I just watched the last 3/4 of the movie on TCM last night. I'm not familiar with Lana Turner but I thought that she was absolutely incredible in this movie.
This movie really had a deep and emotional message--Gable coming home after the girl he loved dies in the war. The chemistry between Gable and Turner ("Snapshot") was so real and it drew me into the story. Turner was so incredibly attractive, not in the obvious way, but in how her character was so full of life, warmth and that undefinable quality that makes a woman irresistable.
Gable comes home from the war a broken man because of all of the death and losses that he had experienced. As others have mentioned, this movie must have been difficult for Gable to make since he did lose his wife, the great Carole Lombard, in January 1942 when she was killed in an airplane crash while on a War Bond tour. Gable served in the Air Force and flew 5 combat bombing missions in a B-17 over Europe. So he knew about the war and had experienced death at the most personal level.
Watching him with "Snapshot" in Homecoming it was difficult to see if he was acting or just living his real life on the screen.
This movie really was ahead of its time since the lost look that Gable has when he steps off the airline to meet his wife (Anne Baxter) shows a man suffering from what we now call post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This movie was so sad but in reality, the War was tremendously sad and it profoundly affected the lives of millions.
What a wonderful and moving movie.
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