EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

JelenaG890 Some films hold up very well, even with time. Examples are Citizen Kane, All about Eve, The Maltese Falcon, Metropolis, Sunset Boulevard, It happened one night, among others. Others, while well-regarded during their release, just don't. "Since You Went Away" is one film that has not aged well at all.For one thing, the doomed "teenage" lovers are way too old for their roles- they were 25 and 31 and both kind of look it. I might be biased, since I have never thought very much of Jennifer Jones as an actress to start with, but I cannot believe she was nominated for this film. During the entire film, all she did was laugh girlishly and bat her eyes- first at Joseph Cotten, and then at Robert Walker, ironically her estranged husband at that time. Jones was decent in "Song of Bernadette" and making this film right after was a huge step backwards for her in my opinion.Robert Walker is a better actor, in my opinion, than Jones, but this role is pretty much thankless and does not showcase any of his talents. In fact, he pretty much looks miserable throughout this film, but I can't say I blame him. If I had to do a movie and kiss my ex-husband, I'd be miserable too.I'm not exactly sure what the point of Joseph Cotten's character was. He just creepily hangs out at their house, clearly lusting after his best friend's wife, while also well-aware of the older daughter's crush on him. I wish they had just left him out of this film- he really added nothing to the story and just came off as a giant leech.Shirley Temple, all grown up here, also does not add much in her role. She also still has the same, whiny baby voice she did at the age of 6. What worked for her as a child definitely did not work for her as she got older.Colbert is kind of the same as she was in any role- dignified, and elegant. But the role of mother does not seem to be one that really suited her.Some of the other performances hold up better. Woolley fares probably the best, and Agnes Moorehead is also great in her supporting role. Unfortunately, Alla Nazimova, one of the greatest silent film actresses and accomplished stage actress, is wasted in a nothing role where she delivers a "rah-rah, yay for the red, white, and blue!" speech.David Selznick certainly knew how to cater to an audience, judging by the massive success that this film was at the time of its release. However, it is just not a film that has held up with time. Instead of feeling patriotic or uplifted when I saw this film, I felt like I had to visit a dentist because of all this film's saccharine message. It is also far too long, but it fits with the "epic" nature of many Selznick films.

MartinHafer "Since You Went Away" would make an amazingly fitting film to watch along with "The Best Years of Our Lives". "Since You Went Away" is an incredibly well-crafted tale about one family as they deal with losses and separations caused by having the men in their lives serving in the armed forces. And, just as well-crafted, "The Best Years of Our Lives" shows men returning home to their families--like a fitting conclusion to "Since You Went Away". Both are highly emotional films, so be sure to have a Kleenex handy--but it's well worth it, as they are two of the very best films of the 1940s. While "The Best Years of Our Lives" won many Oscars (which it richly deserved), "Since You Went Away" only earned one--as the more schmaltzy "Going My Way" swept the Oscars that years. I really like "Going My Way", but it's simply not in the same league as this film--truly a must-see film of the era.The film begins with the man of the house having just left for the war. You never see the guy--just photos of the actor Neil Hamilton. Left behind are his adoring family--his wife (Claudette Colbert) and two daughters (Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple). Through the course of the film, the oldest daughter falls in love (with her real life husband at the time, Robert Walker), the family takes in a cranky boarder (Monty Woolley) and the wife entertains an old friend (Joseph Cotten). While the film is very deliberately paced and lacks excitement like a traditional movie, it is completely engaging throughout because the film is so well made. The acting is tops. The direction (more about that in a moment) is tops. And, the writing is tops. The film really pulls you into what it must have been like for the folks at home and your heart breaks several times through the course of the film--just like it happened with families during the war. In a way, it's like vicariously living through their lives.It's interesting that this David O. Selznick film is shear perfection--just like "Gone With the Wind". I say interesting because the meddling Selznick did EXACTLY what he did with this earlier film--he kept changing directors and actually filmed parts of the film himself because he was such a control freak. It paid off very well in both case--you'd never suspect multiple directors as the camera-work and mood are consistently wonderful.The bottom line is that the film is amazing and there is NOTHING negative in the least I could say about it. The film comes off as sincere, beautifully crafted and a wonderful glimpse into the past. See this film and you'll enjoy it from start to finish.By the way, as you watch the film, listen to the wonderful Max Steiner music. He is considered a genius at his craft and here he is at his best. Another thing to listen for are the wonderful nonsense words used by Hattie McDaniel in the film.

Michael O'Keefe A sentimental romantic drama directed by John Cromwell. Its World War II and many soldiers have left loved ones behind to mind the homefront. Annie Hilton(Claudette Colbert)is trying to make the best of it while her husband is away. Times get tough as she struggles to raise her two daughters, Jane(Jennifer Jones)and 'Brig'(Shirley Temple). To fortify her budget, she must take in two borders, an old ex-soldier Col. William Smollett(Monty Woolley)and a dashing Lt. Tony Willet(Joseph Cotten). The extended household pulls together putting a buffer on hardships. Melencholia starts affecting the affairs of the heart as Tony escorts Annie to functions to take her mind off of her husband at war. Jane falls in love with old Col. Willett's disowned grandson(Robert Walker), who has washed out of military school. Lt. Willet gets his orders to ship out and breaks the heart of young 'Brig', who has a teenage crush on him. M-G-M has a genuine heart warming hit on its hands. Miss Colbert is always filmed from her favorite angle while Cotten is smooth as silk. This also marks the first success of Miss Temple past her childhood. The overly talented cast also features: Lionel Barrymore, Hattie McDaniel, Keenan Wynn, Guy Madison and Agnes Moorehead.

kenjha This ambitious drama looks at life on the home front during WWII. Selznick was fond of lavish productions and he spares no expenses here, assembling a huge cast and making a three-hour film with an overture, an intermission, and the whole works. He even wrote the screenplay. The solid cast is headed by Colbert as a woman who's husband has gone off to fight the war, Jones and Temple as her daughters, Walker as a soldier, Woolley as a lodger, and Cotten as a family friend. The supporting cast includes many familiar faces. The cinematography is crisp, the score is lavish, and the direction is competent. It is overlong, but manages to keep from dragging for the most part.