the next in the series of masterworks dealing with World War I looks at its after-effects.
by Allan Fish
(USA 1931 77m) not on DVD
It seemed like a good idea at the time
d William Dieterle w John Monk Saunders book “Single Lady” by John Monk Saunders ph Sid Hickox ed Al Hall md Leo F.Forbstein art Jack Okey cos Earl Luick
Richard Barthelmess (Cary Lockwood), Helen Chandler (Nikki), David Manners (Shep Lambert), John Mack Brown (Bill Talbot), Elliott Nugent (Francis), Walter Byron (Frink), Luis Alberni,
One of my more idiosyncratic choices is this obscure, rarely mentioned but utterly unforgettable drama released by Warners at a time when gangster movies dominated their schedules. It was, to all intents and purposes, a companion film to writer Saunders’ classic World War I flying pics Wings and The Dawn Patrol, this time concentrating on the fate of ex-flyers in the immediate aftermath of hostilities. As a tale of what F.Scott Fitzgerald referred to as the “lost generation”, it has no rivals, cinematically speaking. It may owe much to Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, but it stands head and shoulders above the film of that novel because it somehow seemed more alive. Even so, it’s poignant to recall that this film about a forgotten generation has now become forgotten itself, not helped by an inexcusable failure to release it to home video or DVD. (more…)