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source: To Each His Own

Moviecut—To Each His Own

To Each His Own

This is one of my favorite overlooked movies of the '40s. Olivia deHavilland truly deserved an Academy Award for her performance. Told in flashbacks, she is as believable as an older woman as she was as a young lady. A really memorable ending, I could watch it again and again.

This is a beautifully acted and realized "soap" kind of mother love films, which done in 1946, has the ability to still bring down the toughest EVIL MEANIE to his or her knees. De Havilland is deserving of the Academy Award she won for her range and her excellence as a screen actress. She may not have come from the Method school of training or RADA but her varied performances which can quite literally be called a brilliant melange of characters in THE HEIRESS to SNAKE PIT in which she is as good as it gets in female roles. Charlie Brackett wrote a tight screenplay for what could have gone on for hours and the art direction and music all work along with one of those great supporting group of character actors of the day. All told, it is De Havilland's controlled and believable performance that make this a film a must see for the most hardened critic. Grown men will not admit to liking this film because it more than likely will bring a tear of two.....it is that good.

I think the film was quite wonderful. Miss. De Havilland was so compelling as the young Jody, caught up in a wartime love affair that leaves her pregnant. Her kindly, wonderful, and non-judgemental father, played by Griff Barnett leaves you feeling nothing less than empathy for the Norris's. When the illegitimate son of that romance finally meets his biological mother, Jody, with the help of her friend Lord Desham it is every adopted childs wish come true. Keep the tissue's close. This movie has so many wonderful character actors and actresses. Some may find it a bit trite but you must keep in mind the time period, it was a different society then. Watch it at least once.

I found this web site so I could find this movie! This story was so captivating and Olivia's performance was so endearing that I was glued to the television at 2am and didn't care! For those of you who love the tales of tragic love denied and then bestowed - this is one of the best kept secrets of classic movies.

I caught this one on a late-night TV broadcast some years ago and was immediately hooked by Olivia's beautiful performance (plus being a sucker for tear-jerking stories with a flashback structure, I'm embarrassed to admit.) With Paramount's finest artisans and technicians in all departments to enhance her return to the screen, Olivia's Oscar was well-earned, indeed. Other IMDb comments on this title are "on the money" (except for the one nay-sayer...Can't please everyone!) but no one mentioned John Lund's (as Gregory, Josephine Norris' long-lost son, rediscovered during his wartime London leave) constantly having to exclaim "Holy Canarsie!" before nearly every line of his dialog. After the first couple of times I wanted to scream at him, "Oh, stuff it!" But then, we're all guilty of overusing certain expressions, but THAT one was REALLY annoying. No wonder the script failed to win the Academy Award. So there!

Olivia De Havilland's first Oscar came for "To Each His Own." After a one night stand with a pilot, De Havilland, a small town girl with intelligence and moral fortitude, finds herself in trouble. Giving the child up is the most heart rendering thing imaginable to view. Years later as the world enters World War 11, in a chance meeting, De Havilland meets the child, now a grown man and in the army as well. Through the years, when they did meet, he could never imagine why she would cling to him. With his wedding approaching, De Havilland attends it in London, where she now resides. When the son realizes who she is, he brought many a tear to the eye when he says, "May I have this dance, mother?" Well done tear-jerker. A bold step in tackling the concept of illegitimacy; although, we saw this concept as early as 1932 in "The Sin of Madelon Claudet." Heroine Helen Hayes got an Oscar for that one as well. What does that tell you about Hollywood and socially controversial topics?