Dana Andrews MVP

 

 

Dana Andrews starred in Laura (1944) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), two of the best films of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Today, critics still regard them as among the best films of all time. In Laura he played a police detective in Otto Preminger’s directorial debut, and in Best Years of Our Lives he played an Air Force bombardier returning from WW II in a film directed by William Wyler that swept most of the Academy Awards.

 

Both films are examples of the way the Hollywood studio system could bring together craftsmen and craftswomen to produce almost perfect art. The direction, the writing, the cinematography, the set design, the costume design, and the musical score were all of the highest order. The casts, from stars to featured players, were equally superb.  

For Dana Andrews these two films were the high point of his career and established his screen persona. He was handsome but not a pretty boy, tough but vulnerable, calm and quiet but could seem to contain hidden emotions. He was not nominated for Best Actor in either of these films, but his presence was the central core in each film. In a way, he was like a baseball or basketball player whose largely unnoticed quiet competence keeps the team together on its way to a championship.

 

Dana Andrews in Laura

Laura is a good example. Andrews was surrounded by an outstanding cast who all get their chance to strut their stuff, but they all play off of Andrews. He is the glue that keeps them together. Gene Tierney, one of the most beautiful actresses of all time, catapulted to stardom in the title role. Clifton Webb, in his first screen performance, gave a bravura performance that earned him an Academy Award nomination. A young Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson, a great actress in her own right, rounded out the superb cast.  Credit must go to director Otto Preminger for keeping all this talent in place, but the mere presence of Andrews was essential in bringing them together. 

 

Harold Russell, Dana Andrews,Fredric March

In The Best Years of Our Lives Andrews did not receive even a nomination for Best Actor for his performance in this story of three servicemen returning to civilian life after WWII. Fredric March, a veteran actor, won the Best Actor award, and newcomer Harold Russell, a young naval veteran who had lost both hands in a training accident, won the Best Supporting Actor award. However, I believe that Dana Andrews was again the central core in this film that also featured outstanding performances by Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, and Virginia Mayo.

Andrews plays an Air Force Captain and bombardier who is haunted by horrific dreams and memories of lost comrades. His on-again, off-again, on-again romance with Teresa Wright is played beautifully and is central to the film. He also appears alone in what is a pivotal scene near the end of the film. He has lost his job, and his wife, and a new romance has hit the rocks. He is about to leave his hometown and waits at the airport for a flight to anywhere. He sees some de-commissioned and stripped-down bombers waiting for the scrap heap. He climbs into one and sits in the dusty cabin and the war memories come back. There is no dialogue but gradually we hear the engines starting one by one, and then the sounds of battle run through his head. It is one of the most iconic scenes in film history, filmed beautifully by famed cinematographer Gregg Toland. 

 

In between these two great films, Andrews starred in the 1945 war film, A Walk in the Sun directed by Lewis Milestone. He plays a sergeant forced to take command of a platoon after the death or incapacity of its leaders. His quiet competence keeps the platoon together on its mission. At the same time, he is the central core that keeps a fine cast together. Like most WWII films the platoon is full of characters, and they each get a chance to shine. At my age, it is difficult to watch war films anymore, but I can watch A Walk in the Sun over and over again. It is a faithful adaptation of Harry Brown’s small novel about ordinary men engaged in a dangerous mission, and Andrews’ performance helps to make it a classic. 

Today, it is hard to imagine that most people have not seen these films. I know my grandchildren don’t like to watch black and white films, and even baby boomers at my local senior center have never heard of them. But the directing, the photography, the sets, the writing, the great casts, and the haunting musical scores that permeate these films make them true classics that can be watched over and over again like any great work of art. The fact that Dana Andrews played an unforgettable role in each of these films earns him a place in Hollywood's Hall of Fame.

 

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