Review of Since You Went Away

I saw this yesterday on TCM. Yes, it is sentimental, patriotic, and a bit syrupy in the dialog. But it was released in 1944 (filmed right in the middle of the war), so the sentiment and especially the times are aptly reflected. More than anything else, the film's virtues are the performances. Claudette Colbert reminds me very much of Norma Shearer's matriarch in 'The Women:' warm, intelligent, and very likable, but surrounded by the constrictions and circumstances of the time. (It's interesting to hear her tell Joseph Cotten two hours into the film that she feels useless and is not contributing to the war effort when in fact she's been contributing all along.) Cotten is wonderful as her surrogate mate (still carrying a torch after all these years) and daughters Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple are quite good. The standout scene, of course is Jones and real-life husband Robert Walker parting at the train station. The Steiner score (echoing the chugging of the train) and especially Jones' tearful run as the train departs are especially heartbreaking. (Does she sense her soldier's fate? There's something almost psychic in her face as she reads the engraving on the watch.) Good performances also from Agnes Moorehead and Selznick veteran Hattie McDaniel. Nominated for a ton of Oscars, and deservedly so.