This is one of those pairings that’s a little tough to understand why people would be asked to choose between the two films, because they really couldn’t be much more different from one another. But, here we are, telling you that despite what other people have to say, you don’t have to make a choice, Sophie.
Both of our films this time around are from 1946. We begin with The Best Years of Our Lives, directed by William Wyler and starring Frederic March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews and Harold Russell, whose performance led to a once-and-never-again event at the Academy Awards. Our male leads are having a tough time adjusting to civilian life after their success in the Pacific Theater of World War II, and we follow their tribulations in those first few months back in the U. S. of A.
From there we move on to It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and the rest of the Mighty Capra Art Players. Most of the film is a flashback recounting the life story of a man contemplating suicide one Christmas Eve, and whether redemption is possible for him.
Because both films are so long, and therefore we just had so much to say, we broke the episode in two for faster downloading, so there are two parts, both in your podcatcher and right here. So you’re not seeing double!