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Quotations from The Best Years of our Lives

The Best Years of our Lives is a romantic war drama film about the return of three WWII soldies after the war who discover that their families and themselves have changed. The movie follows the lives of Fred Derry (an Army Air Forces captain who suffers PTSD), Homer Parrish (who lost both hands), and Al Stephenson (a platoon sergeant in the Pacific) as they fly home to Boone City. The film also gives a backstory of the men's lives before the war. Like many WWII vets, the three have trouble going back to everyday life. Directed by William Wyler. Starring Dana Andrews, Harold Russell, and Fredric March. Based on a novel by MacKinlay Kantor.

The Best Years of our Lives was an extremely well received film. It won seven Oscar awards, including Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture. The film was also nominated for Best Sound, Recording. Furthermore, the movie became one of the most viewed films at the box office in cinema history (which still stands today). The film, at the time, also became the highest box office earner since "Gone with the Wind". Continue reading for some quotes from The Best Years of our Lives.


Homer Parrish: I was afraid you wouldn't be able to stand up for me.
Fred Derry: I'd stand up for you, kid, til I drop.
Fred Derry: You gotta hand it to the Navy; they sure trained that kid how to use those hooks.
Al Stephenson: They couldn't train him to put his arms around his girl, or to stroke her hair.
Al Stephenson: I've seen nothing, I should have stayed at home and found out what was really going on.
Al Stephenson: You know, I had a dream. I dreamt I was home. I've had that same dream hundreds of times before. This time, I wanted to find out if it's really true. Am I really home?
Fred Derry: I dreamed I was gonna have my own home. Just a nice little house for my wife and me out in the country... in the suburbs anyway. That's the cock-eyed kind of dream you have when you're overseas.
Peggy Stephenson: You don't have to be overseas to have dreams like that.
Fred Derry: Yeah. You can get crazy ideas right here at home.
Marie Derry: Say, who is this Peggy Stephenson?
Fred Derry: She's a girl.
Marie Derry: I didn't think she was a kangaroo!
Milly Stephenson: You're crazy.
Al Stephenson: No. Too sane for my own good.
Fred Derry: How long since you been home?
Al Stephenson: Oh, a couple-a centuries.
Al Stephenson: We don't need to worry about that child. She can take care of herself.
Milly Stephenson: That's what she thinks.
Fred Derry: You know what it'll be, don't you, Peggy? It may take us years to get anywhere. We'll have no money, no decent place to live. We'll have to work, get kicked around.
Next: Casablanca
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