Tarnished

Great Fisticuffs and a Fiery Conclusion High-Light this "Sleeper" from the Always Reliable Republic Studios.

Small Town Hubris Among the Mostly Closed-Minded Residents about a Returning Native Son, a Former Hooligan, Arthur Franz.

Trying to Repair HIs Bad-Reputation, Faces Closed Doors and Closed Minds .

As He Falls in Love with Sweet, Independent, Young Woman who Works, and Resists Parental Domination.

Predictable as All Get-Out,

But Nonetheless a Solid 60min Second Feature that Makes the Most of its Skimpy Budget with a Good-Looking and Realistic Production.

Typical Norish Story Featuring Post-War Angst Facing Returning Vets.

Now Having to Fight On the Home-Front for a Place at the Table.

Franz is a War-Hero-Marine.

The Local Jealous Bad-Guys Use His Jungle Knife and Dog-Tags to Frame Him and that Leads to the Inevitable Conclusion.

One of the Better of its Low-Budget Type with Kudos All-Around.

This is a minor B-feature but of great psychological interest. The war hero knows he is coming home to a nest of wasps, since he made a bad reputation before the war, especially since his father was stamped as a criminal. On coming home he is immediately beset by two girls, both of which are already occupied by base characters, who will do everything in their power to make life bitter for him. The rumour is spread that he is a jailbird, he can't get any job because of local prejudice, and when he finally gets a job his rivals mess it up for him, committing crimes to make it appear he is to blame. His two girls stand by him, though, and when he wants to marry one of them, her father does everything to destroy their relationship. That's the set-up. The interesting thing is to see how he will deal with his adversaries, he gets into fights with them that only make matters worse, but his worst enemy is the local prejudice against him, which dominates the entire town, a small coastal town in Maine. Ultimately the plots take a very dramatic turn, but his sweetheart stands by him all the way. It's the underdog's story, and as such it is very educational. Although a minor B-film, anyone could learn something from it.