Since You Went Away (1944)

Director:

John Cromwell

Writers:

Margaret Buell Wilder (book)
Margaret Buell Wilder (adaptation)

Release Date:

20 July 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Great! . . . A Story So Warm . . . So Human . . . So Real . . . you'll wish it might never end! With seven great stars who were never greater!

Plot:

While husband Tim is away during World War II, Anne Hilton copes with problems on the homefront. Taking in a lodger...

Plot Keywords:

Rationing | Lodger | Homefront | Military Officer | Retiree

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 8 nominations

Cast

Claudette Colbert	...	Mrs. Anne Hilton
Jennifer Jones	...	Jane Deborah Hilton
Joseph Cotten	...	Lieutenant Tony Willett
Shirley Temple	...	Bridget 'Brig' Hilton
Monty Woolley	...	Colonel William G. Smollett
Lionel Barrymore	...	Clergyman
Robert Walker	...	Corporal William G. 'Bill' Smollett II
Hattie McDaniel	...	Fidelia
Agnes Moorehead	...	Mrs. Emily Hawkins
Alla Nazimova	...	Zofia Koslowska (as Nazimova)
Albert Bassermann	...	Dr. Sigmund Gottlieb Golden
Gordon Oliver	...	Marine Officer Seeking Room
Keenan Wynn	...	Lieutenant Solomon
Guy Madison	...	Sailor Harold E. Smith
Craig Stevens	...	Danny Williams

Runtime:

UK:172 min | USA:130 min (1949 re-release) | 177 min (DVD version) | 172 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Yiddish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | UK:U | Australia:G | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #9990) | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Church of the Angels - 1100 Avenue 64, Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Vanguard Films (III)

Trivia:

David O. Selznick was credited as producer for his writing the screenplay.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Colonel William G. Smollett introduces himself as such when he responds to the advertisement for an officer boarder, but is incorrectly called 'Colonel Smollie' by Bridget while tending the victory garden, and again at his birthday party with his cake having 'Colonel Smollie' written on it.

Quotes:

Jane Deborah Hilton: Mother?
Mrs. Anne Hilton: Yes, Jane?
Jane Deborah Hilton: Mother, do you think I have a nice figure?
Mrs. Anne Hilton: Yes, darling. You have a beautiful figure.
Jane Deborah Hilton: Do you think Tony might paint me someday?
Mrs. Anne Hilton: Over my dead body.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Airplane! (1980)

Soundtrack:

Shoo-Shoo Baby

Every Christmas I HAVE to Watch This Story

Call 'Since You Went Away' schmaltzy, cliched, idealized, propaganda, soapy - whatever you like: I LOVE this movie. It was made when we called them movies, not films, not cinema.

Every Christmastime I HAVE to watch 'Since You Went Away'. The laughter - that good, clean kind of fun laughter that gets trashed nowadays by the many who like to affect "sophisticated" jadedness - it provokes from my heart, and the tears it pulls from my eyes are worth every second of this Selznick masterpiece (in my opinion this movie trumps the overblown, talky, overpraised 'Gone With The Wind').

I laugh and cry, especially, watching and listening to the gifted, lovely Hattie McDaniel handling her role, a good measure of which was written in the period's typical "Negro dialect," with dignity and aplomb. If I had to be stranded on a desert island with one person I'd hope it could be McDaniel, a woman who embodied grace under pressure.

Claudette Colbert simply glows throughout. Jennifer Jones oozes smoldering sexuality, but manages to convince us that she's a teen verging on responsible adulthood. Shirley Temple tugs at your heartstrings. McDaniel radiates strength, stamina, and tenderness. Monty Woolley irritates and charms. Joseph Cotten brings a healthy dose of class and charm. Agnes Moorehead infuriates - she was one of the most talented actresses ever to grace the screen. Robert Walker exemplifies the innocence that war guts from the young, and the sacrifice made, like his character, by thousands of young people in defending, and assuring the legacy, of America's founding ideals.

Have your tissues - a whole box - handy. And let 'Since You Went Away' make your heart soar.