The Best Years of Our Lives

The Best Years of Our Lives
The Best Years of Our Lives
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	William Wyler
Screenplay by	Robert E. Sherwood
Based on	Glory for Me; 1945 novella; by MacKinlay Kantor
Produced by	Samuel Goldwyn
Starring	Myrna Loy; Fredric March; Dana Andrews; Teresa Wright; Virginia Mayo;
Cinematography	Gregg Toland
Edited by	Daniel Mandell
Music by	Hugo Friedhofer (composer); Emil Newman (musical director);
Production; company	Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures
Release dates	November 21, 1946 (New York City, premiere);
Running time	172 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2.1 million or $3 million
Box office	$23.7 million

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 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.

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).^[4]

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.^[5]

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".^[6]^[7]

^ Thomson 1993, pp. 490–491.
^ "Variety (January 1947)". 1947.
^ " 'Best Years of Our Lives' (1946)." Box Office Mojo. Retrieved: February 4, 2010.
^ "The 19th Academy Awards (1947) Nominees and Winners." oscars.org. Retrieved: November 20, 2011.
^ "The Ultimate Chart: 1–100". British Film Institute. November 28, 2004. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
^ "ENTERTAINMENT: Film Registry Picks First 25 Movies". Los Angeles Times. Washington, D.C. September 19, 1989. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

[david-1] Thomson 1993, pp. 490–491.

[2] "Variety (January 1947)". 1947.

[3] " 'Best Years of Our Lives' (1946)." Box Office Mojo. Retrieved: February 4, 2010.

[Oscars1947-4] "The 19th Academy Awards (1947) Nominees and Winners." oscars.org. Retrieved: November 20, 2011.

[5] "The Ultimate Chart: 1–100". British Film Institute. November 28, 2004. Archived from the original on August 3, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2019.

[6] "ENTERTAINMENT: Film Registry Picks First 25 Movies". Los Angeles Times. Washington, D.C. September 19, 1989. Retrieved April 22, 2020.

[:0-7] "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

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