The Best Of Times ...

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2017)

Given that this is a movie very much of its time - the end of World War II and the problems of adjusting to civilian life faced by ex- servicemen - it holds up remarkably well and boasts many positive notices on this site. It would have little or no meaning for anyone born after say 1960 yet viewed this week I found it both moving and entertaining. It's clear that screenwriter Robert E. Sherwood intended the three returning vets - Fredric March, Dana Andrews and Harold Russell - to represent vets from all walks of life returning to homes in the four corners of the USA (or, for that matter, anywhere in Europe) and the actors are exceptional as are their wives, sweethearts and families. Personally I could have done with more of Hoagy Carmichael but this is a minor caveat about a minor masterpiece.