³I have a different concept of producing than other producers. Some
producers are money men, and others are just lieutenants. For me to
produce is to make a picture. As a producer, I can maintain an editorial
perspective that I wouldn¹t have as a director. I considermyself first a
creative producer, then a showmanand then a businessman. You need
all three things to succeed in the business today.²-David O. SelznickThe
film Since You Went Away was released in 1944. This epic film
attempted to relate to the American audience that was dealing with the
war foreclosing and the flux of soldiers coming home at the time. The
Hollywood studios were constantly trying to do their part for the war buy
making films about the war in a fairy tale ³Hollywood² style. Since You
Went Away crossed these boundaries, and the movie audience at the
time, positively responded for this reason. The producer and screenwriter
of the film knew America craved this portrayal. Critics of the film from this
period, applauded it¹s ³realism², but in hindsight studies of the film in the
seventies and eighties were a little more critical of the film. David O.
Selznick was the man behind the visionof this film and Selznick is best
known for film classic¹s like; Gone With the Wind, (from which the
1
2.formula of this movie draws
heavily from) Rebecca, and King Kong. This film was a special project for
Selznick at the time, and it was seen as his contribution to the war effort.
The academy awards recognized Selznick¹s effort and nominated his film
for best picture of 1944.David Selznick was known as a one of the great
creative producers- along side Walt Disney. A creative producer is
usually ³a powerful mogul who supervises the production of a film in such
exacting detail that he was virtually its artistic creator.² (Eyman p. 121) In
this period, Selznick¹s style was remembered best by his epic length
movies in which he paid special attention to detail. His films catered to
the female market but also had potential to cross over to the male
segment. Selznick was ³increasingly becoming aware of the commercial
value of his name.² (Fenster p.36) He decided to repeat the formula that
worked well in Gone With the Wind and made a decision to purchase a
war novel/diary from Margaret Wilder. Since You Went Away spawned
from Wilder¹s novel, after Selznick spent many hours on developing the
screenplay and hiring the right cast. The war film was a popular genre to
produce during the war years in North America. Also, it was seen as a
noble effort to make
3. a film about the war. Most of the skilled directors or
producers of these films, stylized their own vision of the war with their
special trademarks throughout the film. Films that did this, usually did will
well at the box office as well as at the Academy Awards Ceremony.
David Selznick was looking for a hit movie to follow the success of Gone
With The Wind and he hoped Since You Went Away would be a
blockbuster. Selznick spent nearly ³$3,000,000 on this film², (Thomas p.
220) which meant glossy and detailed scenes throughout the film. This
was an unusual amount of money for a film from this period, but David
Selznick was known in Hollywood for his elaborate budgets. The films
length allowed Selznick to allow it to take place over a year. The story
begins in January 12, 1943 which is immediately after Mr. Hilton departs
for the war. The Hiltons are a middle/upper class family who are now
faced with dealing with dealing with the trials and tribulations of everyday
life without the support of a male authority figure. A lot of emphasis is
placed on the female audience¹s familiarity with ³the details of day to day
living and plenty of humorous sentimental reportage of housekeeping:
rationing, the problems of two growing daughters and the business of
getting jobs to help the
4. family¹s reduced budget.²(Hartung p 374)
Selznick increased the original ages of the two daughters so Shirley
Temple (Bridget) and Jennifer Jones (Jane) could play the roles and
romance could be introduced. Nineteen forty-four was quite the turbulent
year for the American populous. The war was coming to a close, and
America saw the return of their heroes after a glorious battle. But, there
was also a feeling of nervous uncertainty and anxiety regarding the
heroes return. The reviewers and reviews of Since You Went Away were
very much in tune with this feeling. In the press, critics viewed this film in
either of two ways. First, it seen as a triumphant return of Selznick and
secondly, the critics thought the movie attempted at a realistic portrayal.
An article in Variety Magazine boasted ³it¹s a box office mop-up² and the
article also listed the complete list of about ninety actors involved. The
critic constantly mentioned David Selznick¹s name throughout the review
and thus, set the tone for the magnitude of this film. Similarly, in a
Newsweek article, there was constant enforcement of how much money
was spent on this film and how much Selznick made on his last film. This
worked as a quality control mechanism for Hollywood and the
5.
viewing audience. People knew what to expect when they went out to
see a DavidSelznick film. The second type of review paid particular
attention to the ³realism² of this film. A review in Time Magazine stated:
³this is the most human, factual picture to date². It mentioned the film
dealing with things like the sorrow of death, and the comfort of religion,
food shortages, and being away from loved ones. For example, a scene
where a telegram is sent to Mrs. Hilton, informing her that her husband is
missing in action. This scene takes place after the housekeeper receives
the telegram and yells for Mrs. Hilton who was sleeping. Upon reading
the letter, Mrs. Hilton insists that there is still hope and he is still alive.
The American public at the time of this release, were caught up in these
³everyday² feelings and it was apparent that Selznick deal with these
issues with as much love and heart as Selznick could fit on-screen. In
another review they mentioned that the film is ³always authentic,
endearing and true to life as death and taxes² (Abel p 13) This ³realism²
was constantly reinforced with sequences like the scenes in the
rehabilitation¹s rooms, psychiatrist¹s office and recovery wards. In these
scenes, the film maker uses lighting to cast shadows in these rooms.
6.
This is especially prevalent in the scene where Jane Hilton says good-bye
to her boyfriend Billy at the train station. The long shadows are used to
show the shadow that is cast over America at this point in history and to
enhance this on-screen realism. Indeed, this issue was the case for
many Americans and people from other countries as well. Overall, it was
the message that appealed to the audience the most and the modern day
press agreed with this films message. But, this wasn¹t the absolute case.
A famous film critic, at the time was very harsh on this film. He
downplayed Selznick¹s attempt at portraying a typical American Family.
In The Nation, James Agee writes about the home that the Hiltons reside
in: ³They live in an American home that seven out of ten Americans would
sell their souls for². This review addressed the issue of class, which is the
main bone of contention that most of the more recent articles death with.
It is quite easy to look back at older films and sneer at them as
inferior. But these films from the forties and fifties are cultural products
that were apart of the social fabric at this time. One must look at the
politics that were in place at the time, and see how that effected a
medium such as film.
7.Since You Went Away was shown to the
people of America to increase support and motivate people to get
involved. It was also shown to troops because it the film was also saying:
³they¹ll be there when you get back². (Jarvie Lecture Jan 19) Since You
Went Away was one of the first films to deal with the American home
front and the issue of the soldiers return. Selznick¹s past experiences led
him to understand ³not of what Americans were, but what Americans
wanted to be.² (Koppes p 157) Today, this film looked upon as a model
of how Americans were expected to behave. This film could be seen as a
teaching tool for the average American. Seeing a family such as the
³Hiltons² on-screen, pinching from their usual weekly budgets and
bringing a boarder into their home for extra income- is a lesson to be
learned. The Hilton family is thrusted into new situations they might never
have dealt with prior to the war. Since this film was projected towards the
female market, the film gave a strong message about empowering
women. In the period in which this film was made, the climate for gender
equality wasn¹t really an issue. With all the men off at war, women
started to take up male roles and jobs to fill the temporary gap. Jane who
wanted a job before her
8. father left, eventually got one as a nurse¹s aid.
After Mrs. Hilton agrees with Jane, a cut to the capping ceremony where
Jane, ³with shining face and sun glinting off her white cap, recites the Red
Cross pledge.² (Koppes p 157) Bridget is the young eager citizen who
can¹t do enough for her country. She constantly complains that she is
only doing ³kid¹s stuff² for the war. Anne Hilton is also set up as a model
citizen. For example, she is portrayed as unhappy and lonely. Many
scenes feature a ³slick² Lieutenant Tony Willet making subtle hints for his
unquestioning love for Anne. The audience is usually left wondering if
Anne will give up hope and marry Tony. Anne sticks it out and her and
Tony remain close throughout the troubled war and they stay strictly
³friends.²Another point more current literature on this film investigates, is
the issue of reality. Various articles I read, that were dated after the war-
said that this film was full of propaganda. An example of this was when
the Hilton¹s were on the train to meet up with their father. A boy with an
amputated arm yells to the conductor: ³Can¹t this train get moving? I¹ll
miss my pop!² The conductor replies: ³Your pop
9. will have a lot better
chance if these supply trains get through² This scene is reinforcing a
sense of teamwork, and a the American duty to work together.
Propaganda aside, did this film bring the real issues to the silver screen?
Perhaps, Selznick¹s desire for perfection got in the way of the real story
of the American home in war time. Paying ³too much attention to love
scenes, costumes, gestures² (Agee p 137) possibly made the film look
too artificial. In order to present the Hilton¹s house as a fun and happy
home- the Selznick¹s portrayal of the Hilton cook (Fidelia) is a little
skewed. The Hilton¹s were forced to let Fidelia go because Anne could
no longer afford to pay her. After the first 30 minutes of the film, the cook
has already moved back into the home to work for free. There is also the
issue of the Hilton home. This docile is a modest place of an advertising
executive which was supposedly a ³typical² American home. The home
was very elaborate and had plenty of extra space for 2 other house
guests. Some of these images that are prevalent in this film are not
exactly the same as the average American¹s. The scenes mentioned
above and many more, presented a classless society which was definitely
not the case in nineteen forty-four.
10.Most critics enjoyed this picture.
After all these were troubled times and Americans weren¹t sure what to
think. It¹s safe to say that the movie going audience did want to laugh but
they also wanted to cry- and that¹s what this film allowed the audience to
do. Since You Went Away, also points at many interesting aspects of
nineteen forties post-war society. Selznick¹s particular attention to style
and form brought this film to it¹s highest level. Selznick once said:³Since
You Went Away would remain the definitive home-front movieŠ until a
realist comes along to show us what life is really like in America during
World War II.² I think Clayton Koppes describes the film and David
Selznick best when he answers Selznick¹s comments about the film:³Yet
there lay Selznick¹s brilliance. The film triumphed precisely because it
was not realistic. With Hollywood¹s slickest touch he wove together
the sacred and the sentimental symbols of American life and set them n
the national shrine: the middle class home.²I believe the film was a bit too
long and a lot of scenes should have been omitted. In my opinion, a long
movie doesn¹t necessarily make a good movie. Nevertheless, it was
quite interesting to investigate
11. old films and see the differences in opinion
four decades can make.Sources Cited Abel. Brian. ³Since You Went
Away.² Variety July 19, 1944 p13 Agee, James. ³Films² The
Nation July 29, 1944 p137. Allen, Robert and Gomery, Douglas
³Film History - Theory and Practice² New York: N. Award Records 1985.
Crowther, Bosley. ³Since You Went Away,² A Film of Wartime
Domestic Life, With Claudette Colbert and Others, Opens at the Capitol.²
New York Times July 21, 1944. Eyman, Giannetti ³Flashback - A Brief
History of Film² New Jersey: Prentice Hall 1991. Fenster, Mark.
³Constructing the image of authorial presence: David O. Selznick and the
marketing of since you sent away² Journal of Film and Video 4.1 Spring
1989: p36-55. Fearing, Franklin ³Warrior Return: Normal or
Neurotic?² Hollywood Quarterly Vol. 1, 1945-1946: p96-107.Hartung,
Philip. ³The Screen: While You Are Gone, Dear.² The Commonweal
August 4, 1944 p374-375. Koppes, Clayton ³Hollywood Goes to War²
New York: Free Press 1987. p154-162. Newsweek ³First GWTW, Now
SYWA² July 10, 1944 p85-6. Thomas, Bob. ³Selznick² New York:
Doubleday & Company, 1970.
. Clayton Koppes describes the film and David
Selznick best when he answers Selznick s comments about the film:³Yet
there lay Selznick s brilliance. The film triumphed. Ceremony.
David Selznick was looking for a hit movie to follow the success of Gone
With The Wind and he hoped Since You Went Away would be a
blockbuster. Selznick