MovieChat Forums > Men Must Fight (1933) Discussion > Fascinating, forgotten film

Fascinating, forgotten film

posted 15 years ago by hobnob53
7 replies | jump to latest

This movie apparently went unseen for decades until it was resurrected by TCM. I've seen it a few times and it's really one-of-a-kind, made the more so by its projection of a new world war breaking out in 1940, seven years in the future from the time of its release. Especially eerie is the character played by Phillips Holmes, who goes off to join the "Air Corps" at the conclusion of the film; in real life, Holmes was in fact killed in a training accident as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Corps in 1942. The acting is solid (although Diana Wynyard is a little too weepy and melodramatic for me), the production typical of early-30s MGM, and the special effects sequences of the bombing of New York City quite remarkable for the time (bye-bye Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building). Deserves a proper DVD release, perhaps as part of a set with other fantasy-themed MGM films of the period, such as The Mysterious Island (1929), Skyscraper Souls (1933), and Gabriel Over the White House (1933). (1933 must have been a big year for fantasy at the box office.)

[–] Alix1929 15 years ago

Diana Wynyard always seems melodramtic for me.

Thought the sequences of bombing NYC were well done, however it was awfully convenient that when the car w/Mrs. Seward & Peggy gets blown up, cops immediately rush over to save the day. All those people...and they save those two. Hollywood triumphs again!

[–] hobnob53 15 years ago

Yes, I loved the fact that the two upper class ladies were rescued first by the honest working folk, before all the common people buried under the surrounding rubble! Didn't they leave the driver trapped in the wreck? The Sewards would have done nicely aboard the Titanic.

I agree with you 100% about Ms. Wynyard. I thought she was always too much -- her style certainly hasn't aged well. She was just as unbearable, even disagreeable, in her last film, Island in the Sun (1957), as in this. I guess I was just trying to avoid rubbing it in in my OP. After all, we owe such deference to our betters!

[–] Alix1929 15 years ago

Oh my gosh, I forgot about the poor driver--I think you're right...they save the two rich ladies, and leave the working class stiff, well stiff at least (and dead!). Poor guy! But how typical of Hollywood!

[–] andrewwjohnson 9 years ago

The town car in the movie had an open drivers compartment so the fate would be immediately known. Naturally the people in the area check the back of the car to see if anyone was injured or worse.

What I can't figure out is the Eurasians are dropping bombs on New York capable of destroying the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building yet one of the bombs only turns the car on its side."

TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.

[–] SashaDabinski 9 years ago

Just saw it for the first time and thought it was an interesting film and agree that Diana was very melodramatic and whiny.

[–] SashaDabinski 9 years ago

After the air raid there was an annoying hum thru the rest of the movie. One would think that TCM could edit that out.

[–] xerses13 8 years ago

SashaDabinski; The Air-Raid is the best part of this film. The political motivations between Wars was rather naïve. We are sure that Imperial Japan, Nazi Germans and Soviet Communists would have loved it if We just rolled over like a possum and hoped for the best.

You are right about the annoying 'hum'. It can be removed, but that would take a full audio and video restoration. Do not think TCM is going to invest much in this antique. The films at that time for the most part used a optical 'sound on film' technology. It can be cleaned up, but at what price?