MovieChat Forums > The Cross of Lorraine (1943) Discussion > They 'amputated his enthusiasm' means Ca...

They 'amputated his enthusiasm' means Cabbie was castrated


Non?

The world economy will crash in 2016, so for now, have fun!

reply

Yeah, it was the closest they could get in 1943 to suggesting castration. The old Hollywood Production Code made them take a roundabout way when talking about such things.

You must be watching it on TCM like I am. :-)

reply

Ouch!!

reply

That's what I thought. I've been around a long time and had never heard that expression before - this being my first viewing of the film.



It ain't easy being green, or anything else, other than to be me

reply

Are you sure? When I first heard that line, I thought they had cut off one of his limbs. My husband thought it referred to the fact that they broke him mentally. But castration? Is there another source to corroborate this?

Thanks! (I thought this was a very powerful film.)

reply

I didn't see amy missing limbs...

reply

Yeah, I also saw it on TCM last night. I came across a mostly positive 1943 movie review (NY Daily News, I think) that mentioned the phrase without elaborating on what it meant. I searched the phrase in quotes and a couple of people seemed to think it meant the same thing I did. Anyway, I enjoyed the film and the performances and thought it was one of the better POW films I've seen. It might have been the first WWII POW movie.

The world economy will crash in 2016, so for now, have fun!

reply