This film wasn't as good as I remembered it but it was a daring film for the time with the Hayes code firmly in place.
Three veterans return from the war and return to their hometown Boone City (somewhere in the mid-west). Al Stephenson (Frederic March, who wears a wedding ring), Fred Derry (Dana Andrews, who does not) and Homer Parish (Harold Russell) have each had different experiences and deal with the aftermath differently.
Al's children finished growing up without him, Fred's wife, Marie (Virginia Mayo) started living her own life and Homer learned how to function without his hands as they were destroyed in the war, burned off.
While each have their own plots, some work better than others. Al has struggles in his professional world. Sure, he got a big promotion which means more money but he just can't deny returning veterans loans so their dreams can be fulfilled which doesn't make the higher ups very happy. He also drinks far too much alcohol but his wife, Millie (Myrna Loy) is loyal and still in love with him, which is good. They don't explore this subject nearly as much as they should (see 1945's The Lost Weekend for that part of the story) but Frederic March has some good scenes nevertheless.
Fred's plots take up most of the film, between his own career issues. Without a college education, his only experience is dropping bombs and filling up ice cream cones. Yet, he forces his wife to quit her job (to be fair, she worked at a night club) so money struggles fill up their marriage and without his uniform, there is nothing special about him so Marie tires of him.
And there is the wildcard of Al's daughter, Peggy (the great Teresa Wright). She works as a nurse and is far more sympathetic to Fred's night terrors and the two quickly fall in love despite Fred being an asshole. On his first night home, he gets drunk and Peggy puts him to bed and he nearly assaults her. She worms away before anything can happen. He apologizes the next morning, not because it was wrong for what he did but because he was married. Despite being married, he falls in love with Peggy anyway and so does she. Even after she meets Marie, she realizes that they don't like each other and decides to break up the marriage over the loud objections of her parents (and who can blame them). Fortunately, Al intervenes so her career as a homewrecker (her own words) is over, thank goodness.
Homer, on the other hand, doesn't necessarily need to worry about finding a job (he never mentions future employment in the film) as he will be receiving a monthly stipend from the government for the rest of his life (thanks to him losing his hands) but rather, how can Wilma (Cathy O'Donnell) still love him and want to be with him? Sure, hooks aren't the same as arms but Wilma, while an underdeveloped character, is stronger than Marie and still wants to spend the rest of her life with Homer, so they do. The film ends with their wedding and Fred and Peggy getting together. For the record, this is okay as Marie announces that she's going back to work and getting a divorce, which is what should have happened far earlier. While Marie is portrayed as a villain, and yes, she is loaded with flaws just as all the characters (save Wilma and Millie) are, she is also a strong feminist character, not putting up with place Fred put her in.
Now, while the film is solid, the screenplay doesn't flow as well as it should but there are plenty of good performances and it is lovely seeing a main character with a disability on screen but Russell's performance is uneven. I almost wonder if the scenes were filmed in the order of the script as he does get better as the film progresses. And Wright was robbed of a nomination.
I also wish that Rob Stephenson (Michael Hall) had more to do as he could have been an interesting character. Still, despite these problems (lest we forget that Fred is a true asshole and borderline abusive to Marie), the film is fascinating to watch and remains timeless. However, if you want to see a film that truly captures the aftermath of soldiers coming home from World War II, watch Mudbound, which is such an underrated film. That film deserves the praise that this one received. Mudbound is daring for this time, The Best Years of Our Lives was daring for its time. Grade: B+
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