--- title: "The Best Years of Our Lives" year: 1946 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-best-years-of-our-lives" fi1m_score: 90 critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 9 published: "2026-09-20T01:29:48.459402+00:00" updated: "2026-09-20T01:30:01.586258+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Directed by William Wyler · 2h 51m · MPA NR · Drama, Romance, War **Fi1m score: 90** · Critics 79 from 9 reviews *In a sentence:* The homecoming is the easy part; it is the next morning nobody trained them for > William Wyler’s drama about three servicemen coming home to one small town is long, patient and as good as anything Hollywood made about the war it had just fought. The wife written as a villain is its one cheap note. ## Synopsis Three servicemen fly home to Boone City in the nose of a bomber and share a cab from the airfield. Homer Parrish (Harold Russell), a sailor who lost both hands and now uses steel hooks, is dropped first, to his parents and to Wilma Cameron (Cathy O’Donnell), the girl next door he is no longer sure he should marry. Al Stephenson (Fredric March) goes back to a bank job, a smart flat, his wife Milly (Myrna Loy) and a daughter, Peggy (Teresa Wright), who has grown up while he was away. Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) finds his wife Marie (Virginia Mayo) has left his parents’ house for a nightclub job. All three end the night at Butch’s bar. ## Review Three men share a cab from the airfield into Boone City, and each of them, with his own front door in sight, would rather go to Butch’s bar first. Robert E. Sherwood’s screenplay, from MacKinlay Kantor’s novel, gets the whole film into that ride. Home is a street away and they would like another twenty minutes. William Wyler made *The Best Years of Our Lives* for Samuel Goldwyn the year after the war ended, and it is still the American film we would reach for about what happens after the parade. We would send a stranger to see it. What decided us was Homer’s homecoming, and not for the reason we expected. Harold Russell had lost both his hands and was not an actor, and his stiffness is the performance: a sailor who has learned his hooks and now has to learn the people. But it was Minna Gombell, as his mother, who got to us. She sees the hooks for the first time on her own front step, makes one sound, and Wyler does not cut away. Cathy O’Donnell’s Wilma runs across the lawn from next door and Homer does not know where to put his arms. Al Stephenson’s return is done in one shot. Fredric March comes through the door of the flat, hushes his children, and Gregg Toland holds the hallway in deep focus so that Myrna Loy’s Milly, at the far end, appears in the kitchen doorway and stops. Loy has the least showy part in the film and we think she is the best thing in it; the morning after, watching her husband nurse a hangover and a fixed grin, she plays a woman deciding how much to mention. March plays Al’s drinking as a habit picked up abroad, quicker than having an opinion. Back at the bank, Ray Collins’s Mr. Milton puts him in charge of small loans and reminds him, gently, that the bank is not a charity. Toland’s deep focus is the reason critics still write about this film. The famous shot in Butch’s bar puts Hoagy Carmichael and Homer at a piano in the foreground while, in a phone booth at the far end of the bar, another man makes a call we will not describe. Everything is sharp, so you choose where to look, and you will look at the booth. Daniel Mandell cuts as little as he can and lets scenes run until somebody leaves the frame. Irene Sharaff dresses Teresa Wright’s Peggy in plain skirts and Virginia Mayo’s Marie in sequins, which tells you what the script thinks of both before either has spoken. Hugo Friedhofer’s score has a homecoming theme it uses sparingly and otherwise stays out of the bar, where Carmichael’s piano does the work. Dana Andrews’s Fred is the hardest part and the least sentimental. He was good at one thing, at altitude, and the drugstore that employed him before the war will have him back behind the perfume counter. Andrews plays him with his jaw set and his eyes elsewhere. The nightmare Peggy hears through a bedroom door on his first night home is the film’s first admission that these men brought something back with them, and it is played without a flashback: a man shouting, and a young woman sitting on the edge of the bed until he stops. The flaws are real. Marie is written in one colour, a wife who wants the uniform and the nightlife and nothing else, and Mayo is left with nowhere to take her. A customer at the drugstore turns up to tell Homer the war was fought for the wrong reasons, and for a minute the film is making a speech. At 171 minutes it could lose a reel and nobody would miss it. One reviewer at the time thought the whole thing heavy. We did not, but we understood the complaint by the third hour. Late on there is a scene in a field of scrapped bombers and a scene in Homer’s bedroom, and we will say nothing about either except that we have not forgotten them. Wyler had made [*Mrs. Miniver*](https://film.one/film/mrs-miniver) in the middle of the war, to a purpose. This one was made afterwards, with nobody left to reassure, and it is the better film for it. It is a U certificate. Watch it with someone older than you, and let them tell you afterwards which of the three they knew. *Fi1m score 90, published 20 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics admire this film, and the warmth is consistent across nearly eighty years: the notices from 1946 and the reappraisals since 2000 land in almost the same place. The praise clusters on two things. Harold Russell, a non-professional who lost both hands in the war, is singled out by nearly every review as the film’s centre, his performance described as naturalistic and painful to watch. Gregg Toland’s deep-focus photography draws the second wave of admiration, several critics crediting its long takes with the film’s realism and emotional pull. Reservations are few and mild. Time Out finds it overlong and not quite the film it sets out to be, though still a model of studio craftsmanship. The one outright dissent is The New Yorker’s 1946 notice, which finds the picture heavy and sodden despite good dialogue and a large budget. Otherwise the spread is narrow, with eight of nine reviews positive and none mixed. ### Reviews we read (9) - **Los Angeles Times**, Edwin Schallert (90/100, inferred): It attains a sound, solid, real impression of life that is unusually human, appealing and frequently diverting; the presence of Harold Russell as the ex-paratrooper who lost both hands endows it with factual power and is the most moving and central development. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/story/2022-09-06/from-the-archives-best-years-of-lives-saga-of-homecoming) - **Sight and Sound**, Christina Newland (90/100, inferred): The postwar drama from Wyler and Goldwyn mirrors the readjustment struggles of returning WWII veterans through three interconnected stories, using deep-focus photography to explore complex relationships. Audiences of the era found it cathartic and true, with standout moments like Russell’s painful monologue and Andrews’ reverie in a junked fighter jet making it as poignant now as ever. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/lists/10-great-films-1946) - **The New York Times**, Bosley Crowther (90/100, inferred): The film is a superior, thrilling exception that catches the drama of veterans returning home from war as no other film has, reflecting delicate tensions, deep anxieties and gnawing despairs with heart, understanding and tremendous talent. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1946/11/24/archives/superior-film-the-best-years-of-our-lives-rings-the-bell.html) - **Variety**, Abel Green (90/100, inferred): It is one of the best pictures of our lives; the realism is graphic, the story compelling, the romantic frailties and human little problems typical of the headlines, with inspired casting and all performances equally good. [Read](https://variety.com/1946/film/reviews/best-years-of-our-lives-1200414825/) - **Empire**, David Parkinson (85/100, inferred): The review highlights the film's focus on three veterans readjusting to civilian life after WWII, using long deep-focus takes for realism and emotional involvement. It describes the work as an audacious, intelligent achievement that influenced cinema worldwide. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/best-years-lives-review/) - **Slant Magazine**, Eric Henderson (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's portrayal of returning WWII veterans' struggles with readjustment, PTSD, disability, and the burdens of patriotism through its three central characters. It singles out Gregg Toland’s deep-focus cinematography and Harold Russell’s non-professional performance for particular note. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-best-years-of-our-lives/) - **Time Out**, GA (70/100, inferred): This tender and occasionally tough look at the plight of returning war veterans is one of Wyler’s best films, with a thorough script, splendid performances (including Russell as an amateur amputee actor), and masterful deep-focus camerawork by Gregg Toland. It may be overlong and not quite the masterpiece it aims to be, but it remains a model of fine Hollywood craftsmanship. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-best-years-of-our-lives) - **The New Yorker**, John McCarten (30/100, inferred): The picture remains heavy and sodden despite everyone's efforts and good dialogue; Goldwyn had every right to expect something better after spending three million dollars and hiring Robert E. Sherwood. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/11/23/1946-11-23-074-tny-cards-000020490) - **Film Stories**, Sarah Cook (90/100, inferred): The film is a groundbreaking post-war drama about three veterans struggling to readjust to civilian life in a small town, dealing with issues like PTSD, prejudice, and family strain. The critic singles out Harold Russell’s naturalistic, heartbreaking performance as the standout element alongside Wyler’s deft direction and technical skill. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/the-first-war-movie-to-win-the-bafta-best-picture-prize/) ## Details - **Director:** William Wyler - **Director:** William Wyler - **Screenplay:** Robert E. Sherwood - **Novel:** MacKinlay Kantor - **Cinematography:** Gregg Toland - **Editor:** Daniel Mandell - **Music:** Hugo Friedhofer - **Costume design:** Irene Sharaff - **Producer:** Samuel Goldwyn - **Cast:** Dana Andrews as Fred Derry; Fredric March as Al Stephenson; Harold Russell as Homer Parrish; Teresa Wright as Peggy Stephenson; Myrna Loy as Milly Stephenson; Cathy O'Donnell as Wilma Cameron; Virginia Mayo as Marie Derry; Hoagy Carmichael as Butch Engle - **Runtime:** 2h 51m - **Certificate (MPA):** NR - **Release (the US):** 3 February 1954 - **Genres:** Drama, Romance, War - **Budget:** $2 million - **Box office:** $24 million ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: streaming - Tubi: free, hd - Pluto TV: free - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $9.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $9.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-20.* Also available in: AU, CA, ES, GB, JP, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - BAFTA Film Awards 1949: Best Film (won) - Academy Awards 1947: Best Sound (nominated); Best Actor (won); Best Director (won); Best Film Editing (won); Best Original Dramatic or Comedy Score (won); Best Picture (won); Best Supporting Actor (won); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won) ## If you liked this - *The Men* (1950): Brando’s first film, as a paralysed veteran learning the ward, and it is unsparing. - *Coming Home* (1978): The Vietnam version, angrier, with Jon Voight in the wheelchair and Jane Fonda visiting. - *Germany Year Zero* (1948): Rossellini in the rubble of Berlin; the other side’s homecoming, with no home left. - *It's a Wonderful Life* (1946), Fi1m 91: Same year, same kind of small town, and a darker film than its reputation admits. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/its-a-wonderful-life.md) - *Ashes and Diamonds* (1958): Poland, the first night of peace, and a young man who cannot stop being a soldier. --- © Fi1m Ltd. 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