ABSTRACT
Our title makes reference to the classic 1946 film, a dramatization of veteran families, life course, and historical moment. The film demonstrates a persistent tendency of popular culture to view veteran readjustment as a social problem, and to view veterans and their families as a vulnerable population. The historical moment of the film is the massive demobilization that followed World War II. It focuses on the return of three veterans to the same hometown. Family ties, old and new, ultimately save them from various self-destructive tendencies, such as self-pity, escapism, and hopelessness.
