This early movie is a 'how to' for directors. So much happens, but it flows, no wasted time, there is really good character development (even in the sub-plot characters), everything plays out. This movie holds up still today. Watch this, you will be pleasantly surprised.
shareStumbled upon this movie the other day...pleasantly surprised at how well the plot was developed. A lot of stuff going on starting with the failed attempt to score drugs.
My only beef was the ending---very flat, other than that I think this is a great film for its time.
I agree about the ending---it just left one hanging, like another scene should follow...
shareGreat great movie When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...
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This is one of many to remember to refute the idea that the past was a "gentler, simpler time." The past was often brutal and extremely complex.
I have to wonder what gems we missed from that era because nobody saved them. It seriously skews one's idea of moviemaking when only a small fraction of the movies survived.
It's sad that, for probably the majority of the general public, movie history begins with either "Gone With the Wind" and/or "The Wizard of Oz," and that nothing earlier amounted to much (as far as they're concerned). And, if they have any sort of mental picture of Silent films, it's the stereotypical old way that Silents are remembered as playing ridiculously quickly, featuring over-the-top melodramatic overacting, and generally being overall comic in nature (even when a drama!). I doubt that most of the general public of today even has a clue what "Pre-Code" refers to, let alone that they've seen any films from that era. Sad.
There was an enormous bounty of great, vital, and important movies WELL prior to the famous banner year of 1939 (which even '39 is going WAY further back than most present day people even have the slightest interest in, their attention spans not being able to handle anything other than recent-years colour films, particularly filled with action, violence, sex, crude humour, and/or gore). I personally am a die-hard fan of Pre-Code movies, and Silents of the 1920s (particularly circa 1923-24 onward), and would much rather, any day, watch movies from that overall span of years than movies of recent decades. Not only are the old movies so appealing, they're also truly interesting, and can also serve as fascinating history lessons, in various regards. Pre-Code movies have a vitality and rawness that for the most part ceased to exist in "classic" films after mid-1934. Especially where Warner Brothers was concerned, they tended to be highly topical and "now," often screaming with urgency, echoing sorts of things that were going on in American society during those times.
"Heroes For Sale" is a timeless film because the content and tone really do stand the test of time, especially if it were to be re-made, incorporating aspects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and their affect on American war veterans, narcotics addiction and recovery, the American dream of prosperity and the American nightmare of massive unemployment, man versus big business, etc. The film aligns nicely with the idea that 'history repeats itself.'
shareI love the story line of his friend who used to be a Socialist, but after earning money became a Capitalist.
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