I kind of enjoyed this piece of mindless propaganda from the first year of World War II. What's not to like? Here is Alan Ladd, a cynical gangster, drafted into the Army. He doesn't like the Army. He deserts, taking a hostage, Helen Walker. But when he takes her back to his civilized life, he finds his erstwhile boss, Sheldon Leonard, is selling secrets to the Nazis. He doesn't like this either. He likes it even less when they beat up his dear old, gray-haired adopted mother. So he fights against the Nazis and though they capture him he escapes and brings them to justice. Helen Walker tells him, "After what you've done they won't worry about deserting. They'll probably give you a medal." Last shot, Lucky Jorden in sweat-soaked fatigues, shoveling dirt. There were several works of vernacular art at the time -- comic books, "All Through the Night" -- reassuring us that gangsters might break the law but were never traitors.
Alan Ladd was short and in this movie his suits looks baggy, especially the trousers, and his hat brim is so wide in nudges against Stetson territory. But he was an acceptable leading man at Paramount. His hair was blond and his eyebrows dark, and he had a resonant baritone voice that was often used to good effect in radio dramas. He had a surprising physical grace too. His movements were smooth, like those of an acrobat. He does some of his own stunts, scrambling across roofs and leaping over fences. His performance in "Shane," ten years later, was criticized as ligneous but I don't know why. The part called for a taciturn but sensitive hero.
Helen Walker was interesting too. Her career was cut short but she did pretty well in ordinary roles that didn't call for too much. Her blond beauty was uniquely common. At one point in this film, she deliberately inches up her skirt in a way that must have raised hackles in 1942.
The Nazis are a bunch of evil, slimy bastards. "Vee haff vays of making you talk." They say things like that. Sheldon Leonard as the dumb gangster is always enjoyable. The final chase takes us on a run through a vast bed of tulips -- "Torch of Holland" variety, if there is such a thing. It's a hoot to see Ladd galloping through the tulips.
Not to be taken seriously, it's fun.
Alan Ladd was short and in this movie his suits looks baggy, especially the trousers, and his hat brim is so wide in nudges against Stetson territory. But he was an acceptable leading man at Paramount. His hair was blond and his eyebrows dark, and he had a resonant baritone voice that was often used to good effect in radio dramas. He had a surprising physical grace too. His movements were smooth, like those of an acrobat. He does some of his own stunts, scrambling across roofs and leaping over fences. His performance in "Shane," ten years later, was criticized as ligneous but I don't know why. The part called for a taciturn but sensitive hero.
Helen Walker was interesting too. Her career was cut short but she did pretty well in ordinary roles that didn't call for too much. Her blond beauty was uniquely common. At one point in this film, she deliberately inches up her skirt in a way that must have raised hackles in 1942.
The Nazis are a bunch of evil, slimy bastards. "Vee haff vays of making you talk." They say things like that. Sheldon Leonard as the dumb gangster is always enjoyable. The final chase takes us on a run through a vast bed of tulips -- "Torch of Holland" variety, if there is such a thing. It's a hoot to see Ladd galloping through the tulips.
Not to be taken seriously, it's fun.