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:

In 1946 this became the most successful film at the box office since Gone with the Wind (1939) which was released 7 years earlier.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Reflected on the car on the left side of the screen, when Fred kisses Peggy.

Quotes:

Homer Parrish: I didn't see much of the war... I was stationed in a repair shop below decks. Oh, I was in plenty of battles, but I never saw a Jap or heard a shell coming at me. When we were sunk, all I know is there was a lot of fire and explosions. And I was ordered topsides and overboard. And I was burned. When I came to, I was on a cruiser. My hands were off. After that, I had it easy...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Man from Elysian Fields (2001)

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.