November 21, 1946: “The Best Years of Our Lives” Premieres

Harold Russell

November 21, 1946: The Best Years of Our Lives premieres, directed by William Wyler. Many a film has looked at war. This was the first great film to look at what happens when the war is over.

The film features 3 veterans returning from World War II to the fictional Midwestern town of Boone City. Fredric March (nearly 50 years old, and too old for the role) is Army Technical Sergeant Al Stephenson, married to Milly, played by Myrna Loy. (As they said in those days, "Hubba hubba.") Dana Andrews is U.S. Army Air Forces bombardier Captain Fred Derry, married to Marie, played by Virginia Mayo. And Harold Russell is Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Homer Parrish, who, before the war, had intended to marry Wilma Cameron, played by Cathy O'Donnell.

Russell had lost both of his hands while serving in The War -- as my grandmother put it, always Capital T, Capital W -- and while his character of Homer has adjusted to the hooks that served as prosthetic hands in those days, he is sure Wilma won't want to marry him now. Al was a bank officer, but has fallen victim to alcoholism. And Fred has flashbacks, due to what was then called "battle fatigue," but is now usually called "post-traumatic stress disorder" or "PTSD." But, because this is 1940s Hollywood, all 3 men get a happy ending.

Composer Hoagy Carmichael played Homer's uncle. Drummer Gene Krupa, singer Tennessee Ernie Ford, future director Blake Edwards, and Wyler's daughters Catherine and Judy all appeared, uncredited.

The Best Years of Our Lives was the highest-grossing film of the 1940s. It was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winning 7, including Best Picture, Best Director for Wyler, Best Actor for March, Best Supporting Actor for Russell (and it was legit, not just a nod to his disability>

Cathy O'Donnell died of cancer in 1970, only 47 years old. March died in 1975, Wyler and Carmichael in 1981, Andrews in 1992, Loy in 1993, Russell in 2002, and Mayo in 2005 (as did Teresa Wright, whose character also figures into the plot).

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November 21, 1946 was a Thursday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 3 games played in the brand-new Basketball Association of America, the league that became the NBA 3 years later:

* The St. Louis Bombers beat the Boston Celtics, 65-53 at the Boston Garden.

* The Washington Capitols beat the Providence Steam Rollers, 66-58 at the Rhode Island Auditorium in Providence.

* And the Chicago Stags beat the Philadelphia Warriors, 65-63 at the Philadelphia Arena.

And there was 1 game played in the NHL: The Detroit Red Wings beat the New York Rangers, 3-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.