Since You Went Away (United Artists) (1944)

“Since You Went Away,” Selznick Epic, Heartwarming Tribute to Home Folks! Eagerly Awaited All-Star Film Expected Soon On a canvas that is almost as broad as all America itself, David O. Selznick, who produced the in¬ comparable Academy Award-win¬ ning “Gone With the Wind” and “Rebecca,” has captured all the joy, tears, beauty and human warmth of American life on the home front in his long-awaited panoramic film, “Since You Went Away,” coming to the .... Theatre on ... . through United Artists release. Seven Stars Starring in the heart-warming film are seven of Hollywood’s great¬ est players: Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Wal¬ ker. “Since You Went Away” is the story of the Hilton family, Anne Hilton and her daughters Janet and “Brig,” who together face the everyday problems of the American family whose man of the house has gone to war. But “Since You Went Away” is more than merely the story of the single household. It is, in fact, the story of every American home in time of war. It is the pic- turization of all the virtues (and some of the vices) of the people who make up the greatest nation on A Simple Story “Since You Went Away” is not a preachment. In essence it is a sim¬ ple story of simple people. It is the story of an average home; of war plants; of women workers; of vic¬ tory gardens; of bowling alleys; of trips to the country on weekends; of young love in spring; of an American Christmas party. It is a film full of laughter—and tears, with the laughter predominating. Selznick has spared none of his genius in the production of the film. He has chosen a cast of players which is without peer and has sur¬ rounded his stars with a group of featured players who themselves would be considered an all-star cast in any other film. They are Hattie McDaniel, Agnes Moore- head, Albert Basserman, Nazimova, Keenan Wynn and Lloyd Corrigan. At least one hundred other players round out the gigantic cast, with 5,000 others in extra roles. The Hilton House The main set of the action of “Since You Went Away” is one of Selznick’s famous “houses”—this one the “Hilton House.” A middle- class, suburban residence, the Hil- ton House has received admiring attention as one of the most phe¬ nomenal sets ever to be constructed in Hollywood. For, not satisfied with merely filming the shell of a house, Selznick built a set which could actually be lived in. It was completely furnished by the world- famous furniture and interior dec¬ orating house of W. J. Sloane and included such amazing innovations —for a movie set—as water that actually flowed when a tap was turned; radios that really played; flowers that were changed daily; and magazines which were replaced from month to month. “Since You Went Away” was di¬ rected by John Cromwell. The screenplay was written by David 0. Selznick. f Selznick Hit Coming! Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker lead a cast of hundreds in “Since You Went Away,” David 0. Selznick’s masterpiece of the home front which arrives at the .... Theatre through United Artists release. His first production since “Gone With the Wind” and “Rebecca,” Selznick has described “Since You Went Away” as the finest film he has yet produced. This opinion is shared by the cast, which has unanimously praised both its indi¬ vidual roles and the general pro¬ duction of the film. Handled on the large and sweep¬ ing style which marks all Selznick films, “Since You Went Away” nevertheless projects the simplicity and courage of the ordinary Amer¬ ican family in wartime. The Hilton family, around which the story is built, could be any average family living in a suburb of any fair¬ sized middle western city. Producer Selznick has added a new entry to his list of famous movie residences—Tara in “Gone With the Wind” and Manderlay in “Rebecca”—the gracious and liv¬ able Hilton house which is the home of Anne Hilton and her daughters, Janet and “Brig.” The production was directed by John Cromwell who has been ac¬ credited with many of Hollywood’s leading motion picture successes. The screenplay, written by Mr. Selznick, stresses the humor and joy of everyday living in wartime America rather than more sombre aspects of home front life. Global War Doubles Research Headaches Among the special problems which war has brought to Hol¬ lywood—the loss of stars, featured players and technicians to the armed forces, the restrictions on materials used in film production—none is ranked more difficult of solution (by the experts involved) than the important job of research for films which deal with the contemporary American scene. Everyone knows by now that the correctness of every costume, every setting, most characterizations in a film depend on the exact knowledge of a research staff, checking on every facet of production. In films concerning bygone eras the problem is reduced to a minimum. There are many books at hand which give in great detail the material sought about a particular period. But when the period concerned with is con¬ temporary America—at the time of global war—the problem can not be solved by seeking the answer in books. The books have not yet been written. The research staff in David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away,” the great film at the .... Theatre through United Artists release, dis¬ covered the difficulty for itself when it began work on this most encom¬ passing film dealing with the Amer¬ ican home front. The researchers had to find in the ever-shifting kaleidoscope of present-day American existence— in the restless movement of trains from one corner of the nation to the other; in the new methods of crop raising and crop control; in the ever-changing problems of pro¬ duction and their solution-; in the changes in occupations; in the new place of women in the industrial life of the nation, a set of hard and fast facts which might be used to pin this dynamic, changing Amer¬ ican scene to the screen for more than two hours. How well they succeeded in their task will be seen in the realistic, American film which Selznick has produced with Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker in leading roles. Selznick has managed to bring the face of America to the screen. If his researchers had a difficult time of it—well, that’s just one more American score to settle with Hitler and Tojo. Shirley Temple Collects Many Affectionate Names Shirley Temple has three names and answers to all of them. To her mother, she is known sim¬ ply as “Shirl.” Her six co-stars on the set of “Since You Went Away,” as well as the electricians, property men and grips dubbed her “Butch,” and she loved it. Boys in the service, to whom she writes a constant stream of letters, have recently given her another name. They call her “Little Sister.” And she likes that, too. New Arrival Seven-Star Masterpiece “Since You Went Away,” David O. Selznick’s first film since the Academy Award - winning “Gone With the Wind” and “Rebecca,” starring Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Bar¬ rymore and Robert Walker, arrives at the .... Theatre on ... . through United Artists release. Described as a “panorama of the home front,” “Since You Went Away” is the first film to glorify America and the folks at home. In the simple story of the Hilton fam¬ ily, Selznick has delineated a por¬ trait of all of the families of Amer¬ ica. In this household composed of Anne Hilton and her two daugh¬ ters, Janet and “Brig,” the pro¬ ducer has captured all the laughter, warmth and pathos of the average American home whose man has gone to war. Stars Have Great Roles Claudette Colbert, in the finest portrayal of her entire career, plays Anne Hilton, guardian angel and all-around protector of the morale and physical well-being of her family and friends. Miss Col¬ bert, who has had a long and highly successful career in Hollywood, calls her role in “Since You Went Away” the best she has ever played. Jennifer Jones and Shirley Tem¬ ple play the Hilton girls, Janet and “Brig,” with Monty Woolley com¬ plicating life around the household with one of his famous acid-tongued characterizations as Colonel Smol- let, the Colonel who came to dinner —and stayed. The men in the case are two of Hollywood’s finest eligibles, Joseph Cotten and Robert Walker. Cotten plays a man-about-town naval of¬ ficer and Walker turns in a moving performance as the shy and gang¬ ling Bill Smollett. Lionel Barrymore, beloved vet¬ eran of the screen, plays a minister in the film, a part never before at¬ tempted by him. Has Cast of Hundreds A cast of hundreds, including Hattie McDaniel, Nazimova, Agnes Moorehead, Albert Basserman, Keenan Wynn and Lloyd Corrigan in important supporting roles, com¬ bines to make the player-list for “Since You Went Away” one of the greatest ever assembled for a film. All of the famed Selznick genius and painstaking attention to real¬ istic detail which was so apparent in the great scenes in “Gone With the Wind” and “Rebecca,” is once more grandly evident in “Since You Went Away.” Joining Selznick’s other famous movie homes, “Tara” of “Gone With the Wind” and “Manderlay” of “Rebecca,” is the “Hilton House” of the new film. Never before in the history of movies has a set been constructed with such an eye towards complete realism. Staff of Experts on Film A whole staff of experts were hired by Selznick to assure the cor¬ rectness of his picturization of con¬ temporary America. Josephine Von Miklos, author of “I Took a War Job,” and William Periera, world- famous designer and city planner, were among those who contributed their special knowledge towards making “Since You Went Away” an exact film of life in America. The production was handled by John Cromwell, one of Hollywood’s foremost directors. It was paced swiftly with an eye towards the humor and the tears of present-day America—with the humor predomi¬ nating. The screenplay was written by David 0. Selznick. Shirley plays her first screen role in two years in David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away,” the ro¬ mantic drama of the home front opening at the .... Theatre on .... through United Artists re¬ lease. Although she plays fifteen- year-old “Brig” Hilton, Shirley is really past sixteen now and feels quite grownup. * * t: +■ v Page Four < #