The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Robert E. Sherwood (screenplay)
MacKinlay Kantor (novel)

Release Date:

3 October 1947 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

THE SCREEN'S GREATEST LOVE STORY IS THE BEST FILM THIS YEAR FROM HOLLYWOOD!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Veteran | Love | Banker | Marriage | Soda Jerk

Awards:

Won 7 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

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
Don Beddoe	...	Mr. Cameron
Marlene Aames	...	Luella Parrish
Charles Halton	...	Prew
Ray Teal	...	Mr. Mollett
Howland Chamberlain	...	Thorpe (as Howland Chamberlin)
Dean White	...	Novak
Erskine Sanford	...	Bullard
Michael Hall	...	Rob Stephenson
Victor Cutler	...	Woody Merrill
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gene Krupa	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Ames	...	Jackie (uncredited)
Carol Andrews	...	Saleswoman (uncredited)
Mary Arden	...	Miss Barbour (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Gus, Salvage Superintendent (uncredited)
Harry Cheshire	...	Minister at Wedding (uncredited)
Sidney Clute	...	Drugstore Clerk (uncredited)
Joyce Compton	...	Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
James Conaty	...	Man At Bank Dinner (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin	...	Customer (uncredited)
Bert Conway	...	ATC Sergeant (uncredited)
Clancy Cooper	...	Taxi Driver (uncredited)
Mady Correll	...	Announcer (uncredited)
Roy Darmour	...	Parking Lot Attendant (uncredited)
Hal K. Dawson	...	Man at Airport (uncredited)
Lester Dorr	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Claire Du Brey	...	Mrs. Talburt, Perfume Customer (uncredited)
Tom Dugan	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Edward Earle	...	Steese (Bank) (uncredited)
Blake Edwards	...	Corporal at ATC Counter (uncredited)
Billy Engle	...	Customer (uncredited)
Ben Erway	...	Lou Latham (Bank) (uncredited)
Doris June Fesetta	...	Camera Girl (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Salvage Foreman (Junking Bombers) (uncredited)
Tennessee Ernie Ford	...	Nightclub / Hillbilly singer (uncredited)
Louise Franklin	...	Ladies' Room Attendant (uncredited)
Harry Gillette	...	Card Player at Lucia's (uncredited)
Dick Gordon	...	Maitre d'Hotel (uncredited)
Earle Hodgins	...	Diner Attendant (Lucia's) (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Ray Hyke	...	Gus The Foreman (uncredited)
John Ince	...	Ryan (uncredited)
Teddy Infuhr	...	Dexter, Brat in Drugstore (uncredited)
Jackie Jackson	...	A Boy (uncredited)
Robert Karnes	...	Technical Sergeant (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Man At Bank Dinner (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	Steve the Bartender (uncredited)
Alyn Lockwood	...	Counter Girl (uncredited)
Susan Mann	...	Announcer (uncredited)
Michael Mauree	...	Glamour Girl (uncredited)
Doreen McCann	...	A Girl (uncredited)
Peggy McIntyre	...	Girl at Soda Fountain (Enter Mollett) (uncredited)
Chef Milani	...	Giuseppe (Lucia's Restaurant proprietor) (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Wealthy Man at Nightclub (uncredited)
Ernesto Morelli	...	Card Player (uncredited)
William Newell	...	Waiter At Bank Dinner (uncredited)
Georgie Nokes	...	One of Homer's 'Kids' (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
Joe Palma	...	Card Player (uncredited)
Leo Penn	...	ATC Corporal (uncredited)
Caleb Peterson	...	Black Soldier At Airfield (uncredited)
Norman Phillips Jr.	...	Clarence 'Sticky' Merkle (uncredited)
Jack Rice	...	Apartment Desk Clerk (uncredited)
Suzanne Ridgeway	...	Girl At Table With Cliff (uncredited)
Mickey Roth	...	Boy at Soda Fountain (Enter Mollett) (uncredited)
Ruth Sanderson	...	Mrs. Garrett (uncredited)
Ralph Sanford	...	George H. Gibbons (uncredited)
Noreen Sayles	...	A Girl (uncredited)
Stephen Soldi	...	Card Player (uncredited)
John Tyrrell	...	Angus (Gus), Butch's Waiter (uncredited)
Amelita Ward	...	Counter Girl (uncredited)
Jan Wiley	...	Perfume Saleswoman (uncredited)
Marek Windheim	...	Waiter at Lucia's Restaurant (uncredited)
Catherine Wyler	...	Department store extra (uncredited)
Judy Wyler	...	Department store extra (uncredited)

Directed by
William Wyler

Writing credits
Robert E. Sherwood		(screenplay)
MacKinlay Kantor		(novel) (as Mackinlay Kantor)

Produced by
Samuel Goldwyn	....	producer

Original Music by
Hugo Friedhofer

Cinematography by
Gregg Toland

Film Editing by
Daniel Mandell

Art Direction by
Perry Ferguson
George Jenkins

Set Decoration by
Julia Heron

Costume Design by
Irene Sharaff		(as Sharaff)

Makeup Department
Marie Clark	....	hair stylist
Robert Stephanoff	....	makeup artist

Art Department
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Richard DeWeese	....	sound recordist
Larry Gannon	....	sound (uncredited)
Gordon Sawyer	....	supervising sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special effects director (uncredited)
Harry Redmond Sr.	....	special effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
E. Truman Joiner	....	key grip (uncredited)
Paul Mantz	....	aerial director of photography (uncredited)

Music Department
Emil Newman	....	musical director
Sidney Cutner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Jerome Moross	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Samuel Goldwyn	....	presenter
Dale Tate	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Herzog-Filmverleih (1948) (Germany) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Concorde Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Embassy Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Nelson Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Pioneer Entertainment (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

Glory for Me (USA) (working title)
Home Again (USA) (working title)
Samuel Goldwyn's The Best Years of Our Lives (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

172 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | West Germany:12 (f) | South Korea:15 (2002) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:13 | Australia:G | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #11972)

Filming Locations:

Long Beach Airport - 4101 E. Donald Douglas Drive, Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

Myrna Loy receives top billing as she was the most successful female star at the time.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Peggy and Marie are in the ladies room at the restaurant, the cameraman's left arm is visible in one of the mirrors.

Quotes:

Homer Parrish: I was afraid you wouldn't be able to stand up for me.
Fred Derry: I'd stand up for you, kid, til I drop.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Ultimate Film (2004) (TV)

Over 60 years old and still a classic!

In 2004, I wrote the following statements on an IMDb message board when a user wondered if The Best Years of Our Lives was a forgotten movie:

***** To me watching this movie is like opening up a time capsule. I think in many ways "The Best Years of Our Lives" is probably one of the more fascinating character studies and it holds up extremely well as a look at life in the US in the mid-1940s after WWII. I believe "Coming Home" and "The Deer Hunter", both released in 1978, were the most recent films that were closest in capturing the numerous issues of military men returning from war that were brought up in "The Best Years of Our Lives".

What really impressed me was watching the movie in its entirety when I was in college around 1980-81 and many if not all of the college students applauded at the end of the movie.

This movie still packs a wallop and I'm very happy to read in other posts other users feeling of a movie that will definitely stand the test of time. *****

I'm very happy to see the movie ranked near the top 100 movies on IMDb and AFI. Also, though it was in competition with what eventually became a Christmas classic, It's a Wonderful Life, arguably, The Best Years of Our Lives' Oscar wins, including Best Picture, were very well-deserved.

I've just seen the film again in 2005 and after almost 60 years, The Best Years of Our Lives is still a powerful, beautifully acted and well-crafted motion picture.