A teenage Shirley Temple made a comeback of sorts with the 1944 prestige picture, “Since You Went Away” (hereafter referred to as “SYWA”), produced by David Selznick. Like his blockbuster hit of 1939, “Gone with the Wind,” the theme of “SYWA” was about how war affected those at home; no battles were shown in either movie, other than the personal struggles felt by its characters. Unlike its predecessor, “SYWA” was more of a lowkey picture, lacking the driving core of the romance between Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. Regardless, “SYWA” is an amazing snapshot of World War II and the brave women who made a difference on the homefront. Shirley played Brig Hilton, the daughter of the female lead, Claudette Colbert, and sister of Jennifer Jones. The three were the heart of the story, which begins as the unseen father leaves to join the war effort. Above, Shirley is pictured with Monty Woolley, who plays a boarder of the Hilton family, thus helping them make ends meet without the father’s regular salary. One of the early scenes in the picture has frenemies Agnes Moorehead and Colbert meeting up for a drink, where they run into family friend Lieutenant Willett (Joseph Cotten).
While most people don’t think about the set design when watching a picture, I completely geek out on it, especially if it’s not done on location. What props did the set department choose to use? Does it feel authentic? What was the inspiration? Below is the set for the cocktail lounge where the three are hanging out. Imagine creating all that atmosphere for only a few minutes of celluloid and then having it torn apart, destroyed, or re-used in another film.
In this scene, Colbert, Temple, and Jones gather in the master bedroom after the father has gone to support the war effort.
A shot of the set from the Huntington Collection:
Another angle of the room from my collection:
A number of family photos are shown on the mantle and dresser:
A closeup shows a childhood photo of Shirley and one of Jennifer Jones:
Interestingly enough, in the Huntington shot, Shirley is nowhere to be found. Instead, there is a small picture of actor Neil Hamilton on the left.
A screenshot from the movie, showing Claudette looking longingly at photos of her character’s husband, portrayed by Neil Hamilton.
A detailed view from my photo of the set:
Hamilton is probably best known as Commissioner Gordon from “Batman” (1966), also the father of Batgirl (Yvonne Craig).
Back to Shirley! Here’s another copy of the photo that was used in the movie and placed on the mantle for the final set design:
This photo session was for “Little Miss Broadway” (1938), and like most publicity shoots, there were plenty of alternate poses taken!
One of the shots even made it on a magazine cover, circa December 1938:
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Also from the Huntington collection is this color test shot taken of the living room set:
In a few scenes, Colbert can be seen leaning outside the upstairs bedroom window.
Thanks to movie magic, partial set design, and matte paintings, only this portion of the window was built. Not sure who is leaning out the window, but it definitely is not Claudette!
How the exterior of the house looked in the movie, thanks to a partial set built which was combined with a matte painting:
For the final shot of the film, a miniature set was used and footage of the three women hugging was combined with the model:
Here’s a view of the gargantuan set created for the dance at the hangar:
Combined with a matte painting for the top portion, it truly was impressive.
A production shot of the hangar dance scene. Director John Cromwell can be seen in the upper right corner with the camera crew:
Dancers from the hangar scene, Elsie Peritz and Jack Arkin were captured in these five publicity shots doing some impressive jitterbug moves!
I can’t verify this, but my gut feeling is that the bowling alley scene with Robert Walker and Jennifer Jones was shot at a real bowling alley. If so, I would love to know which one was used and what happened to it.
The premiere of the film was held on July 17, 1944 at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood:
Demolished in 1969, it was reborn in a slightly smaller scale at Anaheim’s Disney California Adventure theme park:
Back to the premiere: shown below are the arrival of Lt. Commander Joel Pressman, Colbert, Captain Don Wilcox, and Commander Michael Sanchez:
Shirley went to the premiere with then boyfriend Private Andy Hotchkiss. Naturally, her parents followed right behind her.
The entire happy foursome. Hotch is probably whispering, “When can we ditch Mom and Pop?”
Another shot of the theatre the night of the premiere:
A closeup of the marquee:
From the Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, July 17, 1944:
CELEBRITY THRONGS TO ATTEND PREMIERE
Set off by possibly the most distinguished guest list of stars that ever attended a world premiere, David O. Selznick’s “Since You Went Away” will be shown in a trade and press screening tonight at Carthay Circle Theater with bands playing and searchlights flashing the skies. “Since You Went Away,” which cost more than $3,000,000 to produce, is a picture of unusual interest to the motion picture industry, as well as to the fans, since it is Mr. Selznick’s first offering in four years. It is a war picture without battles, about America today. His most recent pictures were “Gone with the Wind” and “Rebecca.” Among the stars who will attend are: Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Shirley Temple, Monty Woolley, Lionel Barrymore, Robert Walker, Frank Sinatra, Mary Astor, Fred Astaire, Charles Boyer, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Durante, Deanna Durbin, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Hedy Lamarr, Adolphe Menjou, Burgess Meredith, Lana Turner, Joan Crawford, Gene Tierney, Jane Withers, and Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock.
After the premiere, the headlines proclaimed: “Selznick Triumphs Again”
The Alameda Times reported this bit of sad news in connection to the premiere on July 19:
Film Actor Faces Leg Amputation
Film Actor Ward Bond, facing possible amputation of a leg injured in a traffic accident Monday night, today was being treated with the wonder drug penicillin. “If we save his leg it will be only by a miracle,” his physician, Dr. John C. Wilson, said. Bond, struck by an automobile shortly after leaving the Hollywood premiere of “Since You Went Away,” was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital after treatment at an emergency hospital. The driver of the car was not held. The former University of Southern California football star’s leg was almost severed in the accident, hospital attendants reported.
The result can be found over on imdb.com:
On July 17, 1944, Bond was leaving the Hollywood premiere of Since You Went Away (1944) and was attempting to cross the street when he was struck by an auto. His left leg was so severely fractured that physicians wanted to amputate, but Bond refused to allow it, and although it took several months, Bond recovered. He limped in his next few films, and was still recovering, using a cane, when he served as best man at the wedding of John Wayne to his second wife in January 1946. The driver, a retired cosmetics manufacturer, was fined $25 for speeding but was not charged with failing to yield right of way to a pedestrian. In 1945, Bond was awarded $50,000 at a civil trial.
Bond would costar with Shirley in 1948’s “Fort Apache”:
And that’s the end of today’s rabbit hole!
See more "Since You Went Away" photos at my main website.
