I Gave Up the Best Years of My Life For You: Post War Film

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"People will think we'll be gambling with the depositors money, and we will be, we'll be gambling on the future of this country," states Al Stephenson, Frederic March's character in The Best Years of Our Lives.

Al Stephenson is one of the three former GI's coming back from World War II, and finding themselves in a different place. Stephenson is middle aged and somewhat wealthy, but even in returning to the United States does he find life hard. His kids have grown up without him, and the war has changed his life. He is promoted and made Vice President of small loans at his bank. A GI comes to the bank and asks for money to buy a farm, thinking that under the GI bill the loan is not a dream. Stephenson's boss doesn't like the idea of giving him a loan, because he has no collateral, but Stephenson figures that if this guy can survive the navy, then he can run a farm. In a speech honoring him Stephenson states that his bank will give out many small loans to GI's and that people will think it is risky. It will be risky, however it is a necessary risk to ensure the success of returning GIs. Stephenson represents the middle-aged soldier coming back from the war, only to find that their war experiences are worth nothing.

Like the other two characters (mentioned later) Stephenson is reluctant to return home. He finds his son and daughter all grown up. Stephenson brings back his son a samurai sword, but his son is too old to be amazed by such a thing. He mentions that there are debates about the future of the world, now there an atomic bomb exists"I've seen nothing," says Stephenson," I guess I should have stayed home to see what was really going on." Stephenson feels like the world has changed too much since he left. There is no more maid in his house and his children don't need their father to entertain them anymore. He feels detached and betrayed, as his job doesn't allow him to loan money to GIs as much as he'd like. He becomes a drunk, to try and detach himself from his problems.

After his inspiring speech about loaning money to the average GI, he goes home, and wakes up with his wife bringing him breakfast in bed. He has a resurgence, and again becomes the successful banker he was before the war. In the end, things turn out in his favor. He knows that he will be able to help his fellow GIs. Like many middle aged men returning from the war, Al Stephenson needs to readjust to normal life, and even he was one of the luckier ones.

"All I want is to be treated like everyone else, instead of people pitying me," says Homer Parish, Harold Russell's character in The Best Years of Our Lives. Harold Russell had lost his hands during the war, and like his character, just wanted to be treated like everyone else. His girlfriend Wilma still loves him, despite his crafty problem, however his family is not so welcoming. His mother tries to do everything for him, bring him drinks and food, and nobody lets him do complicated things on his own. His hands are replaced with hooks, with which he is very capable, however he needs help taking them off and getting them on.

Most people who interact with him aren't too upset by his hooks, they are only curious. In fact, their curiosity only reveals Homer's feelings of helplessness. His sister and her friends watch him through a window. When he realizes they are staring at his hooks, he pretend to attack them saying, "Want to See the Freak?" He smashes through a window greatly upsetting his sister and realizes that he is uncomfortable with his disability, and that it is not everyone else's fault.

Homer is upset by his inadequacy and doesn't want to continue his relationship with his girlfriend. He doesn't want her to have to deal with his disability. He takes her upstairs for the final test of her love. He removes his robe and explains that he is even lucky to have his elbows, and how some his friends didn't. He explains that getting up in the morning he needs help, and going to bed he needs help, and if she loves him, she won't care. She doesn't.

Eventually they marry, showing that despite it seeming like the war had taken young Homer's life away, he was still able to conquer his disability. Homer represents the young soldier of the war, who has lost a lot and seen even more, returning home. He has to overcome obstacles, but with help and faith, he is able to live a good life.

Ironically he won a special Golden Globe and Academy Award. He was given special treatment because of his disability., exactly what the movie was arguing against.

"We're back right where we started," comments Fred Derry, Dana Andrews' character to his wife in The Best Years of Our Lives. Fred Derry was a bombardier in World War II, and was welcomed back home by his parents, but not his wife. His wife, who is now working at an ambiguously riské job as a waitress in a late night club, lives somewhere else. Derry has to spend the night finding her, looking through all the gin joints in town to find her. By the end of the night, he hasn't found her, and has only become drunk. He does however run into Homer and Al. They have a jolly old time getting drunk, and Al's daughter Peggy, the designated driver, brings Fred back to Al's house, and nurses him from his drunken delusions and nightmares about the war (which haunt him frequently) until the morning. Not surprisingly, they fall in love.

The next morning, Peggy cooks Fred breakfast, and takes him to his wife's apartment (assuming that she is home). His wife is very happy to see him, but is mostly excited by his uniform. He asks her to quit her job so they can have more time together, and she reluctantly does so. She also seems as though she wants nothing more than to show off her husband to her friends.

Fred returns to the old drugs store in which he worked as a soda jerk, hoping his war experience will gain him a new job. It doesn't, and he is now a subordinate of a former subordinate. He makes little money, and hates his new job. His wife is not pleased, all she wants is more money.

We later find out that Fred's wife had many affairs. She is very puerile, and the war has hardened Fred to see right through all her childlishness His wife gets impatient with their lack of money and flare. She demands a divorce, with the ironic fraise, " I gave up the best years of my life for you!" Of course Fred gave up the best years of his life to a country that won't even give him a decent job.

Al Stephenson doesn't want Peggy involved with a married man, and Fred promises not to see her anymore, in the interests of Peggy. Stephenson claims that should would be better off with "someone who could make her happy." Fred of course thinks that he can make her happy, but sees Stephenson's point that he is jobless and headed nowhere.

Things look down for Fred. He is getting a divorce, not allowed to see his true love, has one friend (Homer) , no job (he lost it after hitting a customer for badmouthing World War II as a pointless war) and nobody cares for him as an individual.It would seem as though Fred truly gave up the best years of his life for a country that doesn't want him back.

But hope is not lost. Fred goes to a junkyard for planes, and reminisces for the last time about being a pilot. When he gets out of the plane, it is as if the war can no longer haunt him. The foreman working in the yard walks by and asks" reviving old memories?" To which Fred replies "yeah, or maybe getting some of them out of my system." It is through this act that he lets go of the war and the memories that haunt his dreams.

Fred asks for a job. The forman wonders, "do you know anything about building?" To which he replies again,"No but I do know one thing, I know how to learn, same as I learned that job up there."

Fred has re-obtained his job. At Homer and Wilma's wedding, Peggy and Fred kiss, this time, throwing all opposition to the side. Fred has started his life over, with a new job, and a new girl, without the war to stifle his abilities. Fred represents the average soldier coming back from the war a changed man, and having to deal with a world that has changed during the war. Fred has matured. He sees that his beautiful wife is shallow, and he sees that his job is a dead end one. He, like many returning World War II soldiers, has to start a new life.

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The Links On The Posters And on the Movie Names Are All Courtesy of and to IMDB.com (the Internet Movie Database)

	America's Film's Involvement In World War II: The Best Years of Our Lives Post War Films (1945-1947 and The Present) Post World War II cinema often concerns the problems of returning veterans. Film Noir is a very import nat style which reflected the struggles of veterans returning from a war so hard to understand from those left at home. And these very same veterans came home to a welcoming but troubled America, which didn't all have jobs for middle aged and young men who had spent the best years of their lives in the military. And so The Best Years of Our Lives (in-depth analysis below)the greatest post-war era movie, although not of the film noir style, explored the ideas about the difficulty of veterans entering society, and the new world that has been made out of the war (see below for a detailed analysis of this movie). By the 1950's most war movies concerned the Korean War, and the new enemies were the Soviets not the Nazis. Already in 1957 the great patriotic director Michael Curtiz directed The Unsuspected a film noir murder mystery, which had very little do with the war. Some later movies such as Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (both 1964) did concern the new world, run by computers and the nuclear bomb. This did in a way reflect the changed that World War II caused, and the paranoid feelings of America, but they did not directly comment on World War II itself. The Bridge On the River Kwai (1957) already used World War II as stories about characters and psychological issues and don't concentrate as much on the war itself. Similarly, great movies about World War II that occurred after it such as Stalag 17, The Great Escape, Patton, The Dirty Dozen, and even the recent Saving Private Ryan don't concentrate as much on World War II issues but rather are used explore contemporary issues. The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) was one of the last great movies to concentrate on World War II through characters beating all odds to preserve the American way. However The Sands of Iwo Jima was historically inaccurate and served more as an action movie than having any greater meaning. 1945's A Walk in the Sun is an unusually realistic and upsetting picture about the war, in which there are long periods of silence or conversation and then short bursts of action, the overall strategic purpose of which the soldiers are unaware. A Walk in the Sun shows some of the feelings of returned veterans who , although willing to give fight for the greater purpose, still felt insignificant. There was a somewhat conservative reaction on films just after the end of the war. Films like A Walk in the Sun and The Best Years of Our Lives did not disagree with the war but they explored the disadvantages of World War II rather than the only thing that had been explored before, the advantages. Frank Capra had completely somewhat changed his approach to film with It's a Wonderful Life . The movie was more concerned with suburban life than the veterans an took place in-between the two world wars. It was very sentimental, as was much of Capra's work, but while America had just come out the war, it didn't want sentimentality about pre-war suburbia, it wanted much tougher pictures about the post-war world (some even in suburbia). America was also tired of films that concerned the little man rising up against unusual odds. It wanted a happy story about success. Thus It's a Wonderful Life was not met by much praise when it was released, but eventually became a standard classic Christmas film. The Hucksters (1947) is a film about successful advertising agent; just what America wanted to hear about, success.
	In-Depth Analysis of The Best Years of Our Lives "People will think we'll be gambling with the depositors money, and we will be, we'll be gambling on the future of this country," states Al Stephenson, Frederic March's character in The Best Years of Our Lives. Al Stephenson is one of the three former GI's coming back from World War II, and finding themselves in a different place. Stephenson is middle aged and somewhat wealthy, but even in returning to the United States does he find life hard. His kids have grown up without him, and the war has changed his life. He is promoted and made Vice President of small loans at his bank. A GI comes to the bank and asks for money to buy a farm, thinking that under the GI bill the loan is not a dream. Stephenson's boss doesn't like the idea of giving him a loan, because he has no collateral, but Stephenson figures that if this guy can survive the navy, then he can run a farm. In a speech honoring him Stephenson states that his bank will give out many small loans to GI's and that people will think it is risky. It will be risky, however it is a necessary risk to ensure the success of returning GIs. Stephenson represents the middle-aged soldier coming back from the war, only to find that their war experiences are worth nothing. Like the other two characters (mentioned later) Stephenson is reluctant to return home. He finds his son and daughter all grown up. Stephenson brings back his son a samurai sword, but his son is too old to be amazed by such a thing. He mentions that there are debates about the future of the world, now there an atomic bomb exists"I've seen nothing," says Stephenson," I guess I should have stayed home to see what was really going on." Stephenson feels like the world has changed too much since he left. There is no more maid in his house and his children don't need their father to entertain them anymore. He feels detached and betrayed, as his job doesn't allow him to loan money to GIs as much as he'd like. He becomes a drunk, to try and detach himself from his problems. After his inspiring speech about loaning money to the average GI, he goes home, and wakes up with his wife bringing him breakfast in bed. He has a resurgence, and again becomes the successful banker he was before the war. In the end, things turn out in his favor. He knows that he will be able to help his fellow GIs. Like many middle aged men returning from the war, Al Stephenson needs to readjust to normal life, and even he was one of the luckier ones. "All I want is to be treated like everyone else, instead of people pitying me," says Homer Parish, Harold Russell's character in The Best Years of Our Lives. Harold Russell had lost his hands during the war, and like his character, just wanted to be treated like everyone else. His girlfriend Wilma still loves him, despite his crafty problem, however his family is not so welcoming. His mother tries to do everything for him, bring him drinks and food, and nobody lets him do complicated things on his own. His hands are replaced with hooks, with which he is very capable, however he needs help taking them off and getting them on. Most people who interact with him aren't too upset by his hooks, they are only curious. In fact, their curiosity only reveals Homer's feelings of helplessness. His sister and her friends watch him through a window. When he realizes they are staring at his hooks, he pretend to attack them saying, "Want to See the Freak?" He smashes through a window greatly upsetting his sister and realizes that he is uncomfortable with his disability, and that it is not everyone else's fault. Homer is upset by his inadequacy and doesn't want to continue his relationship with his girlfriend. He doesn't want her to have to deal with his disability. He takes her upstairs for the final test of her love. He removes his robe and explains that he is even lucky to have his elbows, and how some his friends didn't. He explains that getting up in the morning he needs help, and going to bed he needs help, and if she loves him, she won't care. She doesn't. Eventually they marry, showing that despite it seeming like the war had taken young Homer's life away, he was still able to conquer his disability. Homer represents the young soldier of the war, who has lost a lot and seen even more, returning home. He has to overcome obstacles, but with help and faith, he is able to live a good life. Ironically he won a special Golden Globe and Academy Award. He was given special treatment because of his disability., exactly what the movie was arguing against. "We're back right where we started," comments Fred Derry, Dana Andrews' character to his wife in The Best Years of Our Lives. Fred Derry was a bombardier in World War II, and was welcomed back home by his parents, but not his wife. His wife, who is now working at an ambiguously riské job as a waitress in a late night club, lives somewhere else. Derry has to spend the night finding her, looking through all the gin joints in town to find her. By the end of the night, he hasn't found her, and has only become drunk. He does however run into Homer and Al. They have a jolly old time getting drunk, and Al's daughter Peggy, the designated driver, brings Fred back to Al's house, and nurses him from his drunken delusions and nightmares about the war (which haunt him frequently) until the morning. Not surprisingly, they fall in love. The next morning, Peggy cooks Fred breakfast, and takes him to his wife's apartment (assuming that she is home). His wife is very happy to see him, but is mostly excited by his uniform. He asks her to quit her job so they can have more time together, and she reluctantly does so. She also seems as though she wants nothing more than to show off her husband to her friends. Fred returns to the old drugs store in which he worked as a soda jerk, hoping his war experience will gain him a new job. It doesn't, and he is now a subordinate of a former subordinate. He makes little money, and hates his new job. His wife is not pleased, all she wants is more money. We later find out that Fred's wife had many affairs. She is very puerile, and the war has hardened Fred to see right through all her childlishness His wife gets impatient with their lack of money and flare. She demands a divorce, with the ironic fraise, " I gave up the best years of my life for you!" Of course Fred gave up the best years of his life to a country that won't even give him a decent job. Al Stephenson doesn't want Peggy involved with a married man, and Fred promises not to see her anymore, in the interests of Peggy. Stephenson claims that should would be better off with "someone who could make her happy." Fred of course thinks that he can make her happy, but sees Stephenson's point that he is jobless and headed nowhere. Things look down for Fred. He is getting a divorce, not allowed to see his true love, has one friend (Homer) , no job (he lost it after hitting a customer for badmouthing World War II as a pointless war) and nobody cares for him as an individual.It would seem as though Fred truly gave up the best years of his life for a country that doesn't want him back. But hope is not lost. Fred goes to a junkyard for planes, and reminisces for the last time about being a pilot. When he gets out of the plane, it is as if the war can no longer haunt him. The foreman working in the yard walks by and asks" reviving old memories?" To which Fred replies "yeah, or maybe getting some of them out of my system." It is through this act that he lets go of the war and the memories that haunt his dreams. Fred asks for a job. The forman wonders, "do you know anything about building?" To which he replies again,"No but I do know one thing, I know how to learn, same as I learned that job up there." Fred has re-obtained his job. At Homer and Wilma's wedding, Peggy and Fred kiss, this time, throwing all opposition to the side. Fred has started his life over, with a new job, and a new girl, without the war to stifle his abilities. Fred represents the average soldier coming back from the war a changed man, and having to deal with a world that has changed during the war. Fred has matured. He sees that his beautiful wife is shallow, and he sees that his job is a dead end one. He, like many returning World War II soldiers, has to start a new life. For Picture Origins (Citations) Click Here The Links On The Posters And on the Movie Names Are All Courtesy of and to IMDB.com (the Internet Movie Database)