"It Can Be Hard to Come Home"
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What You Need To Know:
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES does a remarkable job capturing the issues confronting returning American servicemen after World War II. It’s a true masterpiece that’s compassionate, profound and uplifting, with several amazing performances. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is also very patriotic, with strong Christian elements in a wedding scene, but there is some smoking and alcohol abuse.
Content:
(BB, CC, PPP, Cap, V, S, N, AA, D, M) Strong moral worldview that draws attention to a Christian wedding at the uplifting ending, plus very strong Pro-American, patriotic content and light pro-capitalist content; no foul language; brief fight scene with one good slug; unmarried girl kissed by a married man; upper male nudity; alcohol use and drunkenness; considerable smoking, cigars and cigarettes; and, a divorce.
More Detail:
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is an Academy Award winning Best Picture about three soldiers returning to the same town at the end of World War II. While compassionately showing the difficulties of readjusting to civilian life, the movie does feature some smoking and alcohol abuse.
The movie opens with Fred (Dana Andrews), Homer (Harold Russell, and Al (Fredric March) catching a ride on a B-17 back to Boone City. Fred, a bombardier, has nightmares about friends going down in flames. Homer, whose ship was sunk, lost his hands and has become very adept at using prosthetics. Al returns from the Army to a promotion at the local bank and two children who have grown up while he was gone. The night he returns home, he takes his reserved wife and daughter “on the town” and gets stumbling drunk.
When Fred has difficulty finding a good job, his wife, who loves to spend money on the high life, seeks a divorce. Homer rejects his family and his fiancée because he wants to be treated as a normal man. Try as they might, Homer is just too self-conscious about his hands. Meanwhile, Al struggles at the bank with being too generous making loans to veterans.
Al’s daughter Peggy (Teresa Wright) falls in love with Fred while he’s still married. Al does his best to squelch the relationship. Fred prepares to leave town, but at the last moment gets a good job with a firm dismantling thousands of warplanes. In a very moving scene that’s also a classic use of deep focus cinematography, Fred strolls past a graveyard of B-17s and says, “We sure could have used these early in the war.” The astounding effort involved in winning the war, on the homefront and overseas, just stopped.
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES does a remarkable job capturing the issues returning American veterans faced after World Wart II. The direction by William Wyler (BEN-HUR) is superlative. Harold Russell, a real WW II double amputee, gives a startling, profoundly touching and realistic performance that’s one of the most honest portrayals you may ever see at the movies. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is patriotic and pro-free enterprise with strong Christian elements in a wonderful wedding scene, but it does have some troubling misuse of alcohol and considerable smoking.
The movie won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor (Fredric March), and Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell). It struck a chord with the many veterans returning home around the world. It was immensely popular in Great Britain as well. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is a true masterpiece.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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