Since You Went Away
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Movie Reviews of Since You Went Away
Movie Review: WAR TIME POT BOILER GETS A SPIFFY TRANSFER
Summary: 4 Stars
"Since You Went Away" is David O. Selznick feeble attempt to turn a simple war time melodrama in a contemporary "Gone With The Wind." Running just under three-hours - and with enough tear-jerking moments to stock up three films, this cry-fest extraordinaire was meant to be a sincere tribute to all the families who stayed behind while their men went off to fight in World War II. Claudette Colbert stars as Mrs. Anne Hilton, the dutiful wife and mother of two evangelic daughters, Deborah (surprise, surprise - Jennifer Jones) and Briget (Shirley Temple - all grown up and not nearly as effective as during her childhood tenure at Fox). Selznick's screenplay concocts Anne as the veritable to0-good-to-be-true model of courage and strength on the home front. However, after the first hour or so, charting the family's day-to-day life and struggles get to wear a bit thin on the mind and heart.
In retrospect the doomed romance between Deborah and departing serviceman, William Smollett (Robert Walker) seems foreshadowing to the end of Walker and Jones marriage in real life. Guy Madison - a Selznick `discovery' whom the producer hoped would pay off in the same way as his earlier finds, failed to catch on, though in this film he is particularly used to good effect as the all American fighting boy in blue. Despite its shortcomings, "Since You Went Away" was a resounding box office success when it was released and was nominated for a truck-load of Oscars. But the tide of favorable preference in Academy voters had begun to turn against Selznick films by this time. "Since You Went Away" took only one statuette home for its moody and evocative black-and-white cinematography.
MGM's DVD is rather impressive. The B&W picture exhibits a very nicely balanced gray scale with smooth, solid blacks and very clean whites. Age related artifacts are present throughout but do not distract. Some minor edge enhancement crops up but pixelization is kept to a minimum. Overall the picture will surely not disappoint. The audio is mono but more than adequate for a film of this vintage. There are no extras.
Movie Review: Colbert in her finest performance of the decade
Summary: 4 Stars
SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944) is a beautiful wartime drama about the women left behind, and their contributions to the war effort. Based on Margaret Buell Wilder's acclaimed novel with a screenplay by David O. Selznick, SINCE YOU WENT AWAY provided Claudette Colbert with her finest performance of the decade, as Anne Hilton, whose husband is away at war but finds excitement and drama thanks to her two adolescent daughters. Jennifer Jones glows as the eldest daughter Jane, with Shirley Temple as the tomboyish Bridget ("Brig").
The film garnered nine Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture, and acting nods to Colbert, Jones and Monty Woolley), but only managed to win `Best Music Scoring' for Max Steiner's stirring compositions.
The photography is amazing, whilst remaining within the confines of the simple domesticity the film depicts; but neverthless beautifully cinematic when the occasion calls for it. The Army Ball, set in an airplane hanger, is perhaps one of the most brilliant sequences ever captured in a film, with Agnes Moorehead leading a conga-line which seems to stretch on forever; and arc-lights illuminating couples dancing the waltz.
Robert Walker plays Jane's (Jennifer Jones) ill-fated sweetheart William Smollett. In reality, Walker and Jones were married at the time, but Jones ended up divorcing Walker to marry David O. Selznick (her mentor and the man largely responsible for her career) in 1949. Tragically, Robert Walker died two years later.
The strong ensemble cast also includes Hattie McDaniel, Joseph Cotten and Lionel Barrymore. Selznick managed to coax legendary silent star Alla Nazimova out of retirement for a small but very important role. This was the Selznick's answer to the successful M-G-M production "Mrs Miniver", released two years earlier. Both films make great companion pieces.
The DVD presents the film complete and uncut and (for the first time) with Overture and Intermission/Entr'acte sequences.
Movie Review: Life on the home front
Summary: 4 Stars
During the World War II years, films about the soldiers who fought the war were proliferate but there were not that many about the families left behind at home. The British had scored a big hit in 1942 with "Mrs. Miniver" which won numerous Academy Awards. Producer David Selznick wanted to make a film that depicted an American family and their struggles during this difficult time. "Since You Went Away" was the result. It deals with a Midwestern mother and her two teenage daughters and how their lives are affected when the husband and father is sent to war.
Claudette Colbert plays the mother (she first balked at playing a mother to two teenagers) and she is very good if a tad refined for a housewife. Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple play the daughters and rounding out the all star cast is Joseph Cotten, Monty Woolley, Robert Walker, Agnes Moorehead, Hattie McDaniel, Nazimova, Lionel Barrymore and Guy Madison. And if you look quick, you will see Dorothy Dandridge in the dance scene.
As with most David O. Selznick features, the film is padded perhaps too much (it runs for almost 3 hours) and is heavy on the sentiment. However, the film is very entertaining and there are numerous memorable scenes. The most famous is a touching farewell sequence at a train station as Jane (Jennifer Jones) says goodbye to her boyfriend (Robert Walker). What is ironic about that scene is that in real life, Jones and Walker were married but were in the midst of a separation. A definate tear-jerking moment as is the last scene with Colbert sitting at the Christmas tree alone on Christmas eve.
The film looks fantastic on this new MGM dvd release. There are no special features which is really a shame. For the price though, this is an excellent buy for your home film library.
Movie Review: Prequel to "The Best Years of Our Lives"?
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw this movie for the first time the other night. Frankly, I had not heard of it before and that surprized me because it is a good movie and, I believe, an important one. It gives a wide view of life on the home front during WWII. We see it through the eyes of a middle to upper-middle class household of a middle-aged woman and her two teen-age daughters. The husband/father enlisted, patriotically, and the family then has to face life without the patriarch for an indefinite period of time. We see the small crises and the big ones; some bigger than we wanted to see. We also see how different people handle the stress and challenges of the war on the homefront.
The acting is very good with a lot of well-known names; Monty Woolley, Claudet Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Walker, and Hattie McDaniel. There are also a few up and comers that you may or may not recognize. Claudet Colbert is the unquestionable star of the movie but my choice as the next best is Monty Woolley who is his usual aloof self but with a heart that makes a few cameo appearances. The one character who I found out of place is the the role played by Joseph Cotton. The role was too loosely defined and he seemed to interrupt rather than enhance the flow of the movie. My other negative comment is that the movie was about 30 minutes too long. There was plenty of room for a better film editing job. This is not the quality of "The Best Years of Our Lives" but, for those of us who came after WWII, it IS a very good look at life at home during the war.
Movie Review: Excellent but Endless
Summary: 4 Stars
The lead Amazon reviews of this film give thorough descriptions of the plot and characters; and as I substantially agree with their views of the film, I will limit myself to my primary impressions. The black and white cinematography and camera work, noted by others, are indeed superb. The extended sequence of the USO dance is breathtaking in its dramatic flow and alternation of intimacy with stylized, dramatically distanced views of the dancers' movements on the floor of the cavernous armory. And it is refreshing to see a portrayal of a FUNCTIONAL family--something that the entertainment industry seems to have little interest in these days. Also notable is the film's considerable score; not a moment passes without appropriate orchestral accompaniment. That said, the film is too long--nearly three hours. But Selznick, Director John Cromwell, and a superb cast have bequeathed to us a look into what seems to be another world, where characters' flaws are recognized but where decency, honest emotion, and a sense of duty leavened with modesty and humor prevail, presented with nothing less than professionalism and frequently with considerable art. Wonderful that it is available on DVD! A personal note: When this film was released in 1944, I was two years old, living in Wollaston, Massachusetts with my grandparents, mother, and aunt, awaiting the return of my father (whom I met for the first time in 1946 at age four) from the South Pacific. I lived in the world shown in this film, although I was too young at the time to have much of an understanding of what was at stake.