Homecoming (1948) User Reviews (35)

Love in war time

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 18 November 2004]

Movies like this one are discoveries. Mervyn LeRoy was a director that always knew where to go for a good story and get amazing performances out of his actors. In this film he demonstrates how to create a movie that holds the viewer's attention. It is based on a story by Sidney Kingsley and was adapted by Jan Lustig.

The movie shows the American cinema at its best as it combines a look to WWII and a forbidden love, something that probably had a hard time passing the censor's scissors. Mr. LeRoy makes the picture highly engrossing because of the way he presents the story. Men and women, for the first time were in the front lines; the men as combatants, or in this case, a doctor and the women as nurses, or filling in for the jobs the men couldn't do because they did the fighting.

Clark Gable was an actor that made this picture the joy it is to watch by making us believe he is this surgeon, Dr. Lee Johnson, a man that awakes to reality when he has to deal first hand with treating the wounded soldiers. Mr. Gable casts such a virile shadow in his best work that we know where he stood all the time. His Dr. Johnson shows the strain of the stress of war, the loyalty to his wife at home and the sudden love he finds for "Snapshot" McCall. He remains throughout the film focused in helping the soldiers, until the passion he feels for his nurse, gets the best of him.

Lana Turner is the real surprise of the movie. She is playing a role that probably would not have been offered to her because of the heat and glamour she projected. Her nurse McCall is a woman that life has made a cynic because of the tragedy in her own life and the fact that she is separated from her young son. The magnetism between Ms. Turner and Mr. Gable is what keeps us interested in the movie. Lana Turner shows she had the potential for playing dramatic parts that were not offered to her; she was type-casted as the siren, or the sophisticate in most of her work, but she had the range and the potential that probably only Mr. LeRoy, who discovered Ms. Turner, saw she had. Only a director like Mr. LeRoy could elicit this performance from Ms. Turner.

Anne Baxter is the wife that stays home hoping her man will come back alive. Her Penny Johnson makes her appear as insecure because she perceives her husband's affection might lie with the nurse that he complains to her at the beginning of his correspondence. John Hodiak plays the friend, Dr. Sunday, a man who has his feet on the ground and believes he should help the poor people of his area, instead of the society types that Dr. Johnson attracts.

The movie is satisfying because is tells a good story with characters one is easily identified with. Mr. LeRoy was the one that got all the elements together and gave us this classic film that is timeless.

Good cast elevates story

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 14 August 2006]

Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Anne Baxter, John Hodiak, and Gladys Cooper star in "Homecoming," a 1948 film about wartime and its aftermath. Gable plays a surgeon, Lee, who falls for a nurse (Turner) with whom he puts together the wounded, endures a life with only the barest of necessities, sits in shelters, and dodges. Back home, his devoted wife (Baxter) realizes by reading his letters that she's losing him.

World War II has been romanticized often in films and in music - somehow, it is perceived by people who lived through Vietnam, Desert Storm, and our current conflicts as being somehow a cleaner war. But no war is clean, and there were some homecomings that were difficult as well. This was touched upon in "The Best Years of Our Lives," and very well here.

The story is brought to life by its players. The role of Snapshot the nurse is a different one for the glamorous and beautiful Turner than what she was normally handed - the curse of the beautiful in Hollywood. She was capable of much more, and she gives a strong performance as an outspoken soldier who finally lets her vulnerability show. The stalwart Gable gives us a man who realizes the detached attitude he had toward his patients at home will no longer work, and he has to rethink himself and his life. Baxter is the "one left out," who can't experience the war, and she gives an excellent portrayal of a woman who loves her husband but doesn't know what to expect from him when he comes home. "I know he's changed," she laments, "but why couldn't we have changed together?" Her real-life husband, John Hodiak, looks quite handsome but doesn't have much to do as a family friend - his brief brush with stardom was a few years away.

A very nice movie that shows that homecoming can be uncomfortable and bittersweet.

Despite being a bit syrupy at times, I was surprised that I liked the movie as much as I did

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 4 September 2006]

This is a far from perfect film featuring Gable and Turner, but upon seeing it for the second time, it sure seemed a lot better than I remembered it. In particular, I appreciated that the film took a pretty big risk dealing with wartime romance between a married doctor and a nurse when they are stationed overseas. This sort of situation MUST have happened quite a bit with all those nurses and WACS/WAVS, etc. serving in action, though it is hardly ever mentioned in any film up until that time. Plus, it offered a very unusual situation where a man is in love with a woman he is not married to and yet he still loves his wife at home. Pretty adult fare for 1948, I must say! The film begins with Gable a rich and successful doctor in the States. He is very isolated from the real world and his main focus in on the country club and his pampered wife--unconcerned about much else. When the war comes, he does serve but seems to be pretty selfish. His head nurse in the field hospital is a much more giving and selfless individual and they are destined to hate each other because they are so different AND because this IS Lana Turner and Clark Gable (this plot device is necessary before they actually fall in love--a bit of a cliché, I know).

Gable and Turner are both excellent as the leads and their scenes together are excellent as well. I especially appreciated Lana's emotional range--it was better and more vulnerable here than I am used to seeing. The direction was pretty good and all the MGM production values were going full speed ahead! I especially appreciated the snow scene--you KNOW it was done in a sound stage and yet it STILL looked exceptional (though their breath didn't show--considering it was probably close to 70 degrees).

Overall, this is a must-see for Gable fans and a pretty good flick for anyone but people who MUST have a lot of action in their films. Despite being WWII, the film is pretty talking and there is quite a bit of romance--something action junkies will probably have a hard time accepting.

It's the thing to do

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 2 December 2018]

The main reason for me seeing 'Homecoming' was the cast, made up of many talented actors. Mervyn LeRoy was on the most part a more than competent director, especially love 'Waterloo Bridge', 'Gold Diggers of 1933' and most of all 'Random Harvest', and generally do like World War II films (despite traps of being melodramatic and heavy-handed and some have fallen into those traps.

While not being completely enamoured by it, do agree with those here that like 'Homecoming' and consider it better than give credit for. Despite its faults (from respectful personal opinion), 'Homecoming' is much better than the critical reception it got at the time, although a box office success some critics were apparently withering towards 'Homecoming'. Agree with a few of the criticisms but disagree with most.

Maybe 'Homecoming' does become melodramatic and heavy-handed in places. Maybe LeRoy's direction is not always as tight as it could have been, a few limp stretches here and there pace-wise but will not go as far to say it was long-winded.

Clark Gable's character for me was written too fuzzily at first and Gable didn't always look comfortable and perhaps on the smug side in the early stages of the film, which is more put down to the character writing rather than him as an actor (as an actor he was great).

On the other hand, 'Homecoming' is nicely shot and evocatively designed. Mostly the script is well-meaning and thought-provoking with some genuine pathos. LeRoy's direction may not be perfect but there are more than enough signs of his competence as a director. The story is on the most part sincere and moving, the subject handled with tact, and the war-oriented scenes wrenching the gut. Nothing feels tacked on and it doesn't ever have moments that feel like they belong somewhere else.

It's the cast that come off best here, with characters mostly worth rooting for. Gable's character does become more focused the more he's developed, which allows Gable to be more comfortable and he becomes very good and easier to like. Lana Turner brings class and poignancy to a less than glamorous but sympathetic role. The relationship between her and Gable has more complexity than one thinks and purposefully doesn't rush it, it is not rich in development but the development is there and done well. The support from Anne Baxter and Gladys Cooper is sharp and that for John Hodiak sympathetic.

Altogether, decent overlooked film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Wartime romantic drama that was a big hit for MGM

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 22 December 2022]

Successful surgeon Ulysses Johnson (Clark Gable) joins the Army Medical Corps during WW2. Once deployed, he develops a tempestuous relationship with his chief nurse, Jane "Snapshot" McCall (Lana Turner). Their constant bickering eventually morphs into romantic feelings, which Johnson's wife Penny (Anne Baxter) can sense back home through his letters. She looks for solace from crusading doctor Robert Sunday (John Hodiak).

This somewhat soapy romance features surprisingly good performances from the cast. Gable seems an unlikely surgeon at first, but he settles into that role well. Baxter and Hodiak, a real-life married couple at the time, give their best to underwritten parts. The real revelation is Lana Turner, an actress that I've never really warmed to. I thought she fit her role well in The Postman Always Rings Twice, but every other movie that I've seen her in, I couldn't help thinking it would be better with someone else cast. Here she's real and genuine and nuanced like I haven't seen her before. It may be the script, or direction that clicked, or co-star Gable, or all of the above, but it works, and it's the best acting job I've seen from her.

Homecoming Sometimes Tougher Than War

[minimal-3 · 9/10 · 14 August 2006]

2nd viewing and a lot of time in between.

Enjoyed it first time especially how Lana pulls her role off and how sincere Gable was. Both great actors always worth watching. Anne Baxter was also very,very touching and deep as the wife.

What really got me this time, having spent war time in Nam, was the changes Gable went through and the HOMECOMING. Anyone who has NOT experienced the razor's edge of actual combat, the terror the elation and the horror of seeing others die can feel what Gable projected magnificently in coming home after all that madness and trying to feel like you fit in again anywhere. You don't....for a long time. That why Gable said "...bear with me for a while..." Not only was he talking about losing Lana but returning home from a war, sometimes much more difficult than war itself. This film has so much deep feelings embedded in all three major characters it is amazing to me. The writer nailed it and Mr LeRoy was almost genius in bringing out such performances by all. I'm glad I got to view it on TCM a 2nd time. It really brings out a HOMECOMING!!

1941: a war odyssey

[dbdumonteil · 27 April 2011]

Ulysses ,what a name for a major whose odyssey took place in WW2,who learned after his "voyage" that success is no success at all,that selfishness leads to nowhere and that a doctor's work is to help his fellow men;we are not far from Stahl's "magnificent obsession" in which a reckless playboy was told that a man (Jesus ) had given his life so man was saved .

It's strange that the world Ulysse lives in is full of altruistic persons ,from "Snapshot" the nurse who never has a rest till all the wounded soldiers are operated to the Chester doctor (Hodiak) whose war has begun long before WW2,and from "Monk" the unfortunate soldier to the good doctor Sunday (again,what a name!).The US army looks more like Salvation Army! The title is partly a misnomer because it's essentially a long flashback (actually several flashbacks) dealing with the hard life of a military medical team in the war.Thus Gable is torn between his faithful wife (Anne Baxter) and his courageous nurse (their relationship is much too predictable).Best scene is perhaps the "Roman " bath :we feel that Gable is very human when she takes her bath and he 's got to force himself to stay calm and not to have a little look !

A small town doctor goes to war as an Army surgeon.

[michaelRokeefe · 6/10 · 15 October 2001]

Clark Gable plays a self centered, over achieving physician that proves his worthiness as an Army surgeon. Anne Baxter is the dutiful and absorbing wife that finally realizes that her husband is romancing his nurse(Lana Turner)between bombings and marathon mending of WWII. This is not one of Gable's better performances; but Miss Turner is stunning as 'Snapshot' McCall, the nurse every soldier dreams of.

Other cast members of note are: Ray Collins, John Hodiak, Marshall Thompson and Cameron Mitchell. Mervyn LeRoy directs this dreary drama. In spite of Gable's lack of effort, Turner more than makes this lengthy film memorable.

The Best Lana Turner or Clark Gable Film You've Never Seen?!

[JLRMovieReviews · 9/10 · 9 February 2011]

The third of four films Lana Turner made with Clark Gable, this one finds them embroiled in the war and the cause. Gable is on a ship coming home from war, when conversations with reporters wanting a story make him think of what changed his life and the way he thinks. Flashback: Gable is a surgeon who went to school to make the big dough and live high on the hog, enjoying his free time and his home life with wife Anne Baxter, playing golf, and all the things that come with a care-free easy existence, all the while thinking he's got it made and that he's noble for going in and saving people's lives on the table. His friend John Hodiak tells him off saying as much as this. John has been trying to get him to help those less fortunate in the lower-class part of town, but Clark never made time for it. He volunteers for service, not because he really wants to, but because it's the right thing to do, for appearances' sake, because others are doing it. While sailing to where he's stationed, Lana interrupts his conversation with fellow serviceman, Ray Collins. To cut to the chase, they are very antagonistic towards each other and he later finds out she has been picked to be his nurse to assist him in surgeries. Nicknamed Snapshot, Lana tells Clark her story of how she came into this war and why she believes in it. Their antagonism developing into a friendship and more is the whole story, but it is done so tenderly and real, that nothing feels forced or false. I admit Lana Turner may be one of those actresses of whom always seems to play herself, but here she is not glamorous at all, but instead delved into character head first. Gable's homecoming to wife Anne Baxter is very touching. I was very impressed with how real and thoughtful this film was. "Honky Tonk" may be the film of theirs together that most viewers enjoy, but Homecoming is much more meaningful and therefore more rewarding. It may just be the best Gable and/or Turner film you've never seen.

I'm very impressed with Lana Turner's acting and a good script

[ptomley47 · 7/10 · 20 June 2022]

This film is without diminishing it is the usual post-war romance.

But when you realize that the King of Hollywood actually was a wartime Air Force Colonel it makes it more real.

He would have actually seen the bombings, death and misery of war. He also would know how hard it would be to readjust to civilian life especially the Hollywood fantasy factory So like his character Lee he would know what his fellow veterans were going through after the war, even with PTSD My Mom always denigrated Lana Turner's acting she wasn't a Better Davis but in this film I really liked her.

They didn't over glamorize her and you certainly can't imagine Marilyn being this down to earth a character.

It touched my heart and was impressed with Lana's acting even if the Hollywood critics of the era didn't like it.

"Even the mud in HOMECOMING looks slick and unreal, like it passed an MGM screen test"...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 22 September 2006]

HOMECOMING was an enormously popular MGM hit when released because Gable and Turner gave it tremendous box-office power. But the majority of the reviews were pretty scathing. Yet, the public ran eagerly to see it.

I tend to agree with the critics on this one. "Nothing more than a cheap, synthetic chunk of romance designed to exploit two gaudy stars," said Bosley Crowther in The N. Y. Times. "Pretends to be serious about serious things--war and medicine in particular." But my favorite comment came from another critic of a lesser paper who wrote: "Since they are two glamorous people, theirs is a glamorous war--in battle, in bombings, in death, there is no real agony, or ugliness or heartache. Even the mud in HOMECOMING looks slick and unreal, like it passed an MGM screen test."

My reaction was pretty similar. I see this kind of romantic war movie as a chance to get CLARK GABLE and LANA TURNER in a heavy-handed chance at dramatics that supposedly pulls the heart strings while the good little wife ANNE BAXTER stays behind on the homefront worrying that her husband will have changed too much for their marriage to stay intact.

Turner actually does do a fine job in her death scene, but the whole story just seems like a contrivance to give two very popular studio stars the chance to romance against a background of World War II, as they did a few years earlier in SOMEWHERE I'LL FIND YOU.

No matter. Of course Lana's fans are going to see her in anything--ditto for Gable--and they were certainly the target audience for this kind of pulp romance.

Excellent film of the medical corps and love in war

[SimonJack · 10/10 · 23 July 2012]

Few movies have shown the nitty-gritty of the field hospital and medical corps in war. "Homecoming" is one that does, with much realism and intensity. We are spared the gore of viewing the bloody and torn bodies ourselves. But the manners, expressions and actions of the cast convey the ugly effects of war. And the long days of 16-hour stretches of operating, the fatigue of the doctors and nurses, and the intense working conditions – often with bombs and shells exploding around them – show us another side of war. We see these dedicated noncombatants struggle and sacrifice to repair and save lives. For this alone, "Homecoming" is an outstanding movie.

But throw in a romance, and the film stands out as even more extraordinary. But, not just any, typical war-time romance of soldier meets girl. That would have cheapened this film. Rather, "Homecoming" has a complex and complicated romance. It's one that probably happened in real life many times during the war, but that few films have tried to tackle. It's a love that developed slowly between the chief surgeon and his nurse. Unlike the typical fare of today, two people don't jump into the sack together. This romance is a deeper, sincere and much more meaningful love. It's a love that emotes respect and caring. And it's a love of forbidden passion that can't go any further because the doctor already has a beautiful wife whom he loves back home.

Clark Gable and Lana Turner give their all to their roles in conveying the struggle they have in their growing love. They give tremendous performances in their roles as war-time surgeon and Army nurse. And, Anne Baxter, as the wife back home, also gives an exceptional performance.

This may be Gable's finest acting role. He moves adroitly through his changing character. He starts out as a highly confident, self-assured and mostly self-centered elitist physician. By film's end, he has become less self-assured – as he states himself, but more aware of his patients and the needs of people. He has become a caring, dedicated doctor. Turner's character is out of her usual glamor role. Instead, she's an Army nurse who has a six-year-old son by a husband who was killed in China as a pilot in the Flying Tigers. She is a serious, hard-working and dedicated professional who starts out disliking the rich-kid doctor. And Anne Baxter is the loving wife of the doctor who becomes jealous of the nurse, then understanding, then resolute and willing to fight to keep her man.

As I said, the film is about complex relationships. It's about learning to live (a reference in the film), and about growing and maturing and loving. All of this is set in the midst of World War II in Europe and on the home front. It's a truly exceptional movie and one that belongs in every film library. This movie came out just three years after the end of the war. While most veterans for years didn't like to talk about the war or their experiences, films such as this probably did a lot to help in post-war adjustments. They helped the people who were on the home front get a sense of what it was like for loved ones who went off to war. Indeed, this idea of understanding is a nice thought in the closing scene.

Useless Snapshot - Hardly

[DKosty123 · 7/10 · 7 June 2017]

I am surprised this film has not gotten more play over the years. The acting of Clark Gable, Lana Turner, and Anne Baxter here is great. John Hodiak as Dr. Sunday is very good. Ray Collins (Lt. Tragg on Perry Mason) is Lt. Col. Avery Silver and he is so good in his support role that the movie has to recover a bit when he is killed.

Strange, Paul Osborn (East Of Eden), the writer here gets more credit for other films but his writing of Sidney Kingsley's (East of Eden's) story is just fine. Being an MGM film, there is a huge studio cast that is un-credited including Alan Hale Jr. (Gilligan's Island) and Arthur O'Connell who would go on into many bigger roles than this film.

The story is a bit more strict than the actual reality of war. I mean Baxter is super human as the wife waiting at home sacrificing every thing waiting for her man to return. Meanwhile, Turner and Gable develop an amazing chemistry here. They seem to keep avoiding the inevitable until quite late in the film.

Even later is the ending which really does some moralizing, but yet is so appropriate. The film starts in the present, then flashes back to before the war, then takes us through 3 1/2 years of war and then comes back to the present, only to flash back again for 1 month after the war. The script is strong enough to support the talented cast.

The most memorable idea is "Will they be able to adjust to us when we come home?" While the ending does address the problem of someone returning from the war well, it is a notch below the message in an earlier more powerful film - "The Best Years of Our Lives". Still, this film does deliver that message and several others quite successfully.

More of a soap opera than a war movie

[PudgyPandaMan · 5/10 · 12 December 2008]

I generally love WWII movies from the 40's, but this one disappointed me as it comes across more as a soap opera than a War film. It doesn't appear that many have seen this film, according to the low number of user comments. I find this surprising for a film that has 2 of the biggest box office names of that era. But perhaps that's attributed to the fact that its not that great of a movie.

Lana is not very glamorous in this role and in fact looks a little dowdy. Perhaps they were trying to help her get taken more seriously as a dramatic actress.

For the most part, I found the movie a little too sterile for a war movie. Its not anything like the realistic portrayals of modern war movies. All the scenes in their Operating tent looks like everyone is in slow motion - there is no stress or panic or chaos like you would find in a real war O/R tent. Even when their medical base is being bombed, people can be seen just strolling by the entrance of the tent. Who does this in the middle of a bombing?

I found the cinematography a little lacking as well. There were some extremely fake process shots and unrealistic studio sets for some of the outdoor scenes. There were some realistic war scenes after the invasion that looked like actual stock war footage. I did like the first kiss between Gable & Turner and how it was shot in the shadows with the white snow falling behind them outside.

I think the movie was probably timely during its original release in helping address the problem of how hard it is to return home after war. So, on that front, it was worthwhile.

Lana was never better

[jaykay-10 · 17 October 2002]

Playing against type, Lana Turner forsakes the glamour and produces a sensitive, altogether winning performance. Baggy pants, boots, man's shirt, fatigue cap: a highly efficient, hardworking army nurse, quick to speak her mind, less than tolerant of those who don't share her attitudes. Of course she is softer on the inside, and vulnerable to male sensitivity. Lana makes this challenging role work for her.

Gable's character is not helped by fuzzy scripting in regard to his priorities, oversights and degree of self-centerdness, yet this somewhat out-of-focus role is handled adequately. The film itself moves along fairly slowly, downshifting to a crawl during the final twenty minutes as characters deliver a succession of monologues seemingly intended to remind the audience of the picture's intended themes.

Lana Turner goes swimming

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 3 August 2019]

Made a couple years after the end of WW II, Clark Gable is Colonel Johnson, on a ship, being questioned by a reporter. as Johnson tells his story in flashback, we learn about his impressive, extensive background in medicine. and married to Ann Baxter. She will be nominated for best actress for "All About Eve", a couple years later. the plot of the story seems to be the debate over getting involved in world politics, or minding your own business, and looking after yourself. Lana Turner is Lt. McCall, who has already lost a husband who got involved in conflicts around the world. of course, Johnson and McCall clash, giving us the reason fo the film. director Mervyn LeRoy had worked with both Lana Turner and Gable numerous times. LeRoy directed some great films. was nominated for Random Harvest. it's pretty good. takes on several issues. like a really long episode of MASH.

romantic or not

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 26 May 2020]

After the war ends, Army doctor Ulysses Johnson (Clark Gable) is coming home and recounting his experiences. In 1941, he's the chief surgeon and married to Penny (Anne Baxter). He joins the Army and has a fight with Dr. Bob Sunday (John Hodiak) over his cavalier attitude. On the way over, he meets sassy nurse Lt. Jane "Snapshot" McCall (Lana Turner).

Is this romantic? That's what I'm stuck on about this movie. This has elements of a tragic romance but I could never root for this pairing over that other pairing. I'm not rooting for any pairing. I'm not sure that I like him either although I don't think I hate him. I do love the scene when Penny is confronted with a picture of the hot nurse. It's definitely a soapy melodrama. The appeal for the original audience is obvious but I don't think it holds up with other wartime classic romances.

Home to a new sense of purpose

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 5 May 2004]

As a rule I'm not much into romantic films, but there are exceptions and Homecoming is one of them.

Clark Gable and Lana Turner did four films together and this is the third one. It's Turner's show here. It's a great tribute to her charisma and star quality that she looks incredibly sexy in those army fatigues she has to wear as per the plot. Lana Turner in her

younger days had a quality of winsomeness that was never showcased than when she plays Jane "Snapshot" McCall, idealistic army nurse.

In this cynical age we would look with incredulity that a widow with a young son would follow her late husband off to war because his ideals became her ideals. Yet Turner makes you believe that in this film.

The plot is simply Clark Gable, very successful doctor in a small mid-west city, goes to World War II basically because its expected of him. He's a self centered guy, nice home, loving wife played very well by Anne Baxter, all the material things you could want and not a clue about why we are in World War II. He has a fellow physician friend, John Hodiak who does a lot of pro bono public service work who tries to act as a conscience, but fails. I guess Turner had something to offer Hodiak didn't.

At first Dr. Ulysses Johnson (Gable) and Nurse McCall don't hit it off after she's assigned to him as a nurse. But her beauty and idealism get to him he falls for her big time.

Because its 1948 Hollywood and Anne Baxter is by no means a bad person there was no way Turner was going to wind up with Gable in the end. She has to die, but Turner is given a death scene that is one of the most moving in the history of film. You have to be made of stone not to be touched by her and Gable at her bedside.

John Hodiak, a very talented and almost forgotten figure today is also terrific as Gable's friend Dr. Robert Sunday. Gable will be working with Hodiak at the clinic Hodiak has in a poor neighborhood and he will be doing it because of the social conscience Turner has instilled in him.

There are no bad people in this film except the Nazis shooting at Gable Turner and the rest of Eisenhower's army.

I believe this is Lana Turner's best film and fans of her's should not miss this one.

Stands up rather well!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 28 April 2018]

The advantages and disadvantages of television's bill of divorcement from history and chronology are very evident on a recent viewing of Homecoming. It doesn't matter much anymore that the film re-unites Gable and Turner who literally set the screen afire on their previous outing, "Somewhere III Find You", six years earlier. The romance is strong, but much more muted. Turner doesn't come on for at least half-an-hour and it's an equal length of time after that before the first silhouetted embrace.

All that doesn't matter any more. Nor is it worth knowing that contemporary critics poured scorn on the movie, whereas the public loved it. What we have now is only the movie itself - divorced from history, from all the cries of studio publicity, from the derision of contemporary reviewers, and even from the word-of-mouth of acquaintances and friends.

Actually, the film stands up rather well. True, the story is as artificially ' contrived as they come, but I found it both moving and engrossing - despite the feeling that it is scripted and directed with occasional too-obvious clumsiness and heavy-handedness.

Gable is excellent - a strongly charismatic personality, playing with conviction and sincerity. Turner - in what is undoubtedly her least glamorous role - plays with unusual naturalness and professionalism. It is probably the most convincing performance of her career. The character is well-written.

By contrast, Baxter seems artificial and too sweet. Hodiak makes the most of his big scene with Gable early in the film (effectively shot all in one take), but thereafter - like most of the support players who exist merely to provide cues and background - has little to do.

All in all, "Homecoming" is big-budget screen entertainment - directed and produced with considerable style and expertise - that wears rather well, thanks to the magnetism of its stars, the appositeness of its dialogue and the realities of its plot.

Extremely evocative, finely crafted, and involving

[fnj2002 · 9/10 · 27 May 2013]

What a gem this story is! Here you will find no platitudes; no heroes 10 feet tall; no heels - most of all no heels. This is about the most caring, life-affirming story you are ever going to find, and it is done without any syrup, nor any gratuitous and tiresome acting-out of missteps.

There is a a single scene near the end which implies that a single misstep MAY have been committed, but sorry to tell you, you are going to have to work out for yourself what did or didn't happen, because it's not spelled out. It was brave rather than a cop-out to present a pivotal scene that way.

The film is technically excellent. The scene composition is superb. You have never seen a WW2 field hospital so meticulously and realistically re-created. There is a scene viewed through the door of a tent where someone walks away that is so amazingly technically well done (as well as evocative) as to be amazing. I can't tell you that the snow falling in that scene was real, but it LOOKED absolutely real. The fadeout as the figure walked gradually into the falling snow was perfect. It's a little thing that a film nut notices, because it's hard to do.

The messages are about finding one's humanity, daring to need, and daring to reach out to someone to need you back. By the end, you may find yourself touched so deeply as to be shaking.

A Somewhat Forgettable WWII Drama

[atlasmb · 6/10 · 17 August 2014]

Two years after her steamy portrayal in "The Postman Always Rings Twice", Lana Turner plays a military nurse against the backdrop of WWII. And that is about all the war is in this film. As the Battle of the Bulge batters the distant, fiery horizon, Turner and Clark Gable share their first kiss. He is a doctor assigned to the same medical evac unit.

This film seems little more than a soap opera. But it feels rather choppy. As a result, the relationship between the characters is not as developed as it should be.

Athe title suggests, the film is really about the strains that distance but on a relationship. And about the hardship of being the one left behind. That is one thing this film conveyed well. Gable's wife is always the focus of the film even when she is far away from the storyline. We know what she has promised, what she has sacrificed. It would be the cruelest blow to be rewarded with desertion.

In reality, this is one of many scenarios where homecoming can be a sad reunion. The film reminds us of this, even if it is, on the whole, not as memorable as the cast deserves.

Was He Self Absorbed?

[traceywilliamson-41698 · 4/10 · 5 March 2018]

I feel like Gable's character gets a bad rap at the beginning of the film. I realize they are trying to show him as self-absorbed to depict his transformation through the war years. But was he really? His character had spent years of his life in school and training to be a doctor. He finally achieves his goal of being a surgeon, and by all accounts is a good one. His patients seem to love him. Is it a bad thing that he wants to have some balance in his life and enjoy time with his family and friends on the weekend? You can't work all the time or you will burn out in a high stress career like his.

I don't know, maybe I just like Gable. But I didn't find him off-putting at all at the beginning. He did a great job at work, loved his wife and tried to make time for her, was friendly with his household staff, helped the delivery boy from Chester Village..I think he was a pretty good guy.

Ordeals of war and malaria with nurse Snapshot and colonel Useless.

[clanciai · 10/10 · 2 December 2018]

The great surprise with this film was to find Lana Turner totally different from all impressions you ever had of her and so much better. She actually makes the film, and every scene with her is golden cinematic sunshine and top film acting because of her. Clark Gable is always good, perhaps the most reliably excellent actor Hollywood ever had, and although he is on top also here, Lana outshines him. Anne Baxter was never lovelier, in the beginning, but she hopelessly falls in the shadow of Lana, and is well aware of it. Another surprise was John Hodiak as the friend and fellow doctor acting as something of a startling conscience but acting it without any effort, as a doctor should react absolutely frankly and matter-of-fact. Gladys Cooper also does a good job as usual as one of her many mothers, while you'll never recognize Cameron Mitchell here as a very young boy. The artistic excellence of unity permeates the film and fills it with warm humanity from beginning to end. Much of the credit for this seething warmth of human atmosphere and candid heartfiulness comes from the exquisitely discreet but nonetheless overwhelmingly beautiful musical score by Bronislau Kaper - I never saw that name before, while at the same time Mervyn LeRoy's masterhand at the direction is felt comfortably all the way. All this ends up to a top score of ten unhesitatingly. It could very well be both Clark Gable's and Lana Turner's best film.

M*A*S*H Written here? (spoilers)

[spirit11 · 8/10 · 26 November 2003]

I found the film quite engaging, but as a M*A*S*H fan, I couldn't help but notice how many times plot lines from this movie showed up in the series.

1) Hawkeye and Hotlips caught under fire trying to get back to their unit, and winding up in the clinches? Gable and Turner did it first. 2) Henry Blake dying suddenly on his return home? No return home, but an unexpected attack on a hospital unit leaves the commander dead. 3) BJ's first time in the unit, and how it made him sick? Gable's first day in the unit, and the wear and tear on him. 4) Hotlips? Snapshot. 5) BJ wanting to tell his wife about "straying", but talked out of it by Hawkeye? Gable DID tell his wife. 6) Hawkeye's buddy the writer, dying on the table in front of Hawkeye? Monk, Gable's delivery man from home, dying in front of him.

It's a good movie, and well written. And I think Gable and Turner were great. You can probably find more links to M*A*S*H than I did!

Steady, serious, powerful, though no explosive scenes

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 8/10 · 31 May 2011]

In terms of traditionally popular American films, I cannot say this is a great film. Yet, I can say that I am very impressed by it. What I mean is that this is, in reality, a totally serious film effort. It is not soapy, it is not (for the most part) exciting. It is a serious story of a man who meets a woman and falls in love, knowing that after the war he will return home to his wife.

It has been said that World War II changed Clark Gable. And this is a very different Clark Gable from the one we got used to in the 1930s. Here he is something he never was back then -- subtle. His performance here is very steady, very calm, very mature...and speaking of mature, he certainly looks older here. It is a testament to his acting ability that he is totally believable as a surgeon in this film.

When I was young I always felt that the two most beautiful women in the world were Sophia Loren and Lana Turner. I was stunned years later when I saw Lana Turner do an hour-long interview on one of the daytime talk shows. It wasn't that she was dumb...she was...not a real human being. But, this film is interesting because here she is less beautiful, just rather normal looking, and yet totally convincing in her role as an army nurse.

Another treat in watching this movie was discovering John Hodiak. I knew the name, but not the actor. What a shame that he died of a heart attack at such a young age. Great potential. And, Anne Baxter is fine here as the wife.

There are many scenes in this film that are rather impressive. Was that real snow in Europe? It was certainly real mud in the jeep scene. High production values here.

There were, in my view, to mistakes in the filming of this movie. First, a part of the American town that was described in the film as being almost ghetto-like, appeared rather pleasant when visited by Anne Baxter. But more serious was that after rather deep and divisive discussions between the characters of Gable and Hodiak, toward end of the film the discussion when they are reunited after the war, and where Gable apologizes for his shallowness, in only described briefly by Gable. It could have provided a powerful scene between Gable and Hodiak.

If you like an occasional serious film, you will be impressed with this movie. Highly recommended.