Essay/Term paper: David selznick and since you went away

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Culture

David Selznick and Since You Went Away


"I 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 wouldn't have as a director. I consider
myself first a creative producer, then a showman
and then a businessman. You need all three things
to succeed in the business today."
-David O. Selznick

The 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 "Hollywood" 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 it's "realism", 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 vision of this film and
Selznick is best known for film classic's like; Gone With the Wind, (from which
the 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 Selznick's 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 "a powerful mogul who supervises
the production of a film in such exacting detail that he was virtually its
artistic creator." (Eyman p. 121) In this period, Selznick's 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 "increasingly becoming aware of the
commercial value of his name." (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 Wilder's
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 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 "$3,000,000 on this film",
(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 audience's familiarity with "the 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 family's
reduced budget."(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 "it's a box office mop-up" and the article also listed the
complete list of about ninety actors involved. The critic constantly mentioned
David Selznick's 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 viewing audience. People knew what to expect when they went out to see a
David Selznick film.

The second type of review paid particular attention to the "realism" of this
film. A review in Time Magazine stated: "this is the most human, factual
picture to date". 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 "everyday" 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 "always authentic, endearing and true to
life as death and taxes" (Abel p 13) This "realism" was constantly
reinforcedwith sequences like the scenes in the rehabilitation's rooms,
psychiatrist's office and recovery wards. In these scenes, the film maker uses
lighting to cast shadows in these rooms.

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 wasn't the absolute case. A famous film critic, at the time was very
harsh on this film. He downplayed Selznick's attempt at portraying a typical
American Family. In The Nation, James Agee writes about the home that the
Hiltons reside in: "They live in an American home that seven out of ten
Americans would sell their souls for". 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.

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: "they'll be there when you get back". (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. Selznick's past experiences
led him to understand "not of what Americans were, but what Americans wanted to
be." (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 "Hiltons" 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 wasn't 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 father left, eventually got one as a nurse's aid.
After Mrs. Hilton agrees with Jane, a cut to the capping ceremony where Jane,
"with shining face and sun glinting off her white cap, recites the Red Cross
pledge." (Koppes p 157) Bridget is the young eager citizen who can't do enough
for her country. She constantly complains that she is only doing "kid's stuff"
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 "slick" 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 "friends."

Another 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 Hilton's were on
the train to meet up with their father. A boy with an amputated arm yells to
the conductor: "Can't this train get moving? I'll miss my pop!" The conductor
replies: "Your pop will have a lot better chance if these supply trains get
through" 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, Selznick's desire for perfection got in the way of the
real story of the American home in war time. Paying "too much attention to love
scenes, costumes, gestures" (Agee p 137) possibly made the film look too
artificial. In order to present the Hilton's house as a fun and happy home- the
Selznick's portrayal of the Hilton cook (Fidelia) is a little skewed. The
Hilton's 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
"typical" 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 American's. The scenes mentioned
above and many more, presented a classless society which was definitely not the
case in nineteen forty-four.

Most critics enjoyed this picture. After all these were troubled times and
Americans weren't sure what to think. It's safe to say that the movie going
audience did want to laugh but they also wanted to cry- and that's what this
film allowed the audience to do. Since You Went Away, also points at many
interesting aspects of nineteen forties post-war society. Selznick's particular
attention to style and form brought this film to it's highest level. Selznick
once said:

"Since 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."

I think Clayton Koppes describes the film and

David Selznick best when he answers Selznick's

comments about the film:

"Yet there lay Selznick's brilliance. The film triumphed precisely
because it was not realistic. With Hollywood's 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."

I believe the film was a bit too long and a lot of scenes should have been
omitted. In my opinion, a long movie doesn't necessarily make a good movie.
Nevertheless, it was quite interesting to investigate old films and see the
differences in opinion four decades can make.

Sources Cited

Abel. Brian. "Since You Went Away." Variety July 19, 1944 p13

Agee, James. "Films" The Nation July 29, 1944 p137.

Allen, Robert and Gomery, Douglas "Film History - Theory and Practice" New
York: N. Award Records 1985.

Crowther, Bosley. "Since You Went Away," A Film of Wartime Domestic Life, With
Claudette Colbert and Others, Opens at the Capitol." New York Times July 21,
1944.

Eyman, Giannetti "Flashback - A Brief History of Film" New Jersey: Prentice
Hall 1991.

Fenster, Mark. "Constructing the image of authorial presence: David O. Selznick
and the marketing of since you sent away" Journal of Film and Video 4.1 Spring
1989: p36-55.

Fearing, Franklin "Warrior Return: Normal or Neurotic?" Hollywood Quarterly
Vol. 1, 1945-1946: p96-107.

Hartung, Philip. "The Screen: While You Are Gone, Dear." The Commonweal August
4, 1944 p374-375.

Koppes, Clayton "Hollywood Goes to War" New York: Free Press 1987. p154-162.

Newsweek "First GWTW, Now SYWA" July 10, 1944 p85-6.

Thomas, Bob. "Selznick" New York: Doubleday & Company, 1970.