So Proudly We Hail (1943) :
Brief Review -
Patriotism, social service, love, separation, longing and the fascinating life of the nurses who worked tirelessly during the war-let's hail them. Mark Sandrich's name is known to me for directing those evergreen comedies and musicals in the 30s. I have seen The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), Carefree (1938), and Holiday Inn (1942), so this one is quite a surprise for me. The same man who makes gay films can make such a socially important film too. Yes, he did. So Proudly We Hail is an ode to the nurses who sacrifice their youth, love, and families for the country, but how many of us remember their work? It's interesting that this film came at the right time when Hollywood was experimenting with World War films, but hardly a few of them were focused on women, and even fewer had women on the field with soldiers. A year before, we had the Oscar-winning Mrs. Miniver, which also had family drama involved in it, whereas this one is more about the battlefield. Being an Indian, I was unaware of the fact that it was released just 13 months after the end of the Battle of the Philippines, with a focus on allied efforts at Bataan and Corregidor as well as MacArthur's dramatic escape from the Philippines. MacArthur's escape remains unexplored here, but the film successfully shows the horrors of war and the pressure during the bombardment. "He never saw his father, and his son will never see him. It's a pattern that will go on, I suppose, until we do make the world a decent place to live in." This quote really stabs your heart. Claudette Colbert and Paulette Goddard's fine performances, along with Mark Sandrich's sensible direction, make this one a nice watch. There is something about war-era films that you can't hate. You feel it, and you love it. You don't feel it; you don't have a heart or brain. All hail the war heroes and the nurses.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Patriotism, social service, love, separation, longing and the fascinating life of the nurses who worked tirelessly during the war-let's hail them. Mark Sandrich's name is known to me for directing those evergreen comedies and musicals in the 30s. I have seen The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), Carefree (1938), and Holiday Inn (1942), so this one is quite a surprise for me. The same man who makes gay films can make such a socially important film too. Yes, he did. So Proudly We Hail is an ode to the nurses who sacrifice their youth, love, and families for the country, but how many of us remember their work? It's interesting that this film came at the right time when Hollywood was experimenting with World War films, but hardly a few of them were focused on women, and even fewer had women on the field with soldiers. A year before, we had the Oscar-winning Mrs. Miniver, which also had family drama involved in it, whereas this one is more about the battlefield. Being an Indian, I was unaware of the fact that it was released just 13 months after the end of the Battle of the Philippines, with a focus on allied efforts at Bataan and Corregidor as well as MacArthur's dramatic escape from the Philippines. MacArthur's escape remains unexplored here, but the film successfully shows the horrors of war and the pressure during the bombardment. "He never saw his father, and his son will never see him. It's a pattern that will go on, I suppose, until we do make the world a decent place to live in." This quote really stabs your heart. Claudette Colbert and Paulette Goddard's fine performances, along with Mark Sandrich's sensible direction, make this one a nice watch. There is something about war-era films that you can't hate. You feel it, and you love it. You don't feel it; you don't have a heart or brain. All hail the war heroes and the nurses.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.