Since You Went Away

I think most of my regular readers know of my love for classic films, particularly those from the 40's and 50's.  Today I'd like to talk about a perhaps forgotten gem, "Since You Went Away".  This is one of those "Women's" pictures from the war years.  Part patriotic propaganda, part sentimental weepy.  It stars Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones and Shirley Temple as a wife and her two daughters trying to keep it all together on the homefront while their husband and father is off at war.  Sure it's melodramatic, but it's also heartfelt, and somewhat realistic nowadays while we're in another war-time situation.  And man, it gets me going.  There I was this morning, jogging on the trampoline, and balling my eyes out over Jennifer Jones and her fiance Robert Walker as they're parting for him to head overseas, and then later as she receives tragic news.  Yep, sobbing my eyes out is more like it. And then thrilling later on when Jennifer Jones and Claudette Colbert both tell off Agnes Moorehead for her lack of patriotism and sacrifice for the war effort. Fabulous. Four hankies out of four.