Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) has trouble finding a decent job as well as locating his good-time-girl wife, Marie (Virginia Mayo), while developing an interest in young Peggy. And Petty Officer Second Class Homer Parrish (Harold Russell) can’t believe that his longtime sweetheart, Wilma (Cathy O’Donnell), will still want him now that he has two hooks for hands. The three very different men all find that getting back to a normal, civilian life is much more painful than they imagined in a changing midcentury America.
Al looks on as Homer (Harold Russell) and Butch (Hoagy Carmichael) duet in American classic
Wyler (Dodsworth, Ben-Hur), himself a WWII veteran, directs the film with a realistic feel, building slowly on such emotions as fear, love, compassion, and understanding. Andrews’s familiar stiffness adds an inner strength to Derry while March again shows off his superb skills as a banker with a new take on the meaning of success. And Russell, who lost his hands while making a military training film, is subtly powerful as Homer, representing all men and women who return home from war incomplete, both physically and psychologically. (Russell won two Oscars for the role, one as Best Supporting Actor, the other an honorary award “for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans.”) The Best Years of Our Lives also features splendid deep-focus photography by master cinematographer Gregg Toland, a wonderfully taut script by Oscar winner Robert E. Sherwood based on war correspondent MacKinlay Kantor’s Samuel Goldwyn-commissioned novella Glory for Me, and an aching score by Oscar winner Hugo Friedhofer. Despite its age, The Best Years of Our Lives still feels relevant and prescient, tackling a number of difficult topics with grace and elegance as three families reconsider just what the American dream means.