The Years Between

Valerie Hobson ("Diana") is widowed during WWII - her late husband, the local Member of Parliament. After an extended period of mourning that shows little sign of ending, her nanny Flora Robson sets a few wheels in motion that results in her former charge being elected to succeed her husband in Parliament. Initially nervous, she ultimately rises to the task, and manages to fall in love again - this time, thanks to a timely air-raid, with "Richard" (James McKenchnie). Then an altogether different sort of bomb drops - and she must rewind her life some four years and deal with some truly unforeseen circumstances. Hobson is good in this film, as is Robson who delivers quite a few poignant one-liners and even a short speech towards the end on the responsibilities and opportunities of those left to win the peace after the war had been won. Michael Redgrave also features, as "Col. Wentworth", a troubled man with a mission that involved all sorts of sacrifices for King and Country. "Diana" develops her newly found role into one of determination and humanity - she takes up the cudgels for a great many women who were left at home, widowed; their children relocated, having to make ends meet as best they can in the face of the horror of war. It's got something more real about it, this film and as their postman always moans: "things will never be the same again" - he might well be right.

The problem about this film is that it admits that the end of the war caused a great deal of marital disharmony and divorces but does not go the whole hog.Unfortunately it does not inhabit the world of the folk who would be watching this in their local Odeons.It had to be about a resistance organiser who is also an MP and his wife who has taken over his seat on the presumption of his death.Then he(Michael Redgrave)turns up having been held in captivity and wants to assume that everything should be as it was before the war.His wife initially does not.At this point the film is i believe reasonably accurate.However given the censorship of the times the most likely outcome is ignored.Whislt there are moments of interest i have to say that notwithstanding the understated performances of all concerned this is far too earnest and dull.

It was a nice surprise that women during WW2 was a subject in the first half of the movie. This period in time is when women learned they could work, take care of their family and do what they needed to do. This film was pro-women which is surprising in this 1946 picture. I thought Michael Redgrave did a fine job in this role. Yes he was stiff but I think he did a fine job in betraying how men reacted to returning home to a different world and women. I think this film was realistic in how WW2 changed lives in more than one way. I still believe that the movie 'The Best Years of our Lives' was the best after-WW2 movie and I'll give 'The Years Between' second best.

Colonel Michael Wentworth (Michael Redgrave) goes to war and is reported dead after some time. His wife refuses to accept that he is dead and is slowly but definitely breaking up especially psychologically, so she is persuaded to do something about her situation and take her husband's seat in parliament, although she knows nothing about politics. However, she grows into the profession and even becomes popular, and so four years pass, and after this eternity of a bloody war the husband suddenly comes home without warning. He has been a prisoner of war and has had no possibility to communicate about his surviving his own death. Then the problems begin. Michael Redgrave and Valerie Hobson are always worth watching, and this is even a story by Daphne du Maurier, who wrote only good stories (like "Rebecca"). So the film is interesting indeed but totally without drama, it's like a domestic play about difficulties of relationships because of the war, another man coming home from the war having lost his leg in it and doesn't want to continue with his wife any more because of that, and other things like that. It's all right as a time document, anticipating the problems resulting from the peace, problems that no one had expected and that suddenly come importuning, causing new conflicts where there were none. Good play, good direction, good music, but merely an insight just passing by.

Embellished and elegant take on what happens to war widows in the post WWII era.

A war vet returns after being presumed dead to a world changed drastically on his domestic front.

The story reflects the mores of the time and the pat ending gives it away. But the acting is first rate and youget to see post war Britain for a bit.