Since You Went Away (United Artists) (1944)

“Since You Went Away” A Tribute To A m erica! SINCE YOU WENT AWAY:—a Selznick International picture written and produced by David 0. Selznick. Last night at the .... Theatre through United Artists release with Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker. Directed by John Cromwell. (Prepared Review) Last night we saw an epic. It was David 0. Selznick’s magnificent “Since You Went Away,” which opened at the ... . Theatre through United Artists release. It was a film so touching, so full of the gentle humor and grace of America that no person in the entire audience could remain long unmoved. As Ben Hecht, who saw the film in Hollywood said, “ ‘Since You Went Away’ rings out like a song of America.” _ Not “spectacular,” not full of the hammish fireworks which are so often passed off as substitution for real art, “Since You Went Away” in its simple, almost humble otory of an American family caches a crest of power which few '•ther films for all the pyrotechnics ♦hey may have employed could attain. Like all Selznick’s productions, “Since You Went Away” is one of those films which combines good plot with good acting. The pro¬ ducer has starred seven of Holly¬ wood’s choicest talents, Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker. But never does one get that thankless feeling that here is an “all-star” cast “emoting.” Under John Cromwell’s direction, the virtual galaxy of stars be¬ comes an integrated group of peo¬ ple feeling and undergoing all those simple human things that all people at home must experience in time of war. Mr. Selznick has placed his story of the Hiltons in a community and a home which is as familiar as the papers on the living room floor on Sundays. Like the rest of the film special care has been taken in the choice and decoration of the sets and the Hilton home is a place we predict will soon be as generally familiar as Tara of “Gone With the Wind” and Manderlay of “Re¬ becca,” other domiciles which Selz¬ nick has immortalized. This would be an incomplete re¬ view without a special section for the cast. Certainly the finest repre¬ sentative of Hollywood talent to appear together on one screen in an integrated story for a long time, the seven stars who carry the main weight of the film generate no feeling of “crowding.” They weave through the story in so easy and relaxed a manner that one forgets that here is a much publicized “million dollar” cast and regards them merely as the neighbors next door with whom one can sympa¬ thize and smile. Perhaps the most difficult role rests with Claudette Colbert who is in turn father confessor, guar¬ dian angel, mother—and father of the Hilton household. It is on her that the problems of two growing girls rest most heavily and it is from her that the family and its friends take courage and high hope. Jennifer Jones, Selznick’s bril¬ liant young discovery who accom¬ plished am almost unheard of achievement by winning the Acad¬ emy Award with her first starring appearance in the “Song Of Ber¬ nadette,” now proves herself a versatile and sympathetic actress yith a complete reversal from the portrayal of the sainted French maiden in the creation of “Jane Hilton,” a spirited American girl. “Since You Went Away” marks Shirley Temple’s real return to the screen. And a welcome sight it was to see the “little curlytop” all growed up and turning in a bang- up performance. Shirley, still the effervescent personality that zoomed into the cinema heavens, is tempered with a smooth “know¬ how” which makes for big league acting. Shirley has come through for her fans with this film. She’s living proof that a champ can come back! You must have gathered by now that we found Selznick’s “Since You Went Away” just about the greatest thing to hit the screen. That is absolutely true. As we watched the film we had the feeling that it was possible, for all its im¬ mensity, to put America on the screen. This David O. Selznick has accomplished. For this privilege we say to the producer and to the cast, “Thanks for creating a memory.” Selznick Script Sets A Record The longest script ever written for a motion picture is that pre¬ pared for David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away,” the seven star film now playing at the . . . Theatre through United Artists release. The final script ran to more than 300 pages, about 20 pages longer than Selznick’s “Gone With The Wind.” Selznick wrote the script himself under the name of Jeffrey Daniel, a combination of the names of his two sons. fc Makes Movie History Ben Hecht Is Moved This is what Ben Hecht, internationally known author said after seeing SYWA : “My chief memory of ‘Since You Went Away ’ is that it made me cry like a fool and that U. S. A. had made its debut on the screen. The film rises above its story and sings out like a song of America. ... You have wangled on to the screen the amiable and indestructible face of democracy. 1 did not know until after I had left the projection room that I had been looking at an all-star cast, they all seemed too much tike people ever to have acted before.” A Star-Filled Film (Prepared David O. Selznick who made “Gone With the Wind” and “Re¬ becca” two of the world’s finest films has accomplished the impos¬ sible. He has repeated his brilliant success with a film which promises to transcend even the near-immor¬ tality of his two great motion pic¬ tures. It is ‘ ‘Since You Went Away,” which we were privileged to see at its opening at the .... Theatre last night. David 0. Selznick is a name of which motion pictures can today be proud. For with that remarkably sweeping touch which is so markedly evident in his other great films, Selznick has brought to the screen the very soul of America. More than a tale of the home front, which is its ostensible plot, “Since You Went Away” emerges, as Ben Hecht has put it, as a “song of America.” Yet the new film is by no means a “spectacle” picture. A cast of seven stars, Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Wal¬ ker, weaves from a simple and humble story of one family in America in time of war, a powerful and moving vehicle without re¬ course to the usual fireworks which one finds all too often in Hollywood “epics.” Under John Cromwell’s superb direction, “Since You Went Away” unfolds simply and full of quiet American humor. There is little self-pity here; certainly no maudlin moments. And yet mixed with the liberal supply of laughter there are scenes which stand out as starkly as a solitary tree in a desert for their moving and sincere pathos. Selznick, who wrote the screen¬ play himself, has employed a de¬ vice which permits him to be as specific as the point of a pin and as broad as all outdoors. He has narrowed the problems of all American families on the home front into the problems of one family—the Hiltons. Through the unfolding of the story of this fam¬ ily living in a typical home in a mid-western city he has managed magically to delineate a portrait of all America. Nothing is missing; the war plants and their women workers; the victory gardens; the huge sol¬ dier dances; the canteens; the short trip to the country on a week-end; the restless tide of in¬ coming and outgoing trains bearing soldiers and civilians to every part of the nation on the business of a country at war; the smell and feeling of the seasons of the year in America; the warmth and love of a Christmas party; the joy of a snowball fight; the bustle of res¬ taurants and bowling alleys—all these are here. It is the face of America brought finally and tri¬ umphantly to the screen. Review) The Selznick touch provided all the humor a moviegoer can wish. There has been no attempt to “cash” in on sentimentality (though there are sections which made the theatre take on the as¬ pects of a vast sunken living room —with the water present). The major mood is hope, courage— lighthearted humor. In keeping with the spirit of the film Selznick has provided the Hil¬ tons with a house which will probably immediately take its place with those other two world-famous domiciles, Tara of “Gone With the Wind” and Manderlay of “Re¬ becca.” Here is a house to be lived in indeed! It could not be too broad a state¬ ment to say that the individual members of the cast give the best performances of their successful careers. Claudette Colbert gives a rich and sympathetic portrayal of Anne Hilton who is guardian angel, father confessor, mother — and father to her two daughters—Janet (Jennifer Jones) and “Brig” (Shir¬ ley Temple) and the friends of the family. And what is true of Miss Colbert’s performance is true of the uniformly excellent cast. Inci¬ dentally, featured players have chosen with as much care as the stars. Hattie McDaniel, Nazimova, Agnes Moorehead, Albert Basser- man, Keenan Wynn and Lloyd Cor¬ rigan, great names all, are only a few of the players who give yeo¬ man support. If vou would see America’s bow on the screen, don’t miss “Since You Went Away.” A- tl #- Handsome Joseph Cotten wins new laurels as the friend-of-the-family in “Since You Went Away,” David O. Selznick’s unusual tribute to the folks at home opening on .... at the .... Theatre through United Artists release. 23A—One Col. Scene (Mat .15) A Film Milestone! David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away,” which opened at the .... Theatre last night, starring Claudette Colbert, Joseph Cotten, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore and Robert Walker, is another tribute to Selznick’s master movie¬ making. Taking the simple theme of the life of an ordinary American family on the home front, Selznick has woven the story of all America. It is the first real tribute to the unsung heroes of America’s superb war effort—the women and chil¬ dren back home. Directed by John Cromwell, who has been behind the megaphone on some of Hollywood’s greatest successes, “Since You Went Away” sets a mood of alternate pathos and humor—with the humor always predominating. No saga of sorrow this, rather it is a song of the ^ courage, the hope and the ability of Americans to laugh and find happiness even in the face of ^ tragedy. An all-star cast keeps the story always foremost. Despite the fact that seven of Hollywood’s greatest stars are gathered in important roles there is no feeling of “mil- lion-dollar emoting.” Rather the subtlety and understanding in each individual performance produced a feeling of neighborliness, of self- recognition in each member of the assembled audience. Orchids to the £& cast for the greatest collective ^ performance to reach the screen. In his careful attention to detail, Selznick has brought every facet of contemporary American life ^ vividly alive on screen. Nothing is missing in this heartwarming pano¬ rama of the American home front. If you have been waiting for — America’s bow on the screen you have been waiting for “Since You Went Away.” Page Six < *