Three World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.Three World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.Three World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.
- Won 7 Oscars
- 21 wins & 3 nominations total
- Al Stephenson
- (as Frederic March)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFor his performance as Homer Parrish, Harold Russell became the only actor to win two Academy Awards for the same role. The Academy Board of Governors thought he was a long shot to win, so they gave him an honorary award "for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance." Later in the ceremony, he won for Best Supporting Actor.
- GoofsWhen Al introduces his wife and daughter to Fred and Homer at Butch's, he refers to Dana Andrews as Homer and Harold Russell as Fred. This was intended as a consequence of Al being drunk.
- Quotes
[after Peggy tells her parents that they never had any trouble in their relationship]
Milly Stephenson: "We never had any trouble." How many times have I told you I hated you and believed it in my heart? How many times have you said you were sick and tired of me; that we were all washed up? How many times have we had to fall in love all over again?
- Crazy creditsThe character played by Ray Teal (the Axis sympathizer whom Homer Parrish attacks at the soda fountain) is listed in the credits as "Mr. Mollett". However, the character's name is never mentioned or otherwise alluded to.
- Alternate versionsThe film was modified to play on a wide screen and reissued on February 3, 1954.
- ConnectionsEdited into Chain Lightning (1950)
- SoundtracksAmong My Souvenirs
(1927) (uncredited)
Music by Edgar Leslie
Lyrics by Lawrence Wright
Played on piano by Hoagy Carmichael
Back in 1946, it was a jaw-dropper to have a character in a movie utter the word "divorce" or to aver an intent to break up a marriage -- such ideas just weren't voiced in films then. To modern audiences, they come across as melodramatic, but I'm told they elcited genuine gasps from audiences then.
Even more astonishing was William Wyler's decision to cast real-life amputee Harold Russell in the key role of a returning Navy veteran. Until <i>The Battle of Britain</i>, in which an actual, disfigured RAF veteran made a cameo appearance, directors didn't make those sorts of courageous gestures. The intimate yet innocent scene in which Homer Parrish (Russell) demonstrates his helplessness to his fiancé Wilma Cameron (Cathy O'Donnell) is beautiful, heartbreaking and uplifting; later, during the wedding scene, Russell stumbled over a line in saying the vows, and Wyler left the humanizing mistake in, God bless him for it.
- bill_mcclain
- Sep 23, 2004
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $2,100,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $23,650,000
- Gross worldwide
- $23,661,347
- Runtime2 hours 50 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1