I Want You (1951)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

Irwin Shaw (screenplay)
Edward Newhouse (magazine stories)

Release Date:

23 December 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

No three words ever meant so much to so many people.

Plot:

In 1950, small-town Americans try to deal with military conscription.

Plot Keywords:

Korean War | Small Town | Americana | WWII Veteran

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Dana Andrews	...	Martin Greer
Dorothy McGuire	...	Nancy Greer
Farley Granger	...	Jack Greer
Peggy Dow	...	Carrie Turner
Robert Keith	...	Thomas Greer
Mildred Dunnock	...	Sarah Greer
Ray Collins	...	Judge Jonathan Turner
Martin Milner	...	George Kress Jr.
Jim Backus	...	Harvey Landrum
Marjorie Crossland	...	Mrs. Celia Turner
Walter Baldwin	...	George Kress Sr.
Walter Sande	...	Ned Iverson - Bartender
Peggy Maley	...	Gladys
Jerrilyn Flannery	...	Anne Greer
Erik Nielsen	...	Tony Greer

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #15495) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

There are two scenes where the song "My Foolish Heart" is played in the background. Both Dana Andrews and Robert Keith were in the film titled My Foolish Heart (1949) several years earlier.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the bar, Mr. Kress calls the radio a wonderful invention because news travels on it at "the speed of sound". Radio waves travel at the speed of light, not sound.

Quotes:

[Arriving home with her husband after sending the youngest of their three sons off to the Korean War, Sarah begins trashing the husband's WWI shrine.]
Sarah Greer: Liar! Crazy, crazy liar! You never were in any one of those places and you know it. You never heard a shot fired. You were in Paris all through the war, shining up a general's boots, bringing him bicarbonate of soda when he'd drunk too much the night before...
[...]

Shadow of "Best Years" hangs over this Goldwyn film...

While THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES dealt with the readjustment of three servicemen returning from the horrors of WWII, I WANT YOU is a more sentimental look at the home front following the return of those men to peacetime U.S.A. Peacetime, yes, until the draft meant the calling up of enlisted men again because of The Korean War, a war largely forgotten by today's generation.

The script in no way compares to that of BEST YEARS, but there are decent performances that hold the story on track. DANA ANDREWS and DOROTHY McGUIRE are the most impressive, with some good acting by FARLEY GRANGER and MILDRED DUNNOCK helping to keep the story afloat. But somehow, one never gets the feeling of urgency or involvement that is felt during the Oscar-winning Goldwyn film that preceded it.

A distinct weakness of the film is PEGGY DOW as Granger's sweetheart, a limited actress who lacks the warmth to make her part meaningful enough.

Summing up: Pales by comparison to Goldwyn's other masterpiece, but is competent enough on its own terms to merit watching. And DANA ANDREWS delivers his usual solid performance.