The Best Years of Our Lives

The Best Years of Our Lives (also known as Glory for Me and Home Again) is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Harold Russell. The film is credited for its portrayal of the hardships of the post-war era and reincorporation of men into society after their traumatic terms in the US Military, The film is about three United States servicemen re-adjusting to societal changes and civilian life after coming home from World War II. The three men come from different services with different ranks that do not correspond with their civilian social class backgrounds. It is one of the earliest films to address issues encountered by returning veterans in the post World War II era and it dealt with issues such as PSTD and a resurgence of isolationist policy. There are many prescient references to nuclear war destruction, reintegration policies with veterans that extended into the Vietnam War and beyond. The 3 main characters have conventional resolutions to their struggles but the movie leaves them unresolved-The banker(lower-class sergeant major) from the US Army is seen still drinking heavily at the conclusion. A social and personal challenge;The Navy Seaman(mid-class) will have to struggle with his physical limitations and the airman(higher class military Captain) has huge class and financial hurdles to clear. This is despite the "feel-good" Hollywood endings of the characters, all will face major challenges to return and succeed in post-war culture. The film also addresses the inception of the GI Bill and the problems of private banking extending loans to veterans on dictate. The post-depression era banks were reticent to loan to "high-risk" candidates after banking reforms. The film was a critical and commercial success. It won seven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor (Fredric March), Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell), Best Film Editing (Daniel Mandell), Best Adapted Screenplay (Robert E. Sherwood), and Best Original Score (Hugo Friedhofer). In addition, Russell was also awarded an honorary Academy Award, the only time in history that two such awards were given for a single performance. It was the highest-grossing film in both the United States and United Kingdom since the release of Gone with the Wind, and is the sixth most-attended film of all time in the United Kingdom, with over 20 million tickets sold. In 1989, The Best Years of Our Lives was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".