Since You Went Away

1944 was the tale end of World War II and the whole world was feeling the pains and stresses of that brutal armed conflict. There have been countless films that depict every aspect of that war showing the daring heroism of the troops, the viciousness of the enemy, and the strategies used to beat the Germans, Japanese and Italians and bring an end to one of the bloodiest wars in the history of the world. Not as common are films that dramatize the families of the soldiers who must stay behind and worry about the safety of their loved ones while making sacrifices of their own for the war effort. Since You Went Away is one of those latter films that took a good long look at those type of people, many of whom were in that very same predicament at the time of the film’s release. Watching it now eighty years after its initial release will not have the same emotional resonance as it would have sitting in a theater in 1944 and reliving their own fears as they played out on screen. Hardly anyone in that audience would be exempt from knowing or being related to someone fighting or having been injured or killed in that war and I cannot fathom the sheer immensity of emotions that would have been running rampant in those theaters at the time. 

The film is set in a mid-sized American town that is near a military base allowing for some of the characters to be troops serving Stateside and/or awaiting deployment.  The first thing we see after the credits is an interstitial title proclaiming “This is a story of the Unconquerable Fortress: The American Home…1943.” It is setting up a theme that will also serve as a morale boost to the American people who had already sacrificed so much for the war effort, some losing virtually everything as husbands and sons alike were lost in the name of freedom and democracy. Another quote will bookend the film, this one of a more spiritual note: “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” (Psalms 31:24) This film was meant to uplift those who were suffering and give them a sense that they were not alone and that the world around them was feeling the same. It helps build a sense of camaraderie and oneness for those who may have been feeling alone during these trying times. This is a work of fiction but to many it may have felt biographical.

The story focuses on one particular family, The Hiltons. The matriarch, Anne Hilton (Claudette Colbert) has just sent her husband, Tim, off to war. Tim volunteered for U.S. Army service and has been sent off to Camp Claiborne in Louisiana for training before deployment overseas. Anne stays at home and takes care of her two teenage daughters: Jane (Jennifer Jones) and Bridget (Shirley Temple). The film opens as Anne and her daughters return from seeing her husband off at the station. They must now return home and adjust to having him gone including cutting back on expenses and making sacrifices for the war effort like food rationing, planting a victory garden, giving up the services of their long standing and loyal maid Fidelia (Hattie McDaniel), and taking in a boarder to help cover the expenses of the house. This boarder, Colonel William G. Smollett (Monty Woolley), is a curmudgeonly retired military man with a strict set of ways he insists the family must cater to. 

Emily Hawkins (Agnes Moorhead), their neighbor, is a socialite who constantly complains about how the war has inconvenienced her and she actively engages in unsupportive behaviors including hoarding food and being critical of the Hilton’s for their genuine efforts to help the war effort. Colonel Smollett has an estranged relationship with young grandson Bill (Robert Walker) after the boy got expelled from West Point and is now enlisted as a mere corporal in the U.S. Army rather than an officer. Bill and Jane begin seeing each other socially and plan to marry once he comes home from the war. Meanwhile, friend of the family U.S. Navy Lieutenant Tony Willett (Joseph Cotton) comes in and out of the story, flirting with Anne knowing full well that there can never be anything serious between them because of her deep love for her husband. Anne rightfully points out to him one evening that it is because she is unobtainable that he has this romantic ideal about them. Jane takes a position at the military hospital caring for wounded soldiers, something Emily Hawkins looks down on. This leads to a confrontation between the two women that ends when Anne steps up and terminates their acquaintance permanently. Anne has also taken work, learning to weld for defense work at the naval shipyard. 

This cannot properly be categorized as a propaganda film although it has all of the parts of one. In reality this is a film designed to help heal and pull together a nation that was struggling under the weight of sacrifice. Over 400,000 U.S. soldiers died in that war: husbands, fathers and young men alike. News of a loved one killed in battle came virtually every day to anxious parents but even worse than that was news that a loved one was missing, presumed dead. News like that left hope in the hearts of parents, hope that almost always festered into despair as time passed by with no further news. Mid-way through this film Anne gets just such a notice about her husband. The news is devastating and she is overwhelmed with tears over the news. Still, she has to pull herself together and never give up hope, if for no other reason than to protect her daughters.

A good deal of time is dedicated to the relationship developing between Jane and Bill. Jane initially has a crush on Tony, who is attracted to Anne. When Tony is away on duty her affections shift to the new boy in the picture, the small in stature West Point expelled grandson of the Colonel. Bill doesn’t have a high opinion of himself but is determined to serve his country anyway. So much time is dedicated to this blossoming relationship that it feels doomed from the start. When his orders come through there is a palpable feeling that he isn’t coming back, especially after his grandfather tries to bury the hatchet but is delayed and misses seeing him off on the train. The scene of Jane running alongside the train as it departs, waving goodbye to Bill is so iconic it served as the inspiration for many other films and was even parodied in the comedy Airplane. Incidentally, the two actors, Jennifer Jones and Robert Walker, were married in real life at the time of filming but were in the process of dissolving their marriage. They divorced shortly after filming their parts. 

The sheer epic scale of this picture can lead to emotional exhaustion, especially for audiences of the time who were going through their own sacrifices for the war effort. To combat this fatigue a generous amount of humor is injected into the story. Most of this involves Jane and Bill, but not all of it. Bridget gets her moments, too. Shirley Temple was in a transitional phase in her career, just old enough to no longer get the roles she was most famous for but not quite old enough to where she would stop getting roles altogether because the studio didn’t know what to do with her. That would come in a few short years. She negotiates meal arrangements with the Colonel, over charging him for his food. She also has several memorable scenes trying unsuccessfully to encourage a neighbor girl to not be afraid of the adults. There’s no doubt her character isn’t as well rounded and fleshed out as her older sister’s but when she is on screen there is still the charisma present that made her the child super star that she was just a few years prior.

This is a film that needed to be made at the time that it was. The people needed a release from their anxiety for a time while at the same time share in the camaraderie that so many families were facing in 1944. It was a terrible time in the world and so many people were affected by that war. A more contemporary film made after the war was over may have had emotional stakes but wouldn’t have had the impact this one had for being made and released while the war was still raging on and so many families were still being impacted. So much of the raw emotion on display would have been felt in the hearts of the broken families and the worried parents and grandparents in the audience that I cannot imagine there being a single dry eye in the audience during several parts of this film, especially the ending. It’s still a powerful film to watch now but those emotions felt are a mere pittance to those felt by those who were seeing this back in 1944. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: David O. Selznick

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Claudette Colbert

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Monty Woolley

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Jennifer Jones

Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Black-and-White: Mark-Lee Kirk and Victor A. Gangelin

Best Cinematography - Black-and-White: Stanley Cortez and Lee Garmes

Best Film Editing: Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom

Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Max Steiner (won)

Best Effects, Special Effects: Jack Cosgrove and Arthur Johns

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Release Date: July 20, 1944

Running Time: 177 Minutes

Not Rated

Starring: Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotton, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker

Directed By: John Cromwell