Sunday, July 15, 2018

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) is producer Samuel Goldwyn's classic, significant American film about the difficult, traumatic adjustments that three returning World War II veterans experience as they return home and struggle with the physical and emotional demands of adapting to civilian life. Fredric March, (Army Sergeant Al Stephenson), Dana Andrews (Air Force bombardier Fred Derry), and Harold Russell (sailor Homer Parrish), star in this timeless portrait of the human costs of war, which won seven Academy Awards. Harold Russell, a real World War II double amputee (from a ship explosion), and one of the cast's inexperienced actors, won an honorary Oscar, "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance." Russell was also the surprise winner for Best Supporting Actor, the only time an actor has been given two Oscars for the same role. The film also stars Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Hoagy Carmichael.