Diddly day it's The Fighting 69th! Jerry Plunket
John Chard
Diddly day it's The Fighting 69th! Jerry Plunket is a street brawling, tough as boots rebel from Brooklyn, he has no time for the traditions of the all Irish…
Diddly day it's The Fighting 69th!
Jerry Plunket is a street brawling, tough as boots rebel from Brooklyn, he has no time for the traditions of the all Irish 69th New York Regiment, and he has even less time for his army superiors. But as Jerry is about to find out, War has a knack of making or breaking a man...
It's not hard to see why "The Fighting 69th" was a very popular movie back on its release, coming out as America was about to enter WWII, the flag waving patriotism targeted its audience with gusto supreme and lashes of Irish sentiment. Furthering the cause was in having James Cagney in the critical lead role of Plunkett. Yet oddly, Plunkett is the made up character here, for the story is based on actual characters that the film wishes to honour. Father Duffy (Pat O'Brien) & Wild Bill Donovan (George Brent) being two highly respected men from this actual (and highly acclaimed) fighting unit.
The story follows a now well trodden path, brash cocky man learns lessons the hard way, is there to be redemption come the finale? Respect, bravery and indeed salvation are all given the once over by the makers here. There are few surprises but the film gets in there, does the job, and leaves without lingering either side of the good or bad fence. The direction from William Keighley is vigorous, and the supporting players are solid, if unspectacular (haven't we seen this O'Brien turn before?), but all and everything is second fiddle to the perfectly cast Cagney, bullish and stoic, his turn as Plunkett lifts the film above average, because without him the film would be instantly forgettable. 6.5/10
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★ 7 / 10
A rare positive film about WWI...
AlsExGal
... or at least it doesn't turn into an anti-war film, which was typical of films made concerning WWI that were made between 1925-1940. It was probably made to…
... or at least it doesn't turn into an anti-war film, which was typical of films made concerning WWI that were made between 1925-1940. It was probably made to get Americans into a positive mood about possibly having to go to war again, once more against the Germans. I looked at my book "Cagney on Cagney" to try and get some feeling for the production, but other than a few stories about what happened to the cast during the filming little insight is given. But I digress.
Jerry Plunkett (James Cagney) is a recruit from Brooklyn,NY who joins the legendary "Fighting 69th", historically consisting of Irish Americans. Typical of James Cagney's characters, he's brash, boisterous, doesn't care for rules and regulations, but claims he's looking for a fight which is why he joined up. He's the bane of the commander of the outfit, Major Wild Bill Donovan (George Brent), and of his Sergeant, Big Mike Wynn (Alan Hale). And the fight Plunkett is looking for he finds in France, but it's the kind of fight that plays for keeps, and it turns out that Plunkett is just not up to it. And yet the priest who travels with the regiment, Father Duffy, thinks there is more to this fellow than his commanders or his regiment believes. Complications ensue.
This highly fictionalized account of the 69th does have some actual members portrayed, as Father Duffy, Major Wild Bill Donovan, and Irish American poet Joyce Kilmer (Jeffrey Lynn) were all actual members. Frank McHugh is onboard for his normal comical hijinks. His character is uninjured in battle only to sprain his ankle getting off the boat at Hoboken. Dennis Morgan is just starting out at Warner's and has a minor role. Warner's really put some effort into this one, and it shows, with a large number of their leading and supporting actors of the time appearing in the film.
I don't much care for war films, but this is one of the good ones that is really more about the possibility of redemption than battle scenes.
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please reseed the 720p