No wartime telegraph office would have allowed a drunk to work there? First off, this wasn't a military telegraph office, it was a small town office. If the alcoholic had been working there before the war, why would they up and fire him if he was getting the job done (which it appeared he was)? Especially when you consider that most of the younger men were likely unavailable because of the war.
Audiences might have liked this film because it dealt with concerns everyone who had a loved one in the war shared. Like the classical Greek comedies (perhaps that is what Saroyan had in mind when he came up with the title), it would have provided audiences with a much needed cathartic experience, a way to relieve some of the pressures of holding those fears inside. Additionally, by reinforcing the values that America was fighting to preserve (so, where are those family values now?), the film might have also been experienced as encouraging and inspirational, helping audiences to see the death of a loved one as a sacifice worth making.
Of course, I wasn't there, having been born the year after this film came out. However, taken at face value, I thought it was a great period piece. I don't know if America was ever really like that, but it is nice to think that it might have been. I can't tell from your comments whether you enjoyed the film or not, but it is one of my favorites.
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