Heroes for Sale

Interesting, bleak depression-era story of man whose life swings back and forth from success to horrible tragedy. A lot like WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD, another great but weird slice of depression era bleakness directed by William Wellman. Here, Richard Barthelmess survives WWI only to get addicted to morphine, rises to the top of the business world before he's cheated out of his work, and that's just the beginning of his troubles. The portrait of labor strife, Bolshevik organizers, and violent oppression by the cops presents a far more political portrait of the depression from the perspective of the poor than usually seen in these films. It's a schizophrenic but fascinating film, bouncing between goofy comedy, heavy tragedy, and gritty, grim resolve. The armies of homeless men tramping the rails and the countryside is an image that won't go away soon.

I rented this movie after reading about William Wellman and his adventure filled life. Heroes for Sale captures the mood of the Great Depression, a time when rich people were not celebrities to be worshiped and envied, but villains who oppressed the working class. The movie is noteworthy as a benchmark for how we lived during a period of economic turmoil 75 years ago versus today. The unemployment ratio is about 1/3 of what is was then and we now have safety nets that weren't available 75 years ago. Also we treat our returning veterans better for the most part. This movie is enjoyable from start to finish and the beauty of it is there is no Hollywood ending per Se. One of the enjoyments is the way early 30's movies had the ability to encapsulate so much plot into a little over an hour. No wonder it was possible to watch a double bill back then. I am looking forward to watching more of Wellman if this movie is any indication of his work. Loretta Young was certainly one of the Hollywood beauties of that era, and a good actress even at that early age. The movie appears faithful to the history of that period in its portrayal of the "Red Squads", treatment of veterans, soup kitchens, and authoritarian figures in general. The morphine segment at the start of the movie is very realistic and not far from the pain killing addition medications of the 21st century.

Heroes for Sale (1933)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

William A. Wellman directs this hard hitting look about a man (Richard Barthelmess) who stands up during a WW1 battle and becomes a hero but he doesn't get credit for what he did as it goes to someone else. He's injured in the war and soon gets hooked on morphine and this causes him to break up when he returns home but after getting himself cleaned up he eventually gets married to a woman (Loretta Young) but soon the Depression hits and he has another chance of being a hero. This is an extremely powerful film that talks about unknown heroes who never get the credit they deserve because they don't want any credit for doing the right thing. There's a lot of blood and passion running throughout the film so it's rather obvious that this was a big subject for director Wellman. Barthelmess gives a terrific performance as he commands every scene that he's in. Aline MacMahon is great as a family friend as is Robert Barrat as a German trying to cash in on an invention. Young is very good in her small role and has some great chemistry with Barthelmess. The early WW1 scenes contains some great and bloody action as does a riot during the middle of the film, which really caught me off guard with the violence and blood shown. There are countless Pre-Code elements and the look at drug addiction is very nicely done.

In under 65 minutes, "Heroes for Sale" deals with drug addiction, Red Squads, automation, the Great Depression and World War I. This movie's time frame covers the end of the Great War to the election of FDR, and makes some very pointed observations about America along the way. There are no stereotypes in this movie, and except for the sanctimonious fadeout, I would have rated this movie a 10. "Heroes for Sale" was the last movie William Wellman directed under contract at Warner Bros. and he did a great job. With the onset of the production code in July, 1934, this movie was buried because of its treatment of drug addiction. "Heroes for Sale" is a top notch movie ahead of its time.

Tough film from Warners during the depth of the Depression. Richard Barthelmess is great as the hapless "hero" who endures the misfortunes of WW I and the Depression, addiction and the "red scare." The film also boasts good work from Loretta Young, Aline MacMahon, Gordon Westcott, Charley Grapewin, Berton Churchill, Grant Mitchell, Robert Barrat, and James Murray as the blind solider.

Barthelmess was a major silent star and had a solid career in early talkies in films like THE LAST FLIGHT, THE DAWN PATROL, WEARY RIVER, and others. He also gave one of the all-time great performances in silent film in TOL'ABLE David.

HEROES FOR SALE is terrific because it shows how an ordinary man can beaten by an ordinary life and still be great. As Barthelmess suffers the misfortunes of war and life he seems to grow as a spiritual person. The hypocrisy around him never seems to get to his heart. There's a great scene where Barthelmess is sitting in the rain in a hobo camp when his eyes meet another man's. It's the banker's son (Gordon Westcott) who took the war glory after he thought Barthelmess had been killed. The sanctimonious banker had fired Barthelmess for his morphine addiction, but finally gets caught for stealing from the bank's depositors. The banker and son also did jail time (as Barthelmess did for leading a riot). The ironies of life become full blown there in the rain. A terrific scene.

Barthelmess is wonderful and so is Gordon Westcott (in his best film role). Young and MacMahon are always pleasures to watch.