Since You Went Away

The movie is set in a mid-sized American town, where people with loved ones in the military try to cope with their changed circumstances and make their own contributions to the war effort. The main characters are a housewife whose husband is away in the service and her two daughters who are just growing into womanhood. The story runs from early January to late December 1943; the film itself was made in late 1943 and early 1944.
Though sentimental, Since You Went Away is more somber and realistic about the carnage of war and the pain of separation than some other homefront movies made during World War II. While composer Max Steiner's recurring title theme has reminded a few contemporary viewers of the wartime hit "I'll Be Home for Christmas," this has no basis in fact; it received no comment in the press of the time (or in studio publicity), and no mention of the song appears in the film's credits.