The Best Years of Our Lives Facts, Trivia, Actors, Actresses, and Composers

The Best Years of Our Lives is a 1946 American drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo, and Harold Russell. The film is about three United States servicemen trying to piece their lives back together after coming home from World War II. Samuel Goldwyn was inspired to produce a film about veterans after reading an August 7, 1944 article in Time about the difficulties experienced by men returning to civilian life. Goldwyn hired former war correspondent MacKinlay Kantor to write a screenplay. His work was first...
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quick facts

Release date:	1946
Directed by:	William Wyler
Runtime:	172 Minutes
Producer:	Samuel Goldwyn
Editor:	Daniel Mandell
Music by:	Hugo Friedhofer
Cinematography:	Gregg Toland
Screenplay by:	Robert E. Sherwood, MacKinlay Kantor
Estimated budget:	$2,100,000

Award-winners from The Best Years of Our Lives

Harold Russell

Born:January 14, 1914

Died:January 29, 2002

Fredric March

Character:Al Stephenson

Born:August 30, 1897

Died:April 14, 1975

Cast of The Best Years of Our Lives

Myrna Loy

Milly Stephenson

Born:Aug. 2, 1905

Died:Dec. 14, 1993

Dana Andrews

Born:Jan. 1, 1909

Died:Dec. 17, 1992

Virginia Mayo

Born:Nov. 30, 1920

Died:Jan. 17, 2005

Ray Collins

Born:Dec. 10, 1889

Died:July 11, 1965

Teresa Wright

Born:Oct. 27, 1918

Died:Mar. 6, 2005

Steve Cochran

Born:May 25, 1917

Died:June 15, 1965

Honors and Awards

Year	Award Won
1946	Academy Award for Actor in a Leading Role, Fredric March
1946	Academy Award for Best Director, William Wyler
1946	Academy Award for Film Editing, Daniel Mandell
1946	Academy Award for Best Picture, Samuel Goldwyn Studio
1946	Academy Award for Actor in a Supporting Role, Harold Russell
1946	Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, Robert E. Sherwood
1947	BAFTA Award for Best Film, William Wyler

Year	Award Nomination
1946	Academy Award for Best Director, William Wyler
1946	Academy Award for Best Picture, Samuel Goldwyn
1946	Academy Award for Actor in a Leading Role, Fredric March
1946	Academy Award for Actor in a Supporting Role, Harold Russell
1946	Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, Robert E. Sherwood
1947	BAFTA Award for Best Film, William Wyler

Film director of The Best Years of Our Lives

William Wyler

Born: July 1, 1902

Died: July 27, 1981

William Wyler was a leading Alsatian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter who made his mark in Hollywood as one of film industry's icons. Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best...
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Title	Released	Genre
The Liberation of L.B. Jones	1970
Funny Girl	1968	Musical
How to Steal a Million	1966	Comedy
The Collector	1965	Thriller
The Children's Hour	1961
Ben-Hur	1959	Action
The Big Country	1958	Western
Friendly Persuasion	1956
The Desperate Hours	1955	Thriller
Roman Holiday	1953	Comedy
Carrie	1952
Detective Story	1951	Thriller
The Heiress	1949
Thunderbolt!	1947
The Best Years of Our Lives	1946
Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress	1944
Vintage Movie Classics: It's War	1943	Action
Mrs. Miniver	1942
The Little Foxes	1941
The Letter	1940
The Westerner	1940	Western
Wuthering Heights	1939
Jezebel	1938
Dead End	1937
These Three	1936
Come and Get It	1936	Action
Dodsworth	1936
The Gay Deception	1935	Comedy
The Good Fairy	1935	Comedy
Glamour	1934
Counsellor at Law	1933
Her First Mate	1933
Tom Brown Of Culver	1932
A House Divided	1931
The Storm	1930	Adventure
Hell's Heroes	1930
The Shakedown	1929	Comedy
Thunderbolt	1929
The Love Trap	1929
Hells Heroes (stumme Version)	1929
Anybody Here Seen Kelly?	1928
Thunder Riders	1928
The Two Fister	1927	Short Film
Blazing Days	1927
Hard Fists	1927	Short Film
Straight Shootin	1927
The Fire Barrier	1926	Short Film
Stolen Ranch	1926
Crook Buster	1925	Short Film

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:
The film, "The Best Years of Our Lives" is of which genre?
A:
The film is categorized as: Drama and Black-and-white.
Q:
What is the approximate runtime of the movie "The Best Years of Our Lives"?
A:
The total time for the film is 172 minutes.
Q:
When did the motion picture "The Best Years of Our Lives" premier?
A:
The movie was released in 1946.
Q:
Which awards did the film "The Best Years of Our Lives" receive?
A:
The movie won the , Academy Award for Best Actor, Academy Award for Best Director, and Academy Award for Film Editing.
Q:
Who directed the film "The Best Years of Our Lives"?
A:
William Wyler was the motion picture's director.
Q:
Which actors starred in the film, "The Best Years of Our Lives"?
A:
Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Virginia Mayo and Hoagy Carmichael starred in the film.
Q:
How much was the estimated budget for making the movie "The Best Years of Our Lives"?
A:
$2.1 million was the budget for this movie.
Q:
Who composed the music for the film The Best Years of Our Lives?
A:
Hugo Friedhofer composed the music score for the movie's soundtrack.
Q:
Which screenwriter wrote the film The Best Years of Our Lives?
A:
Robert E. Sherwood and MacKinlay Kantor wrote the film's script.
Q:
Who played the production role for the movie, "The Best Years of Our Lives"?
A:
Samuel Goldwyn was the show's producer.

The Best Years of Our Lives