Home of the Brave

Mark Robson's sensitively directed film perfectly captures the social mores and racial bigotry of its time during the stresses and traumas of war. The dialogue is brittle and thoroughly convincing. Although Lloyd Bridges and James Edwards are both excellent, Frank Lovejoy steals the film with his portrait of Mingo. Steve Brodie is just right as the insecure bigot who is more ignorant than evil. This is one of my five favorite war movies of all time. It reminds me of another great film made the next year called "The Men" with Marlon Brando. I give this one 10 out of 10.

Wow, I would've never seen this movie on my own, but a friend invited me over to watch it on his tape, and I was just blown away. Even though it takes place during action in World War II, this is really much more of a character study than a war movie. Although the relationship between James Edwards and his comrades, especially Lloyd Bridges, who is also really good, is the core of this movie, the actor who plays Mingo (Frank Lovejoy) steals the film with a magnificent performance. I liked this a lot more than Saving Private Ryan.

I was 11 years old when my Mother took me to see Home Of The Brave. She came home from work and said, I want to take you to a movie, it is time you see something other than Roy Rogers and Hopalong Cassidy...I can tell you I grew up a lot seeing HOME OF THE BRAVE. I can remember the dialog to this day even though I only saw this movie once. James Edwards and Lloyd Bridges gave star performances, yet the supporting cast was truly outstanding too...... Jeff Corey was the Doctor (psychiatrist)who helped James Edwards overcome the difficulties of war, and of course of being black. (Corey is recognized as one of the greatest character actors in the history of stage and screen. Check his filmography.) It was a landmark scene and performance by both Corey and Edwards. In the 50s Corey was black balled by the House Unamerican Activities Commitee. HUAC. Because he would not name actors sympathetic to the Communists. Many actors did squeal to save there own careers, but not Corey, he laughed at them. Did not work in Hollywood for 12 or more years. He became an acting teacher for the likes of Jack Nicholson, Barbara Streisand, Cher, and many others. Those three won academy awards. May he rest in peace, he left us in 2002. Corey has an outstanding website, check it out, here is the URL address... jeffcorey.com..... James Edwards filmography is full of great performances down through the years.An outstanding filmography by a pioneering actor who never received the recognition he deserved. One year in the 70s, I was involved with a cable TV station in San Diego,we produced the La Costa celebrity tennis tournament. Lloyd Bridges was there and I walked up to him and said, "Thank You for your performance in "Home of The Brave", he was so startled and said to me, when did you see it? I replied, "when I was 11 years old, my mother took me to see it. She said it was an important film, and it was time to know about the freedom this movie is trying to portray." He said to me, "thank you very much, you made my day, in fact my whole month. Thank You." It is nice to know that these great actors who made this film a landmark in cinema were revered by so many. Most are gone now but their performances are preserved in the great history of film. See this movie, buy the VHS on the internet, show it to others and you become part of movie history too. Thank You. RADUDCA

If this curious little drama lived up to its intentions,it might have been one of the important war films. It was great in its premise with its performances and all,but it falls far short and is little more than a footnote in Hollywood's attempts to deal with American racism. Director Mark Robson starts out with two strikes against him. First off,Carl Foreman's script is based on Arthur Laurents's curiously contrived stage play. Second,Laurents's play is about anti-Semitism,and though it is easy to say that all bigotry springs from one source,discrimination against black people is different from discrimination against Jewish people. To claim that they are the same misunderstands both.

The action takes place on a nameless islands in the Pacific during World War II. In the opening scenes,a psychiatrist(Jeff Corey)tries to find out how Peter Moss(James Edwards),a black soldier,came to be paralyzed from the waist down. Moss is also amnesiac and so he can't remember what happened to him on his last mission. Major Robinson(Douglas Dick),and Mingo(Frank Lovejoy)tell the doctor what they know. They say that it was a reconnaissance patrol to an island held by the Japanese. Robinson picked Mingo,Finch(Lloyd Bridges),and T.J. Everett (Steve Brodie) to "volunteer" from his outfit. He had recruited Moss,an engineer from another division,to make maps of the island. Robinson was then surprised to learn that Moss was "colored." T.J. is openly racist,but it turns out that Finch and Moss are old pals from high school,where they played basketball together. Tensions within the group rise to the surface and explodes as soon as they're dropped on the island to face the enemy. And against each other.

Neither the depiction of jungle warfare nor the racial attitudes are remotely believable. Men on sentry duty at night chatter away like schoolchildren and smoke cigarettes constantly. T.J.'s expressions of racism and Moss's reactions are equally simplistic and false. And when,finally,the reasons for the paralysis are revealed,audiences today will groan in disbelief,which shocked audiences who went to see this picture in 1949. The resolution of the conflicts piles improbability upon improbability. That said,the filmmakers to deserve credit for addressing racial issues at a time when the entertainment industry generally ignored them,and when segregation was the law of the land. The year 1949 introduced not only this picture,but also another picture,Elia Kazan's "Pinky" that also address the issue of racism and segregation as well. As with "Home Of The Brave",the active recruitment of black soldiers,sailors,and airmen during World War II played a huge part in changing that,and the stories of that change have yet to be fully told. This movie was a small first step in addressing the issue of racism in America during the 1940's.

To correct a previous commentary... "The Big Red One" is the 1st Infantry Division. The "Red Ball Express" was the name given to the truck convoys. My own opinions of the film: I think a movie like this needs to be appreciated within the context of the time period it was made. Considering that the country then was barely taking baby steps into the civil rights movement, the subject was handled pretty well. It sent it's message without being preachy or patronizing. A great cast also helps it make a worthwhile movie to watch. It's too bad that James Edwards died several years later while still relatively young. He might've made a real breakthrough to some leading roles.