The Best Years of Our Lives
original movie poster
Directed by	William Wyler
Produced by	Samuel Goldwyn
Written by	Robert E. Sherwood Based on Glory for Me by MacKinlay Kantor
Starring	Fredric March Myrna Loy Dana Andrews Teresa Wright Virginia Mayo Hoagy Carmichael
Music by	Hugo Friedhofer
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release date	November 21, 1946 (New York City)
Running time	172 min
Language	English
Budget	$2,100,000 USD (est.)
IMDb profile

The Best Years of Our Lives is a 1946 movie about three servicemen (an air force officer, an infantry sergeant, and an ordinary sailor) trying to piece their lives back together after coming back home from World War II. It is based on a novel by MacKinlay Kantor, Glory for Me. The large cast includes Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, and Hoagy Carmichael. Image File history File links 46A.jpg‎ original movie poster source: www. ... William Wyler (July 1, 1902–July 27, 1981) was a prolific, Oscar-winning motion picture director. ... // Samuel Goldwyn (July, 1879, Warsaw, Poland – January 31, 1974, Los Angeles, California, United States) was a widely known motion picture producer and founding contributor of several motion picture studios. ... Robert Emmet Sherwood (4 April 1896–14 November 1955) American playwright, editor, and screenwriter. ... MacKinlay Kantor (1904–1977) was an American novelist and screenwriter who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956 for his novel Andersonville. ... Fredric March photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Fredric March (August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ... A publicity photo of Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American motion picture actress. ... Dana Andrews Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 - December 17, 1992) was an American actor. ... Wright in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Muriel Teresa Wright (October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was an Academy Award-winning American actress, known professionaly as Teresa Wright. ... Virginia Mayo, 1944 Virginia Mayo (November 30, 1920 - January 17, 2005) was an American film actress. ... Hoagland Howard Hoagy Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. ... Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901 - May 17, 1981) was a film music composer born in San Francisco. ... The classic logo of RKO Radio Pictures. ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Flag Seal Nickname: Big Apple Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Combatants Allies: Soviet Union United Kingdom United States and others Axis Powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Franklin Roosevelt Joseph Stalin Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military dead: 8,000... MacKinlay Kantor (1904–1977) was an American novelist and screenwriter who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1956 for his novel Andersonville. ... Fredric March photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Fredric March (August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ... A publicity photo of Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American motion picture actress. ... Dana Andrews Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 - December 17, 1992) was an American actor. ... Wright in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Muriel Teresa Wright (October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was an Academy Award-winning American actress, known professionaly as Teresa Wright. ... Virginia Mayo, 1944 Virginia Mayo (November 30, 1920 - January 17, 2005) was an American film actress. ... Hoagland Howard Hoagy Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. ...

Directed by William Wyler and with cinematography by Gregg Toland, the film received seven Academy Awards. Harold Russell, who lost both hands in the war and played an amputee, received an honorary award "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance" in the movie. Despite his touching Oscar-nominated performance, he was not a professional actor and the Board of Governors assessed Russell's chances of winning a competitive award as a long shot. About an hour later, Russell was named Best Supporting Actor to a tumultuous reception. He is the only actor to receive two Academy Awards for the same performance. William Wyler (July 1, 1902–July 27, 1981) was a prolific, Oscar-winning motion picture director. ... Gregg Toland (1904-1948) was an influential American cinematographer, most noted for his work on Orson Welles Citizen Kane. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States and most watched awards ceremony in the world. ... Harold John Russell (b. ...

Synopsis

After World War II, demobilized servicemen Fred Derry (Andrews), Homer Parrish (Russell), and Al Stephenson (March) are hitching a ride home in a bomber to Boone City, a Midwestern city like Des Moines or Omaha. Fred was an air force captain and bombardier in Europe. Homer had been in the navy and lost his hands because of burns when his ship was hit. Al served as an army sergeant in the Pacific. Combatants Allies: Soviet Union United Kingdom United States and others Axis Powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Franklin Roosevelt Joseph Stalin Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead: 50,000,000 Military dead: 8,000...

The Best Years of Our Lives bar scene. Note the in-focus figure in the phone booth in the background.

Before the war, Fred had been a soda jerk at a drug store. He goes from being an important officer to the prospect of returning to the drug store and he naturally wants more. Fred met Marie (Mayo) while in basic training and married her shortly afterwards. She took a job as a night club waitress while Fred was overseas and clearly does not relish being married to a soda jerk. Al's daughter Peggy (Wright), who works at a Veterans Hospital, meets Fred and falls in love with him. Image File history File links Harold Russell and Hoagy Carmichael (at piano) appear in William Wylers, The Best Years of Our Lives. ... Image File history File links Harold Russell and Hoagy Carmichael (at piano) appear in William Wylers, The Best Years of Our Lives. ... Soda jerk (or soda jerker) is the name for the person—typically specific to youths —who works the soda fountain in a drugstore. ...

Al had been a loan officer for the Corn Belt Bank. Al, while shown to have a drinking problem, has the least trouble adjusting to civilian life with wife Milly (Loy). In fact, he receives a promotion from the bank upon his return. However, having seen the horrors of war, Al is a changed man. Today he would likely be diagnosed as suffering from PTSD. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is a term for the psychological consequences of exposure to or confrontation with stressful experiences, which involve actual or threatened death, serious physical injury or a threat to physical integrity and which the person found highly traumatic. ...

Homer appears to have been inducted after graduating from high school and mentions having been a quarterback. He is engaged to Wilma (Cathy O'Donnell), but doesn't want to burden her with a handicapped man. His uncle Butch (Carmichael) owns a bar where the principal characters meet from time to time. Cathy ODonnell as Keechie Mobley in They Live by Night Actress Cathy ODonnell (born Ann Steely July 6, 1923 - April 11, 1970) began her career on stage. ...

Cast

• Myrna Loy .... Milly Stephenson
• Fredric March .... Al Stephenson
• Dana Andrews .... Fred Derry
• Harold Russell .... Homer Parish
• Teresa Wright .... Peggy Stephenson
• Virginia Mayo .... Marie Derry
• Cathy O'Donnell .... Wilma Cameron
• Hoagy Carmichael .... Uncle Butch

A publicity photo of Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American motion picture actress. ... Fredric March photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Fredric March (August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Dana Andrews Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 - December 17, 1992) was an American actor. ... Harold John Russell (b. ... Wright in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Muriel Teresa Wright (October 27, 1918 – March 6, 2005) was an Academy Award-winning American actress, known professionaly as Teresa Wright. ... Virginia Mayo, 1944 Virginia Mayo (November 30, 1920 - January 17, 2005) was an American film actress. ... Cathy ODonnell as Keechie Mobley in They Live by Night Actress Cathy ODonnell (born Ann Steely July 6, 1923 - April 11, 1970) began her career on stage. ... Hoagland Howard Hoagy Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. ...

Awards, nominations and other recognition

Academy Awards

• Won: Best Picture - Samuel Goldwyn, producer
• Won: Best Leading Actor - Fredric March
• Won: Best Supporting Actor - Harold Russell
• Won: Best Director - William Wyler
• Won: Best Editing - Daniel Mandell
• Won: Best Original Music Score - Hugo Friedhofer
• Won: Best Adapted Screenplay - Robert E. Sherwood
• Won: Academy Honorary Award - Harold Russell
• Nomination: Best Sound Mixing - Gordon Sawyer

Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States and most watched awards ceremony in the world. ... The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... // Samuel Goldwyn (July, 1879, Warsaw, Poland – January 31, 1974, Los Angeles, California, United States) was a widely known motion picture producer and founding contributor of several motion picture studios. ... The Academy Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Fredric March photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Fredric March (August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ... The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Harold John Russell (b. ... The Academy Award for Directing is an accolade given to the person that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences feels was best director of the past year. ... William Wyler (July 1, 1902–July 27, 1981) was a prolific, Oscar-winning motion picture director. ... The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. ... From Rule Sixteen of the Special Rules for The Music Awards Original Score: An original score is a substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by the submitting composer. ... Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901 - May 17, 1981) was a film music composer born in San Francisco. ... The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. ... Robert Emmet Sherwood (4 April 1896–14 November 1955) American playwright, editor, and screenwriter. ... The Academy Honorary Award is given irregularly by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards. ... Harold John Russell (b. ... The Academy Award for Sound Mixing is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most aesthetic sound mixing or recording, and is generally awarded to the production sound mixers and re-recording mixers of the winning film. ...

Golden Globe Awards

• Won: Best Dramatic Motion Picture
• Won: Special Award for Best Non-Professional Acting - Harold Russell

The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama has been awarded annually since 1944 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. ...

American Film Institute

• Ranked #37 at the 100 Years... 100 Movies list.
• Ranked #11 at the 100 Years... 100 Cheers list.

The American Film Institute (AFI) is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act. ... Part of the AFI 100 Years. ... 100 Years. ...

American Government

• Selected to preservation in 1989 by the National Film Registry at the Library of the United States Congress.

The U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789 by a constitutional convention, sets down the basic framework of American government in its seven articles. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Film Registry is the registry of films selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board for preservation in the Library of Congress. ... The Great Hall interior. ... Seal of the Congress. ...

Quotes

• Milly Stephenson: "We never had any trouble." How many times did I tell you I hated you and believed it in my heart? How many times did you tell me you were tired of me; that we were all washed up? How many times did we have to fall in love all over again?
• Al Stephenson: I've seen nothing, I should have stayed at home and found out what was really going on.
• Fred Derry: You know what it'll be, don't you, Peggy? It may take us years to get anywhere. We'll have no money, no decent place to live. We'll have to work, get kicked around.
• Peggy Stephenson: I've made up my mind. Al Stephenson: Good girl. Milly Stephenson: To do what? Peggy Stephenson: I'm going to break that marriage up!
• Butch Engle: Give 'em time, Kid. They'll catch on. You know, your folks'll get used to you and you'll get used to them. Then everything'll settle down nicely--unless we have another war. Then none of us have to worry 'cause we'll all be blown to bits the first day. So cheer up, huh?
• Al Stephenson: Fine people, the Merrills. Strictly T.C.R. . . . Top Credit Rating.

Trivia

• Filming locations: Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; Ontario International Airport, Ontario, California; Raleigh Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California; and the Samuel Goldwyn/Warner Hollywood Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
• Hedda Hopper called the Best Years of Our Lives, "The best film of the year." The quote was used in one of the film's posters.
• The Hugo Friedhofer score was the subject of a thorough analysis in Musical America, the foremost musicological publication of the time, by Dr Frederick Sternfield, in its March 1946 edition.
• Harold Russell, who won two Academy Awards for his performance as Homer, didn't appear in the film's original theatrical trailers and was not mentioned in press releases. While some saw this as a sign of studio attempts to push him into the background, Goldwyn intended that the double-amputee Russell be a surprise to the audiences, despite his having previously appeared in a film about the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers. Russell lost his hands while handling faulty explosives for an Army training film.
• Each of the planes seen waiting to be scrapped in the film would be worth several million dollars today to collectors. The planes actually were being scrapped, the studio simply took advantage of the location and timing to film those scenes. More of each type of plane is seen in the overflight scene than currently exist in the world.
• In his mid-30s, Dana Andrews was a decade older than his Fred Derry character was to have been.
• In an early scene, when Al mentions how long he has been married, Fred touches a row of insignia on the sleeve of his service coat. Those are "hash marks," indicating the duration of his service.
• The film's tagline is "Filled with all the love and warmth and joy . . .the human heart can hold!"

Hedda Hopper on the July 28, 1947 cover of Time Magazine Hedda Hopper (May 2, 1885 – February 1, 1966) was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hoppers columns. ... Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901 - May 17, 1981) was a film music composer born in San Francisco. ... A Service stripe is a decoration of the United States military which is presented to enlisted members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, and United States Marines upon completion of three years of military service. ...

External links

• The Best Years of Our Lives at the Internet Movie Database
• Detailed synopsis and analysis of the film
• Reel Classics (includes MP3's)