'The Best Years of Our Lives' - one of the greatest movies ever made.

Describing a movie as one of the greatest ever made is giving it quite a burdensome reputation to live up to, but 'The Best Years of Our Lives' justly deserves every jot of praise it gets. Directed by William Wyler in 1946, and starring Myrna Loy, Fredric March and Dana Andrews, the movie vividly depicts the difficulties faced by ex-servicemen returning to their loved ones and a dramatically changed world after the Second World War.

Despite its serious theme, the movie was great entertainment and the public flocked to see it, making it the most popular film since ‘Gone With the Wind’ in 1939. It was also warmly embraced by the critics and it received eight Academy Award nominations, winning in seven categories including Best Picture, Best Director, for Wyler, Best Actor for Fredric March, and Best Supporting Actor for Harold Russell.

Russell was an acting rookie who played Homer Parrish, a soldier who had lost both his hands during the war. In reality Russell had actually lost his hands in 1944 when a faulty fuse detonated explosives he was handling in his duties as a training officer with the US 13th Airborne Division. Although it was his first professional role Russell was in no way upstaged by his more illustrious acting colleagues. He was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar and in addition he was given Special Award for “inspiring hope and courage through his appearance in the film”. He has the unique distinction of being the only person ever to win two Academy Awards for the same role.

The movie is expertly guided by Wyler and shows the interwoven stories of three servicemen returning from wartime duties to their families, describing the difficulties they face in re-adjusting to the post war world, including marital infidelity, loss of work and domestic conflicts.

The cast is highly talented with established stars such as Myrna Loy, Fredric March and Dana Andrews and talented younger stars like Teresa Wright and Virginia Mayo at their very best.

In short, an absorbing, thoroughly entertaining movie with a message which will move the hardest heart. And yes, in my opinion, “one of the greatest movies ever made.” For more information check out Hollywood's Golden Age.com or Hollywood Oscars .com