1h 51min | Comedy, Drama, Musical | 25 July 1952
Director: John Ford
Stars: James Cagney, Corinne Calvet, Dan Dailey, William Demarest, Robert Wagner, Marisa Pavan.
Billy Daniel ... dance stager
Watched online, good print.
Is this a musical or not?
Is this anti-war while being pro-service?
No matter the answers, I hated this.
It does make good fodder for the debate of what is or is not a musical. I think most people would say Casablanca ('43) is emphatically NOT a musical, even though the songs are performed by characters in the story (Sam, the patrons and employees of Rick's Cafe.) Is it just the lack of quantity that keeps it on the non-musical side? Casablanca's Soundtrack lists 7 (seven!) songs performed by Dooley Wilson, plus La Marseillaise sung by the Free French. I don't know which of the 7 are performed in full, and which are just segments,
WPG is similar: almost all the songs are performed within the tavern by patrons/employees. The one exception is MP sings a love song, first with her classmates as they're walked through town, then with translations to RW as a love song. Other than that one, only 2 other songs list a performer (CC); the rest are all listed as though they're part of the score. But this is a musical? No! We have 2 good dancers leading the cast; do we get any dancing? NO! (I guess the choreographer is for the 2 numbers CC performed?)
I don't really understand the relationship between JC & DD here. They respect/hate each other? They're constantly fighting, both verbally and physically. It's very unpleasant.
This film spends most of its time off the battlefield (in the tavern), but when we are in battle, it's the gruesome boots-on-the-ground stuff, with your comrade dying suddenly next to you. If you want me to sign up for service, don't show me this film.
When the unit is unfairly ordered to perform yet another mission after they'd been promised leave, and DD is injured, he feels compelled to join his comrades. Frankly, part of that isn't just commaradary, it's also a slight view into the future, knowing the survivor guilt you'll feel if you don't go, or the harassment you'll get if anyone from the unit returns. "Bravery" is not simple. He probably could not have been convinced by an argument that his injury might endanger a comrade.
Fox, dir. Ford; 5-
Update 7Jun2023: Still hate this. Loud, belligerent, disappointing use of cast. Not a restored print, so everything is darker than I'd expect from 1952 Technicolor. 6.1
