Since You Went Away

"A love story of today's love and laughter"

1944 2h 57m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

77%

FRESH

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 56🍅77%Rotten Tomatoes★7.5IMDB · 5,182

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1943, several people enter, re-enter, and exit the difficult life of a Midwestern family whose patriarch has been called up to war, leaving behind his wife and two teen daughters.

“A love story of today's love and laughter”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Claudette Colbert
Anne Hilton
Jennifer Jones
Jane Hilton
Joseph Cotten
Tony Willett
Shirley Temple
Bridget Hilton
Monty Woolley
William Smollett
Lionel Barrymore
Clergyman
Robert Walker
Bill Smollett
Hattie McDaniel
Fidelia

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Cromwell
Writers: David O. Selznick
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 177 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

82 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Cromwell, shot by Stanley Cortez. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Claudette Colbert and Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A love story of today's love and laughter".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0037280 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 56 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Cromwell directs. Stanley Cortez behind the camera. Max Steiner scores. A long sit — settle in. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 177 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
282 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by John Cromwell, shot by Stanley Cortez. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Claudette Colbert and Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A love story of today's love and laughter".
7IMDB entry: tt0037280 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 56 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 9 themes, including "based on novel or book", "lodger", "love", "teenage girl".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stanley Cortez
Original score: Max Steiner
Production design: William L. Pereira
Runtime: 177 min · 2h 57m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Since You Went Away (1944)
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 5,182 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 1 win & 8 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic or Comedy Score

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

John Cromwell

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-09-06
★ 7/10
Claudette Colbert is great as the struggling "Anne", who must bring up her two daughters "Jane" (Jennifer Jones) and "Brig" (Shirley Temple) whilst her husband is off fighting in WWII. To assist with the usual problems of making ends meet, she must take in a lodger "Col. Smollett" (Monty Woolley). At times you cannot help but feel for this poor lady who is constantly at the end of her tether. Their lodger is fastidious to say the least - he hates children, pets and yes, who better to illustrate that military pomposity than an on-form Woolley. To add to her woes, the young "Jane" is obsessed with men - more particularly their family friend "Tony" (Joseph Cotton). A man some years her senior who joins the navy leaving poor old "Jane" unaware that she is the object of the affections of their house guest's rather hapless grandson "Bill" (Robert Walker). On the face of it, this all appears rather convoluted but Colbert, Woolley and Cotten really do gel well together providing a quickly paced and entertaining series of escapades that, though exaggerated, do ring true a little for many households during the war that were left bereft of funds and a father/husband. Temple features now and again, largely do-gooding for the war effort by collecting junk, and Jones delivers well as both girls have to grip up - whether they like it or not. Max Steiner provides a lively, jaunty, score that sets and keeps the pace engaging and sometimes frenetic - but it's Colbert who shows she is very much the star here. I enjoyed it.

Production companies