Christmas Movie Review: Day Sixteen

Since You Went Away

It's 1943. Anne Hilton (Claudette Colbert) has just said farewell to her husband, who, although well past draft age, has volunteered to fight for his country. As Anne returns to her home with her two daughters, Jane (Jennifer Jones) and Bridget (Shirley Temple) she prepares herself for the terrible adjustment of living without her husband. 

This another war-time classic leaves you proud to be an American, so thankful for your family, and warm inside because of all your blessings. 

 I watched this movie for the first time a few years back, and it made me cry real tears. *sniffs* 

It shows the good, the bad, and the ugly of the everyday lives of the families waiting on the home front, praying for the safety of their men and trying hard to do their own part for the war effort.  

Claudette Colbert's performance as the faithful wide was excellent. She has that quiet strength that all mother's seem to have, especially during times of great crisis, and she makes me hope I can be such a wife in the future. 

 Her breakdown that first night without Tim just tears at my heart, and the way she dives into his bed, wraps herself in his blankets and weeps makes you feel her pain and loneliness. 

 I loved Joseph Cotton in I'll Be Seeing You, and he isn't terrible in here as 'Uncle' Tony, Anne and Tim's long-time friend. 

But it did irk me the way he was constantly flirting with Anne. Maybe he wasn't entirely serious (as he later admits in the film, he'd "wring her neck" if she ever responded to his attentions) but there are certain things a gentleman just doesn't do. Like flirting with his best friend's wife. 

Bill and Jane.... *cries*  

 Bill's boy-next-door innocence and manners is thoroughly lovable, and Jane's sweetness makes them all-around the cutest couple. I like how Jane's earlier crush on 'Uncle Tony' just vanishes when she meets the kind young man, and we watch her turn from a starry-eyed teen to a mature woman with deep feelings. 

And we have the ever-lovable Shirley Temple! 

 Her relationship with the stiff, grumpy Colonel Smollett is sweet, and you can't help but smile at how giddy and friendly she remains, even as the man is snapping at her. 

And of course, her sad parts would as heart-breaking as ever. The girl really knows how to cry. 

Content: 

Tony flirts with Anne throughout the film. Some drinking, I think, but not much. A few kisses. Uncle Tony brings a painting to the house which is a little inappropriate (shows quite a bit of a woman's legs) and he is promptly ordered to take it away. But the scene is very brief . 

This movie is wonderful. <3 

 It makes you laugh, it makes you cry. It shows the real-life of people waiting at home, and the heartbreak that comes with war. The ending scene is enough to make you weep in joy!

My Review: Five Stars ✩✩✩✩✩

I highly recommend sitting down to this old film!

                                                                                         LaKaysha