Moviecut—Men Must Fight

Men Must Fight

An historic note that I haven't seen in any post about this brilliant film: Film Secretary of State Edward Seward is analogous to real US SoS William Jennings Bryan. In the movie, the fictional Seward gives up his pacifist beliefs because a US envoy has been assassinated in "Eurasia," and American pride demands that we send the fleet to provoke war. In real life pacifist WJ Bryan refused to give in to war hysteria before WW I. When President Woodrow Wilson threatened Germany over the sinking of "neutral" ships (carrying war materiel?), Bryan resigned in protest, Soon after, Wilson got Congress to declare war on Germany. Bryan's wife was a collaborator on his political ideals. "Seward's" film wife tried, but did not succeed because her husband yielded to the hysteria that national pride seemed to demand. (I will only mention the name Benghazi to illustrate whether modern countries feel the killing of an ambassador is a cause for war.)

When this movie was on TCM I almost turned it off as it was described as Science Fiction. Not being a fan of SciFi but having read the description of the movie, I decided to give it a try. I felt it really confronted some very important details that are often overlooked in the patriotic bravado associated with decisions of going to war. Eerily prophetic in my opinion. I think the many topics including unwed birth, that were presented in this movie make it a very timeless and "real" story. The very startling irony for me is that Philip Holmes who played the son died in 1942 at the start of WWII in a mid-air collision after having joined the Royal Canadian Air Force!!

This movie made in 1933 predicts World War II, and the 9/11 attacks but except in 1940. This deals with same social issues we have dealt with from the Vietnam War to the Gulf War, to now. The movie also shows the "future" American watching Television, even though Television doesn't take off until 10 yrs after 1940. It also tried to depict future fashions and people using "video phones." The eerie part is when a airplane with a bomb on board smashes in to the Empire State building on a attack on New York City. This movie was way ahead of its time for 1933!

I enjoyed some of the anti-war sentiment in this film, despite a muddled point of view that also included strong hawkish sentiments. The bombing of New York in 1940, with special effects showing the collapse of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building, was interesting but clearly done with miniatures. Considering this was a 1933 film, it came pretty close to predicting the actual start of WWII. And it must have been fun for 1933 audiences to see a television set and video telephones on screen. Performances were excellent, with Lewis Stone a standout as Secretary of State, Diana Wynyard as his dovish wife who lost her lover (Robert Young) in WWI, and Phillips Holmes as their son, caught in the middle of his parents' beliefs. Ironically, Holmes was actually killed in WWII from a mid-air collision.