Group 6: Post World War II
The Best Years of Our Lives. 1946. — Aftermath of World War II, the “Good War.” Harold Russell, Frederic March, Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy.
Another film that won many awards, this movie tells the story of three returning World War II soldiers: an infantrymen, a flyer, and a sailor. The adjustments to the postwar world for the three individuals, and for the society to which they return, are played out carefully in the film. A father returns to his wife and two children and has to become reacquainted with all three. A husband returns home to a wife he married as a war bride in one of those hasty, last-minute marriages that occurred so frequently during the war. They barely knew each other then, and they don't know each other at all now. The third returning warrior, played by amputee Harold Russell, who received a special academy award for his performance, personifies the physical scars from a war that left 50 million dead, and that for some may never heal.
The Bridges at Toko Ri. 1954. — The Korean War. Frederic March, William Holden, Grace Kelly, Mickey Rooney.
Frederic March, who appears in a number of the films on your list, offers a fine performance alongside big-name stars Holden, Kelly and Rooney. When I saw this film in the theater when it first came out, I remember feeling baffled at the end and wondering where the good guys were--why they never showed up? Having seen dozens of World War II movies in which the good guys always won, this ending was startling. The questions this film raises may still be valid, as half a century later America still finds itself at war.
We Were Soldiers. 2002. — The Vietnam War in 1965. Mel Gibson, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliot, Madeleine Stowe, Barry Pepper.
This film and the one below are the only two Vietnam era films that I endorse without reservation. If you can access the web site below on a fairly high-speed connection, you can hear fascinating interviews with the cast and with the real persons whom they play on the screen, including Col. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway, the reporter who was with the battalion during that terrible battle in 1965. It was one of the fiercest battles ever fought. Moore and Galloway wrote the book on which the film is based. The story of the families that is part of the film reminds one that, “They also serve who only stand and wait.”
Official “We were Soldiers” Web Site You may have to adjust your security settings to get it all.
Bright Shining Lie. 1998. — John Paul Vann and the Vietnam War. Bill Paxton, Amy Madigan.
Although I recommend this film without reservation, it is flawed, as are all films to some extent, especially those to try to portray history. I could have done with a lot less of the private life of John Vann, but I assume that the filmmakers were trying to reveal his flawed character. What is valuable about the film is that it covers the entire span of the Vietnam War, from the period of expectation and advising through the final scenes. The book by Neil Sheehan is one of the best ever about the Vietnam War, and the film was able only to condense it to the main issues. Some real film from the period, including scenes from Saigon during the Tet offensive of 1968, enhance the film's authenticity. And they did play “Where have all the Flowers Gone?” at John Vann's real funeral in Arlington. As he died as a civilian, however, his name is not on the Vietnam Memorial.
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. 1956. — American Values in the 1950s. Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones. (Note: Also in group 1—you may use for either but not both.)
This film has the feel of the 1950s, both in its presentation and its content. Television was in its infancy, and one of the amusing side issues is how the filmmakers portray the influence of what we came to call the “boob tube.” The theme of the film is certainly what we could call “values,” and again, the shadow of World War II hangs heavy over the players, even a decade after it ended.
Thirteen Days. 2000. The Cuban Missile crisis of 1962 is handled by JFK and his staff. Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood, Steven Culp.
I was a lieutenant stationed at Quantico during this crisis, and there is no question that the Marine Corps was preparing for an invasion of Cuba. People were scared, and all those folks who had built concrete bomb shelters in their backyards checked their supplies of fresh water, canned food and flashlight batteries. Most historians believe that this is the closest the world ever came to thermonuclear war; the crisis probably represents the highest point of tension between United States and the Soviet Union during the long Cold War period, roughly 1945 to 1990.
Path to War. 2003. Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War. Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland and Michael Gambon.
It was not my intention to load this course with films dealing with war, but we live in a dangerous world, and if we hope to make any progress in achieving a just society for all the world's population, man's propensity to solve problems by killing his fellow man must be brought under control. This film well portrays the rage that Lyndon Johnson felt at having to divert his attention from his dream of a great society to having to deal with what he called “that goddam little pissant country." As he told Doris Kearns Goodwin, the “Great Society was the girl I brought to dance, but I got stuck dancing with that bitch goddess. Vietnam.”
I would add to this segment a comment from a great historian, Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart: “If you want peace, understand war.” Evidence abounds that we still have miles to go before we sleep.