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Amputee Major 
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TITLE |
Best
Years of Our Lives, The (1946) |
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At the end
of WW2 three veterans return home. Each one |
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faces a
period of adjustment. One, Harold Russell, has lost |
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both hands
which Russell, in reality, had. He won a special |
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Oscar. A
classic in all respects. |
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From
MacKinlay Kantor's book. |
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See TV
remake 'Returning Home' |
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Notes
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Harold Russell lost his
hands during the war (1944) but not in battle |
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He had an accident
while training paratroopers in N. Carolina |
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He was also a non-actor
and never made another film for more than 30 years but he did campaign
on behalf of disabled people.
He wrote two books
"Victory in My Hands" (1949)
"The Best Years of My Life"
(1981)
There is an interesting and
informative essay by David Gerber in The Journal of Social History
22/09/1993
"Anger and Affability: the
rise and representation of a repertory of self-presentation skills
in a World War II disabled veteran."
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