Since You Went Away
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Movie Reviews of Since You Went Away
Movie Review: Sinceyouwentaway
Summary: 5 Stars
This Movie is definitely top of the line acting, The story
is very touching and true to life. The ending is especially
touching. Thumbs Up!!!!!
Movie Review: Another great classic
Summary: 5 Stars
I have loved this movie since I was a kid watching the Million Dollar Movie.
If you like old movies & appreciate great film making try this one.
Movie Review: DVD purchase
Summary: 5 Stars
product received was as advertised, and in great condition. Would buy from this vendor again.Movie Review: Epic-Length Home-Front WWII Soap Opera Has Colbert and Some Startling Camerawork
Summary: 4 Stars
Two things still stand out in this elongated, patriotic 1944 soap opera produced in immaculate style by David O. Selznick (Gone with the Wind, Rebecca) - the natural, self-effacing warmth of Claudette Colbert's portrayal of a WWII wife and mother holding down her home as her husband goes off to war, and the striking black-and-white cinematography by Lee Garmes and Stanley Cortez, who use a lot of deep focus and long shadows to accentuate the more dramatic moments. Look at the dance sequence in the airplane hangar or the departing train scene for clear evidence of their artistry. Otherwise, the film directed by John Cromwell is emblematic of its time as a morale booster to war-weary audiences looking for ways to cope with the eternal wait for the serving men. Based on a novel by Margaret Buell Wilder written in the form of a series of letters, Selznick took it upon himself to flesh out the story into a full-fledged screenplay with the intent of making an American version of the 1942 MGM classic, Mrs. Miniver complete with an overly effusive musical score by Max Steiner. While some jingoism is expected from a film of this era, it remains a poignant piece of Americana during a more innocent time - not as emotionally resonant as William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives but cut from the same dramatic cloth.
The simple story focuses on the Hilton family. Head of the household Tim (who is only seen in the movie in photos) has just left, and his wife Anne is trying to cope with the initial loneliness. Oldest daughter Jane is a boy-crazy high school senior, and fifteen-year-old Brig is the perky rabble-rouser-wannabe. Devoted to Tim with unconditional devotion, the three have an ideal relationship. Because they have to now survive only on his allotment checks, Anne has to let family maid Fidelia go, even though she comes back to work for them for free. Such situations obviously just happen in the movies. They take in a boarder, the easily irritable Colonel Smollett, and things get complicated when family friend Lt. Tony Willett shows up. Jane develops a crush on Tony, but her affections quickly transfer to Smollett's grandson Billy, a puppyish enlistee who is summarily ignored by his grandfather for getting ejected from West Point. The film starts to move into a quagmire of tear-jerking scenes at this point, and the last part introduces new situations and characters much too quickly - including a potentially interesting episode on Anne's job in a steel mill - before the film finally ends.
Colbert is wonderful as the patient Anne from start to finish. As Jane, Jennifer Jones tries too hard to be youthful at the beginning (she was 25) but settles down when her character falls in love with Billy and matures due to an unexpected tragedy. In a role virtually identical to the one he played in Vincente Minnelli's The Clock opposite Judy Garland, Robert Walker overdoes Billy's callowness to an off-putting degree. Regardless, I have to admit his scenes with Jones are touching, especially the famous goodbye scene at the train platform (satirized hilariously in Airplane!). Appearing about four years after the last of her child roles, Shirley Temple transitions nicely into adolescence as the spirited Brig. As the dashing Tony, Joseph Cotten is not particularly challenged here since he seems to be replaying Uncle Charlie from Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt with none of the darkness. The same can be said about Monty Woolley as Smollett, Hattie McDaniel as the comically inappropriate Fidelia (whose musical accompaniment sounds patronizingly like a cotton plantation spiritual), and even Agnes Moorehead playing Anne's narrow-minded society friend. Silent screen actress Nazimova shows up near the end as Anne's sanctimonious Russian émigré co-worker. The 2004 DVD unfortunately offers no extras.
Movie Review: The homefront
Summary: 4 Stars
WWII was still raging, and producer David O. Selznick wanted to make a film, not about the fighting, but about the American home front. Margaret Buell Wilder had published a collection of her letters to her soldier husband, and Selznick took it upon himself to adapt it into a screen play for one of his trademark "blockbusters." Since You Went Away never reached the heights of Selznick's Gone With the Wind, but with an all star cast, great direction (John Cromwell), and top notch cinematography (Stanley Cortez and Lee Garmes), it captured the attention of a populace coping with the deprivations of wartime. Claudette Colbert played housewife Ann Hilton, who struggles to maintain a normal home environment for her daughters Jane (Jennifer Jones) and Bridget (Shirley Temple). This family is financially secure, but must still deal with shortages, rationing, separations, returning wounded, and constant anxiety and worry. Ann is supported by her housekeeper, Fidelia (Hattie McDaniel, Mammy in GWTW), and family friend Lt. Tony Willett (Joseph Cotten) who loves Ann, but chastely. There's an awful lot of gee whiz sincerity in this story, which is relieved now and then by Agnes Morehead as a catty society matron. Morehead wen[...]t on to play many crone types, but as seen here, she was quite a lovely woman. Guess that's why they call it acting.
Since You Went Away contains many dated elements (the musical score, which won an Oscar, is positively saccharine, as is some of the dialogue), but nevertheless it works. The granddaddy of all subsequent train station parting scenes is touchingly enacted by Jennifer Jones and her fiance (Robert Walker), who is shipping out to the European front. In a bit of interesting trivia, Jones and Walker were married in real life and were in the midst of a tense separation. The portrayal of the big dance, set in a hangar, is delightful, and the final scenes on Christmas Eve are sure to bring tears to the eyes of anyone with a heart. Considering who the producer was, the length of this movie, close to three hours, should come as no surprise, and some of the scenes truly are overlong. This film has been criticized as propogandist, but watch it for its fine performances and a picture of American idealism.