A triumph of both Truth and Humanity

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2005)

A truly fine picture. So good the real question is, where to begin its praise? First, look at the talent, Wyler as director, a Robert Sherwood script, Myrna Loy and Fredric March as leads? Right there you have the 'A' team. The results should not be surprising.
The script is just right. Without illusions but without cynicism. It shows hard truths and true love. It is tight and well paced.
The directing is outstanding. The pace and tension of the scenes are spot on. And many of the shots were superb, Wyler getting the camera angle just right, focusing in the key element yet keeping the rest of the scene in play. His control of the lighting is equally good yet so subtle is his command you are hardly aware of it.
The acting is first rate. Like any great movie, all characters gave strong performances, although Myrna Loy and Frederic March were superb. Altogether, even in the smaller characters like Fred Derry's parents or 'Spikey', were perfectly cast. Even Hoagy Carmichael, a professional musician, gave a strong, believable performance.
This is a very fine picture that remains fresh, meaningful and undated to this day. The sensitivity and deftness with which Homer Parrish's lost limbs are handled is itself a great achievement in both art and humanity. It was a good balance of not only the acceptance of his loss by others, but also the acceptance of himself. And his final belief that others saw and accepted him as he was and not what he had lost.
See this film. You won't be disappointed. Only the most callous and hardened heart would fail to appreciate it.