Movie #131: The Best Years of our Lives

Movie #: 131
Movie Title: The Best Years of our Lives
Year Released: 1946

Director: William Wyler
Notable Cast: Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, Harold Russell

Short Description: Three World War II veterans return home to small-town America to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed. (IMDB.com)


Rank on the Top 100 Lists (as of 1/7/2013)

AFI.com: #37
IMDB.com: N/A
Ranker.com: N/A
Lifed.com: N/A
Empire.com: N/A
FilmCrave.com: N/A
FlickChart.com: N/A



Date Watched: 4/27/2016

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 (Satisfactory)

Rationale: Though the plot is based around three men (Fred, Al, and Homer) returning home from war, Homer felt very unnecessary after they arrived home up until the end of film where he got married and the three soldiers reunite. All parts involving Homer during the meat of the film could have been cut down to background information and chit chat between Fred and Al without really losing anything. The majority of the film focused on Fred and Al anyway and the love Fred developed for the Al’s daughter. I found that to be much more interesting and preferable to Homer’s insecurity issues. I will admit that Harold Russell, an actual handicapped WWII vet and the actor who played Homer, was impressive with his effortless use of his real prosthetic claw hands.