THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)

At the end of WWII, three men with three very different lives come home.  Fredric March was a platoon Sargent in the South Pacific.  He's a banker with a loving wife (Myrna Loy) and two teenage children, including Teresa Wright.   Harold Russell (a real life Army veteran who lost both his hands in 1944) was a seaman who lost his hands in an explosion.  He lives with his parents and has a fiancee.  Dana Andrews is an Air Force captain and bombardier married to nightclub waitress (Virginia Mayo).  And she's been living the party life while he's been gone.  The three men's lives might be different, but all three face the same problems with readjusting to civilian life and putting the demons of war behind them.  That's all you really need to know about the story.

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES rightfully won a wheelbarrow full of Oscars, but I think it should have won two more.  Most notably Teresa Wright for Best Supporting Actress.  I thought she was absolutely stunning in her performance of a young woman tormented with her emotions.  Anne Baxter's performance in THE RAZOR'S EDGE (she did win) was good, but not as impressive as Teresa's performance.  Also it should have won for Best Cinematography.

Also, Dana Andrews should have won over Harold Russell for Best Supporting Actor.  Russell was good and he did get an honorary Oscar for his brave performance, but as far as acting skill goes Dana Andrews turns in one of the best performances of his career in this film.  And with as many outstanding performances as he had, that's saying something.

Side note: IMDb lists Joyce Compton as "Hat Check Girl (uncredited)" but I don't see her anywhere.