Spending any amount of time amongst the evils of war can have an impact on even the most idealistic of young men, and for handsome, seemingly grounded Guy Madison, that doesn't come clear until he returns home. Grateful that he's survived in one peace, his parents Tom Tully and Ruth Nelson no longer understand who he is. A neighborhood girl suffers from hero worship and is jealous of the female attention he does get, while troubled Dorothy McGuire dates pretty much every soldier she meets because of the death of the man she loved in battle. Through pal Robert Mitchum, Madison meets those not so lucky, and adjusting to a world changed after war takes all the strength he can muster.
Unlike the Oscar winning "The Best Years of Our Lives", this goes deep into the psyche of just one person rather than three. Madison is excellent, subtle yet troubled, rebelling against a cause he doesn't understand and torn into pieces psychologically because of the pressures. I'd hoped for more detail concerning McGuire and Mitchum's characters, but considering that the focus is on one person, that makes it almost more profound than the better known "Coming Home" themed film that walked away with pretty much every major award. It takes a while for Madison and McGuire to really connect, but once they do, you can see why he'd be drawn to her. Mitchum's dealing with a metal plate in his head creates other issues for the increasingly troubled Madison.
As the parents, Tully and Nelson are fine, their concern and frustration very realistic. It goes to show that war doesn't end when it's off the battlefield, that the issues inside remain even with a physically healthy body. Perhaps seeing the world, witnessing death and injury and the psychological death of their friends kills them a bit too. A scene with a shell-shocked soldier having a seizure must have struck a lot of nerves in 1946. Porter's annoying neighbor is well meaning and a step above the pouting young ladies Shirley Temple played at the time, making her understandable in spite of potentially being a complete pest. Harry Von Zell has a few good scenes as the idealistic and patriotic bartender. While war has changed a great deal over the past 70 years, these issues have not, although something tells me that the impact has increased.
Unlike the Oscar winning "The Best Years of Our Lives", this goes deep into the psyche of just one person rather than three. Madison is excellent, subtle yet troubled, rebelling against a cause he doesn't understand and torn into pieces psychologically because of the pressures. I'd hoped for more detail concerning McGuire and Mitchum's characters, but considering that the focus is on one person, that makes it almost more profound than the better known "Coming Home" themed film that walked away with pretty much every major award. It takes a while for Madison and McGuire to really connect, but once they do, you can see why he'd be drawn to her. Mitchum's dealing with a metal plate in his head creates other issues for the increasingly troubled Madison.
As the parents, Tully and Nelson are fine, their concern and frustration very realistic. It goes to show that war doesn't end when it's off the battlefield, that the issues inside remain even with a physically healthy body. Perhaps seeing the world, witnessing death and injury and the psychological death of their friends kills them a bit too. A scene with a shell-shocked soldier having a seizure must have struck a lot of nerves in 1946. Porter's annoying neighbor is well meaning and a step above the pouting young ladies Shirley Temple played at the time, making her understandable in spite of potentially being a complete pest. Harry Von Zell has a few good scenes as the idealistic and patriotic bartender. While war has changed a great deal over the past 70 years, these issues have not, although something tells me that the impact has increased.