Part of “Remembering World War II: Pearl Harbor & Beyond” exhibit
The 1944 film “Since You Went Away” will be shown at Brigham Young University in conjunction with the L. Tom Perry Special Collections exhibit, “Remembering World War II: Pearl Harbor & Beyond.” The showing will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7, and will take place in the Harold B. Lee Library auditorium.
Admission is free. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and seating is limited. No food or drink is permitted in the auditorium. Children ages 8 and older are welcome
“Gone with the Wind” producer David O. Selznick also produced this movie, the fruits of his desire to do something unique for the World War II effort, said BYU film archivist James D’Arc. The film is based on the story of Margaret Buell Wilder, a woman who wrote a book titled “Since You Went Away — Letters to a Soldier From His Wife.” Selznick asked Wilder to adapt her book for the screen, at which point Selznick himself wrote the final screenplay.
“It made me cry like a fool,” wrote reviewer Ben Hecht. “The USA has made its debut on the screen. The film rings out like a song of America. It’s a panorama with a heartbreak that will reach the theaters.”
The cast includes 16-year-old Shirley Temple, Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Monty Woolley and Salt Lake City native Robert Walker. The movie was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. It won for Best Score, marking the third Oscar for veteran Hollywood composer Max Steiner.
A full film archives season schedule is available online at sc.lib.byu.edu.
