Since You Went Away (1944) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Since You Went Away" was released in 1944 and shows a different side of war - families coping with life stateside. The peerless Claudette Colbert stars as Anne Hilton, and the picture picks up with her entering her empty home after her husband has been deployed. She struggles to put on a happy face for her teen daughters, played by Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple. All three of them make sacrifices and experience tragedies as they bravely endure war which impinges on their previously ideal middle-class life. Into their lives come an abrasive, retired Colonel (Monty Woolley), the Colonel's timid son (Robert Walker, who was married to Jennifer Jones at the time), and a charming family friend who is stationed nearby (Joseph Cotton).
Producer David O. Selznick wanted the movie to be as superior as his earlier "Gone with the Wind." That comparison is a bit lofty, but "Since You Went Away" is extremely good - a top-notch Hollywood film in every way. The casting and acting are superlative, particularly Colbert; Temple is also quite good in one of her few young adult roles. The direction by John Cromwell (father of actor James) is stunning, with a multitude of intimate scenes interspersed with some incredible set-pieces, such as the USO cantina dance. Perhaps the most famous scene takes place in a train station, with Jennifer Jones tearfully biding goodbye to her boyfriend as she runs alongside his train. The scene was even parodied in "Airplane!"
Although the film teeters toward melodrama at times and the movie is undeniably glossy, but the script is so pitch-perfect and warm that it manages to be tremendously effective. The film may sound like an American retread of 1942's "Mrs. Miniver," but the plot is quite different and even funny at times. The film received a number of Oscar nominations: Picture, Actress (Colbert), Supporting Actor (Woolley), Supporting Actress (Jones); it won for best score. "Since You Went Away" is one of the finest war movies of the 1940s; however, perhaps because of its rather genteel tone, it's been somewhat forgotten, which is really a shame. Most highly recommended.


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Nominated* for nine Academy AwardsÂ(r), thisheart-warming, soul-stirring(Variety) portrait of life on the homefront during World War II isa magnificent picture rich in humor and poignant with heartbreak(The Hollywood Reporter). Claudette Colbert heads an all-star cast,including Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten and Shirley Temple, in thisbeautifully produced picture that gets into your heart(Los Angeles Examiner).With her husband Tim off at war, Anne Hilton (Colbert) struggles to be a pillar of strength for her daughters Jane (Jones) and Bridget (Temple). During America's darkest hours, she bravely steers her girls through heartbreak and hardships as she eagerly awaits news from overseas and wonders if life will ever be the same. *1944: Best Picture, Actress (Colbert), Supporting Actor (Monty Woolley), Supporting Actress (Jones), Cinematography (B&W), Art Direction (B&W), Editing, Music Score (won), Special Effects

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