Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

In my title, I mention the Hilton hotel because Hilton is the name of the family we follow on the domestic front during WW II, and there were quite a few comings and goings of active and retired military personnel involving this family, which consisted of a middle-aged mother(played by Claudette Colbert) and her 2 teen daughters, one(played by Jennifer Jones) near graduation from high school, and the other(played by Shirley Temple) not far behind. Historically, quite a few late teens didn't bother to wait for graduation, preferring to take one of the many job openings available or to enlist. And many of those who did graduate put off going to college at least until the war was over, as exemplified by Jennifer.In part, this is a story of one of many romances that was broken up by dislocation or the death of one of the participants. Robert Walker and Jennifer are the young couple featured herein, Walker being a young corporal who flunked out of West Point, to his grandfather's disappointment(The grandfather is played by Monty Woolley, who has rented a room in the Hilton home). Actually, Jennifer is initially attracted to a navy Lieutenant played by Joseph Cotton, who is probably around 15 years her senior. But Cotton is more interested in gabbing with mother Claudette, whom he has long been attracted to. Hence, Jennifer eventually warms up to Walker, who manages to arrange various dates with her, as detailed. Unfortunately, he is killed in action soon after arriving on a front. I'm sure there were thousands more cases something like this.It's mentioned that a neighbor young man was killed in the nearby crash of a military plane. In fact, 47,000 US military planes were damaged or totaled in domestic mishaps, killing more than 14,000 personnel in the years 1941-45, and who knows how many injured. Shirley Temple's character complains that she doesn't know what she can do toward the war effort. But, she is shown tending a "victory" garden on their property. Governments at various levels encouraged such gardens, and it's estimated that around 20,000,000 such gardens were begun during these years. In aggregate, they were estimated to produce about the same tonnage of vegetables as commercial growers, thus saving much materials used in producing and transporting commercial produce.A major theme of the film is the need to tighten belts during the war, with many breadwinners in the military. Whether having family members in the military harmed or helped with finances depended on the particulars of the family. In the case of the Hiltons, it apparently harmed, thus forcing them to rent out bedrooms and double up in sleeping arrangements, to reduce their maid service, and sell their car(apparently, no one was willing to learn to drive after the father was transferred overseas). A major failing of the assumed purpose of this film is the lack of examples of the many restrictions on consumer spending. For example, gasoline for private use was severely rationed. There was a ban on manufacturing automobiles, building new housing, and selling kitchen appliances, etc.. Also, many people not in the depression money economy filled the jobs in the private sector vacated by inductees and needed to produce war materials. This is exemplified in the film by Claudette learning welding and Jennifer volunteering as a nurse assistant at the local military hospital. The need for temporary housing, especially for military personnel and industrial workers, was often met by taking in roomers and sharing bedrooms, as illustrated in this film.In a film of this length, the screenwriters should have been able to include the important problem of rationing and lack of new replacements which the people involving in taking this film were currently experiencing....The inclusion of wooly Monty Woolley as a room renter in the Hilton household is a significant asset to this film. His unique personality and sense of humor brightened up many a scene. Because of her awkward age, Shirley Temple doesn't have a lot to do, except occasionally cry over bad news from the front, and exhibit some of the teenage activities of the time. Claudette, as always, does her role wonderfully. Ditto for the other principal players. The main problem is that it often drags. It was too long.

A 3-hour movie, even with a lot of action, is a tough go for any production company. There's no action here. But producer Selznick was shrewd enough to cast his epic with a bunch of charming actors. Sure, the storyline gets sticky at times. After all this is the American Home during wartime. Nonetheless, at its best, the cast generates a genuine feeling of family warmth, thanks mainly to Colbert, Jones, and Temple. Jones especially creates a lively and poignant young woman (Jane), who could stand in for the best of that challenged generation.The storyline is about what you'd expect for a Hollywood home front trying to cope with wars far away. There're the tentative romances among the young, the lonely wives waiting anxiously, the rationing and generally crowded conditions. Note though how easily strangers appear to mix under abnormal conditions. There is a sense of coming together because of the common sacrifice. Note too that the movie's one sour case comes from a woman, Emily (Moorehead), who won't give up her social pretensions. In short, she won't lower herself to join the bigger American family. Of course, there's the curmudgeonly colonel (Wooley), who starts off very aloof but gradually comes around. At the same time, some of his softening scenes are among the movie's best. Note too, how the African-American maid Fidelia (Mc Daniel) is included in the Hilton family even though she no longer works as their maid. The overall message here is a strong one, reflecting in idealized fashion the temper of the stressed-out time.I guess my main reservation is with Joe Cotten's role (Tony). He seems to exist only to provide a romantic complication for Anne (Colbert), while her husband is missing overseas. Then again, maybe Tony's meant to illustrate the temptations that exist when loved ones are parted, a common concern of the day. I guess I would have preferred an ending not quite so pat. But that would have brought down the spirit of wartime audiences already worried enough. Anyway, Selznick has managed to handle a tricky subject with just enough taste and charm to make the 3-hours a pleasant, if highly idealized, experience.

"Since You Went Away" would make an amazingly fitting film to watch along with "The Best Years of Our Lives". "Since You Went Away" is an incredibly well-crafted tale about one family as they deal with losses and separations caused by having the men in their lives serving in the armed forces. And, just as well-crafted, "The Best Years of Our Lives" shows men returning home to their families--like a fitting conclusion to "Since You Went Away". Both are highly emotional films, so be sure to have a Kleenex handy--but it's well worth it, as they are two of the very best films of the 1940s. While "The Best Years of Our Lives" won many Oscars (which it richly deserved), "Since You Went Away" only earned one--as the more schmaltzy "Going My Way" swept the Oscars that years. I really like "Going My Way", but it's simply not in the same league as this film--truly a must-see film of the era.The film begins with the man of the house having just left for the war. You never see the guy--just photos of the actor Neil Hamilton. Left behind are his adoring family--his wife (Claudette Colbert) and two daughters (Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple). Through the course of the film, the oldest daughter falls in love (with her real life husband at the time, Robert Walker), the family takes in a cranky boarder (Monty Woolley) and the wife entertains an old friend (Joseph Cotten). While the film is very deliberately paced and lacks excitement like a traditional movie, it is completely engaging throughout because the film is so well made. The acting is tops. The direction (more about that in a moment) is tops. And, the writing is tops. The film really pulls you into what it must have been like for the folks at home and your heart breaks several times through the course of the film--just like it happened with families during the war. In a way, it's like vicariously living through their lives.It's interesting that this David O. Selznick film is shear perfection--just like "Gone With the Wind". I say interesting because the meddling Selznick did EXACTLY what he did with this earlier film--he kept changing directors and actually filmed parts of the film himself because he was such a control freak. It paid off very well in both case--you'd never suspect multiple directors as the camera-work and mood are consistently wonderful.The bottom line is that the film is amazing and there is NOTHING negative in the least I could say about it. The film comes off as sincere, beautifully crafted and a wonderful glimpse into the past. See this film and you'll enjoy it from start to finish.By the way, as you watch the film, listen to the wonderful Max Steiner music. He is considered a genius at his craft and here he is at his best. Another thing to listen for are the wonderful nonsense words used by Hattie McDaniel in the film.

What's different about this war-era film is that it's not about military battles, but rather about the emotional battles faced by those left at home during the war. And it does a particularly fine job in portraying the long wait to see the end of the war and see if loved ones were coming home. I can't really think of another film that accomplishes this, and subtlety demonstrates the little things that Americans endured throughout the war. It's a long film, but then again, it was a long war.I should mention one thing that I found annoying -- the lovely score by Max Steiner -- which won him an Academy Award. A wonderful score...but too loud and overpowering, nearly drowning out some of the dialog. I was reminded of an Oscar broadcast years ago when Dean Martin and Raquel Welch were presenters for the best score award (pun obviously intended). Welch said that it had been noted that the best score enhances the film while not being noticed. To which Dean replied, "To which the late Max Steiner said, 'Then what the hell good is it.'" That may have been an accurate story based on this film.David O. Selznick created a wonderful film here, based on a true story. The performances were superb, with the possible exception of Shirley Temple as the younger daughter. Claudette Colbert is simply superb, and of course, that's not unusual. Jennifer Jones -- not usually a favorite of mine -- was wonderful as the older daughter. Monty Woolley doesn't play a buffoon in this film, but instead turns in a sensitive performance as an uncle of a man who is about to go off to war. Joseph Cotten is believable as a family friend who is a bit of a Navy playboy. And the wonderful Hattie McDaniel has, perhaps, her best role since GWTW. Agnew Moorehead played a real b---- in this film...not an appealing role at all.This is a memorable film not to be missed.