An American Romance

I saw this movie as a nine year old child and never forgot it. Later it appeared on television and more recently on TCM. I was impressed by the hero's fortitude in walking to Minnesota to join his cousin at the Mesabe Iron Range, his hard work, and his learning to read and eventually marrying the teacher. Each of his male children was named for a president after a friend remarked their child might reach that office. The movie taught me how iron ore was shipped east and processed into steel. Dangos also moves east and becomes a foreman. He eventually becomes an automobile manufacturer and his new ideas bring him success. His children succeed by achieving through the benefits of education. The movie ends after a documentary of American industry's contribution to the war effort. The Technicolor was gorgeous and Donlevy's performance believable. I still enjoy watching this film and believe King Vidor put his heart into it.

"An American Romance" is the sort of film that was the perfect film for the perfect time. It is chock full of unabashed patriotism and is a bit schmaltzy--all in the midst of WWII. So, this sort of gung-ho worked well then but probably would be seen by many today as dated. However, I think that compared to many such films of the era, this one actually holds up well and is worth seeing today, as there is excellent acting and a bit of a history lesson here we could enjoy.

The film begins with Stefan Dubechek aka Steve Dangos (Brian Donlevy) arriving in America. He knows no English but like any good citizen, has a strong desire to work hard and make something of himself. So, starting off at the bottom at a steel mill, he is able to work his way up through the company. Eventually, he and a new friend find they have a great idea for a new car--and soon leave to start a company of their own.

The film is basically the American success story. Of course not every guy with vision and drive makes it--but this film seems to indicate that such an individual will. And, it also stresses the importance of such a strong-minded and committed person to the new war effort, as the film ends with Dangos organizing his factory for the mass production of aircraft.

While this could have been a dry documentary-type film, little bits of humanity and charm make this film work well. Well worth seeing.

By the way, if you do watch, pay attention to Donlevy's accent. Especially towards the end, he forgot it in a scene or two and in the next he's speaking with this strong accent once again!

Brian Donlevy stars as an immigrant who comes to America in the late 19th century and rises through hard work to become a success.

This film was written, produced, and directed by the great King Vidor at MGM and was meant to be an American industrial epic culminating in a WW II propaganda piece with bombers flying in formation. It was also supposed to be the story of an immigrant and his family. The film was screened at 150 minutes, and Louis B. Mayer demanded the film cut down to 120 minutes. Vidor has no part in the edit, so what remains is a choppy story with lots of documentary-like scenes of industry. Most of the family story got deleted.

Initially set up at MGM to star Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, and Joseph Cotten, by the time Vidor was ready to film, Mayer balked at the cost and proceeded with a B cast of Brian Donlevy, Ann Richards, and Walter Abel. John Qualen and Stephen McNally are the only other name actors in the cast.

Saddled with a B cast, Vidor still tried to make the film he envisioned, but there are far too many cost-saving things going on, especially the cheesy sets. While there are some location shots, these are pretty much confined to industrial scenes.

The real pity is that Donlevy gives a terrific performance as does Abel in a much-reduced part. Australian-born Richards, however, is pretty bad, and her accent seems to change in every scene. With the family stuff omitted by Mayer, the narrative is choppy and the "heart" of the film is gone.

It's no surprise that after this bowdlerized version was released in 1944, it was a major flop. MGM lost a bundle and Vidor never worked for the studio again.

"An American Romance" from 1944 is partly propaganda and partly about immigrants who came to this country and went for the American dream. Originally, the stars were to be Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman instead of Brian Donlevy and Ann Richards, which would have made it seem like a much bigger film. King Vidor thought he had an agreement that Tracy and Bergman would star; apparently MGM heard something else. As it is, the film is done in color and had a good budget.

The version I saw is 121 minutes; originally the film was 150 minutes and the studio ordered 30 minutes cut. There are long scenes of factory work as iron, steel, cars, and airplanes are produced, and Vidor thought the 30 minutes would come from those scenes, which are wonderful but plentiful. Instead dramatic portions were cut. The film ends abruptly.

Need I add, this was the last film King Vidor did for MGM.

The story concerns a Czech, Stefan Dangos, who emigrates to America, intending to get a job in the iron mines with his cousin. That happens, and he works his way up, along the way marrying his English tutor (Ann Richards). He graduates to steel, and finally goes into business making cars.

This is truly a story about achieving the American dream, with a lot of patriotism thrown in, as the film spans from the 1890s into World War II and America's entry into it.

The factory scenes and the scenes in the iron mines are fascinating. Of note, during World War II, there were no passenger car assembly lines in operation. As a result, Vidor had to borrow cars from Chrysler, take them apart, and reassemble them in a simulated assembly line.

Brian Donlevy, who usually plays the heavy, does a fine job here. He's no Spencer Tracy, but I liked him in the role. He's rough around the edges and very believable and likable. Ann Richards is lovely as his wife - I assume if Ingrid Bergman had done this role, it would have been built up quite a bit. Stephen McNally and Walter Abel are also featured; McNally, as one of Stefan's son, is the narrator.

Good, not great, but certainly an interesting film.

First take note of the date of this movie ( the forties) because we still had the mindset to be grateful and that was a time where people all over the world wanted to immigrate here. Not knowing what to expect, having little or no money and not speaking English they knew if they can get here the rest would come and it did for tens of millions of people. This is displayed quite well in this movie. I enjoyed Brian Donlevy and I kept waiting for him to trip up on his foreign accent but he was too good an actor to do so. This is an every man who only knows hard honest work and because of that does very well winning over people, making a buck, climbing the success ladder and even purchasing a home. Great scenes of family and traditions too. The war enters into the picture with Pearl Harbor and we are introduced to joining the military to defend and fight back as well as Rosie the riveter (women work forces) and what was Americas strongest points i.e. manufacturing and coming together as a nation. We could turn out volume on anything we chose such as planes, ammo, guns, etc. We ended up not only giving and selling planes to help Russia and others but also let many just end up in huge junk yards across the nation after the war ended. America could do no wrong and our main character proves that point over and over through tragedy and triumph. It starts out a little slow but necessary to make the points and then delivers a nice satisfactory viewing for your time and attentions given. Good movie to eat a meal by, have a tasty drink and a leisurely snack or two. Make sure to take note of the automobile industry in its infancy and the designs of the cars too. Also note that they sold cars from orders taken at car show annually. Fascinating bits of little history here and there. Enjoy