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After World War II, many returning servicemen were disillusioned to find jobs were scarce and their wives’ (or girlfriends’) faithfulness even scarcer. The Best Years of Our Lives addresses this reality head on when the Dana Andrews character finds it impossible to please either his previous employer or trophy wife upon his return to civilian life. Perhaps for this narrative distinction, authors Borde and Chaumeton in the filmography of their highly respected book Panorama of American Film Noir 1941 - 1953, and the first to be published on the subject, included The Best Years of Our Lives as film noir.
The film portrays no crime, the focus is not on Andrews’ experiences alone, and he comes out better off at the end without his superficial but admittedly gorgeous wife, which for myself, collectively place this film well outside of noir’s dark and gloomy world of illegal activity. Previously, I highly praised The Best Years of Our Lives for its exceptional musical score composed by Hugo Friedhofer in the first part of a series entitled Top Ten: Motion Picture Music Treasures:
http://thecinemacafe.com/the-cinema-treasure-hunter/2013/11/17/top-ten-motion-picture-music-treasures
This emotionally powerful tour de force will appropriately commence on Veteran’s Day Monday, November 11 at 6am PST.
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Stupendous Hugo Friedhofer score. The Label X CD (London Philharmonic Orchestra) is $50 on eBay, but you can get it on iTunes for $7.99.
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