Waste of Money.

One of my all time favorites.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

I have long admired Olivia de Havilland, partly because she was one of the stars of my favorite film -- "Gone With The Wind". Somehow I had never seen "To Each His Own", so I was rather glad to finally catch it on TCM. Considering the hype around the film -- mostly due to de Havilland having received the Academy Award for her performance -- I was a tad bit disappointed. Yes, her performance is excellent, but the film itself is only (only?) very good.The story begins in London in World War II London, where Olivia is a fire warden. There she meets Lord Desham (Roland Culver), and at first they really grate on each other. Through an odd occurrence, however, they appear to possibly be headed for a long-term companionship. There's something about this part of the film that I found very boring.In flash backs we then learn Olivia's history. A young lady in an American small town, she awkwardly falls in love with a WWI pilot (John Lund) on a barnstorming trip selling war bonds. Jody is the belle of her small American hometown of Piersen Falls. They only have one night together, shortly after which he dies in the war...but not before that one night together ends in pregnancy. Again, this part of the film seems awkward to me, but it is surprising that the unwed pregnancy is handled rather so-whatish for 1946. Not wanting the town to know of her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, she devises a plot to be able to claim her own baby as a war orphan. The plan goes terribly wrong, and the baby ends up the adopted son of an ex-boyfriend and his wife, crushing Olivia. She plots to win the boy back...and almost succeeds with her newfound fortune through another ex-suitor, but the child loves his adopted mother more than Olivia, so she gives the boy up.Heartbroken, Olivia goes to England to continue working in her new profession (cosmetics). During World War II, her son (also played by John Lund; quite the fatherly resemblance!!!!) becomes a pilot. On leave in London, he is met at the train station by Olivia who tries to pamper him with affection, but is flummoxed when he wants to get married to a WAC-type young lady. Lord Desham arranges a wedding by breaking England's typical wedding laws, and while Lund's helpful friend (Olivia) is dancing with Lund, he finally realizes she is his real mother.It's a good story, handled fairly well, but a bit unevenly.In terms of the acting, Olivia de Havilland is fine as the real mother; I'm not sure it was of Academy Award status, but may have been due to the famous lawsuit that freed her from her Warner Brothers contract.I was not so impressed with Mary Anderson as the adoptive mother; a bit too childishly vindictive, in my view, although that may have been the fault of director Mitchell Leisen. Roland Culver is fine as the British Lord Desham; very distinguished. Phillip Terry was a bit annoying as the other suitor, but much better once he became the husband of the adoptive mother; I wasn't very familiar with him, although he appeared in more than 80 movies. I always enjoy seeing Bill Goodwin, here as another suitor; he always seemed so comfortable on screen, but never made it beyond character acting. This was John Lund's first film, and a dual role at that. It seems to me that he never lived up to what was seen as his potential, but maybe that's just me since my introduction to him was in the Martin & Lewis debut film "My Friend Irma".Don't get me wrong. This is a very good film. I just don't feel that it quite lives up to the hype around it.

This is another of those recipients of a top Oscar (in its case, Olivia De Havilland's first for Best Actress) which have unaccountably fallen through the cracks over the years; in fact, the copy I watched left much to be desired, and this prestigious Paramount effort does not even seem to have been released as a MOD DVD-R! Indeed, it was helmed by one of the studio's top directors, albeit starring an actress who had long been associated with one of its rivals i.e. Warner Bros. With this in mind, the film seemed very much in the vein of a typical vehicle Bette Davis (a De Havilland colleague) would make over there – in particular, it followed pretty much the same plot as THE OLD MAID (1939)! This neglect may have something to do with the fact that, not only was the star's second win – for William Wyler's Henry James adaptation (of "Washington Square") THE HEIRESS (1949) – a more substantial (or, if you like, contested) achievement but, that same year (1946), De Havilland would appear as twins in Robert Siodmak's classic noir THE DARK MIRROR, which the late eminent British film critic Leslie Halliwell eventually chose for the actress' rosette in his "Filmgoers' Companion"! Anyway, the plot (co-scripted by producer Charles Brackett – who received the film's other Oscar nod for Best Original Story) is not exactly compelling and fairly preposterous at times: De Havilland meets, is seduced and impregnated by dashing flier John Lund (in his debut and, curiously enough, amounting to a dual role) in one night; then, so as not to create a scandal in her small town, she tries to pass her offspring off as a foundling…which is subsequently 'claimed' by a couple – the man involved having only married after the heroine rebuffed him – whose own baby has just died and left the mother grief-stricken! However, De Havilland keeps a close watch on her son by seeking to assist her former flame's wife; when the family's fortunes flounder but herself comes into big money – by taking over the cosmetics company set up by yet another bootlegging ex-beau(!) – she offers to bail them out as long as the child is returned to her. Still, her pampering is not enough to conquer his affections, and she has no option but to let him go! Years later, they are momentarily reunited in London (where he, whom Lund again incarnates, is about to be married) but a British lord – played by Roland Culver and who, like De Havilland, has known disillusion and loneliness – determines that the truth finally comes out...The handsomely mounted film is well served by the accustomed studio efficiency; De Havilland, only 30 when this was made, is most convincing as a woman who has sacrificed her youth and personal happiness for the sake of her (ungrateful) flesh and blood – in this respect, it does feel somewhat old-fashioned, considering that it offers nothing new from the standard "Madame X" formula. Incidentally, while rated a respectable ** in the afore-mentioned "Leslie Halliwell Film Guide", it is erroneously listed therein as running 100 minutes – when the movie's official duration is well over that length, at a hefty (if not overly tiresome) 122!

This is the first film that Olivia DeHavilland received an Oscar for and you can sure see why. While the part did not call for the fullest range of emotions, she was able to crying and weep most convincingly and I really found myself sucked into the film by her. Olivia played a "Stella Dallas-like" self-sacrificing mother that tugs at your heart--doing anything she could for her little boy. At times, it was ALMOST too melodramatic and weepy, but the writers deftly skirted the edges and this resulted in a wonderful and engaging film that only the hardest-hearted people would avoid.The story itself was pretty racy for 1946, as the main theme involved an illegitimate child borne by DeHavilland. The father was a WWI pilot and he was lost in combat, so it was up to DeHavilland to do what was best for the child--even if it meant letting go. Oddly, the part she played was perhaps too self-sacrificing, as she never really had much of a life--this made it a bit hard to believe, but this can be forgiven.

As an unreserved fan of Olivia de Havilland I have to say that this was not her best film despite the fact that she acted her role brilliantly and won an Academy Award for it. I genuinely believe the film was let down by a very average supporting cast, not the least of whom was the very forgettable John Lund. Only Bill Goodwin, Roland Culver and Mary Anderson gave suitable support. The story line today seems very unbelievable, but stood up very well in the Forties. Mitchell Leisen did an excellent job of directing, and the aging of Olivia as Josephine Norris was very good. Her acting as a young beautiful girl( smitten with a flier) to the somewhat frustrated middle-aged woman was quite brilliant - the make-up was good and made the transition very believable. When one compares Miss de Havilland with her performances in "The Snake Pit" amd "The Heiress", I find it hard to believe she did not end up with 3 Oscars!