On lui donna un fusil

They Gave Him a Gun (1937)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

MGM melodrama about two men, Fred (Spencer Tracy) a strong independent type and Jimmy (Franchot Tone) a rather weak one. The two met up in the Army and both fall in love with the same woman (Gladys George) but she eventually goes with Jimmy. After the war the two friends catch back up only this time Jimmy has started in with a gangster and it's up to Fred to try and save him. This film offers up some nice performances but the melodrama gets way too thick for its own good. In some ways this is yet another anti-war picture because the film's main message is that the government puts guns into the hands of young men and forces then to kill. Then, when they return home, they might not be able to find jobs so more guns get placed in their hands. That type of message or warning is something interesting but the movie can never really dive into it because we're caught up in a love triangle that we've seen countless times and a rather predictable one as it's simple to see what's going to happen to those involved. Tracy comes across with yet another good performance as the blowhard who will stop at nothing to keep his friend from getting into trouble. Toneis also very good in his role and really manages to come across as a weak, broken man. I wasn't too thrilled with George but God knows I've seen a lot worse. You can also look quick for Joe Sawyer who has a one-line role as a gangster. The movie could have been a lot better considering some of the talent involved but it can never rise above the mediocre screenplay.

... with those three pieces being a war film, a wartime hospital part, and then a gangster film part. All of these parts are good within themselves, but together they produce an incoherent whole.

Spencer Tracy and Franchot Tone play two WWI draftees who meet and become buddies in basic training. Fred Willis (Tracy) is a bit of a wise guy. Jimmy Davis (Tone) is a shy hayseed bookkeeper. The implication is that Davis finds himself in being good with a rifle. When the two are deployed, Jimmy is badly wounded after cleaning out an enemy machine gun nest.

After the war, Jimmy just seamlessly transitions to a - hitman for the mob??? The implication is that when "they gave him a gun" he evolves from someone who faints at the idea of bayoneting somebody into The Enforcer. I just don't buy it.

On top of that we have the two leading men falling for nurse Rose Duffy, played by Gladys George. George was a great character actress, but I'm just not buying her as the angel of mercy who peacetime knits quietly while hubby is out murdering for hire while she doesn't have a clue. For one, she is and looks too old for the part. She was 37 when this was made and looks it. George was best at playing wise "dames" like saloon keeper Panama in The Roaring Twenties.

You've got good acting in this film and well staged battle scenes, but in the end it delivers a muddled message and is probably one of the last of the American anti-war films inspired by WWI.

It's WWI. Reluctant Army recruit Fred P. Willis (Spencer Tracy) befriends Jimmy Davis who is an even worst recruit. Jimmy faints in a simple training exercise for fear of killing a person. Once in the war, he takes out a machine gun position and gets horribly wounded. His blood lust has grown so much that he kills a surrendering enemy. He falls for nurse Rose who actually likes Fred. With Fred presumed killed, Jimmy and Rose get married. Fred escapes from German prison just in time to be Jimmy's best man. After the war, Fred is a lowly circus worker and he finds Jimmy had turned into a gangster.

With WWII looming, an anti-war movie like this would become an endangered species. Spencer Tracy is fine but this should be Jimmy's movie. It's a movie about Jimmy. By making Fred the lead, there is a distance to Jimmy's transformation. That's part of the reason why it seems so abrupt instead of many smaller transformations. It's not so character growth as much as character jumps. From the fainting guy to the cold blooded killer, Jimmy needs the screen time to do the work. That's not to say that Franchot Tone is capable of leading a big movie. Quite simply, Jimmy's descend into violence doesn't feel correct. Without that, this becomes a melodramatic love triangle. Spencer Tracy is perfectly capable of leading the triangle. It's not the greatest. It's fine to watch this for his fans.

There's no doubt that W.S. Van Dyke was capable of great direction, and therefore it's frustrating that he made so few first rate movies. This one consistently has great scenes followed by duds. Gladys George is woefully miscast as a young nurse but gives a good performance; Franchot Tone, also miscast, makes a strong impression that works too hard against his weak character. Tracy is fine as always as the stiffly moral pal. Great photography, exciting war scenes, excellent montages by Slavko Vorkapich.

THEY GAVE HIM A GUN (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1937) directed by W. S. Van Dyke, is an interesting piece of war story and crime melodrama. Starring Spencer Tracy opposite Gladys George and Franchot Tone for the only time, it ranks one of Tracy's most underrated and forgotten films, released the same year as his Academy Award winning performance for CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS. Though the title of "Him" goes to Franchot Tone, who is nearly the sole focus of the story, both he and Tracy are equally balanced for their performances.

Starting in 1917 shortly before the United States enters the war, the story introduces Fred P. Willis (Spencer Tracy), a circus barker by profession, meeting and forming a fast friendship with Jimmy Davis (Franchot Tone), a small-town bookkeeper as they both enlist themselves in the Army. While under basic training under Sergeant Meadowlark (Edgar Dearing), Jimmy finds himself squeamish holding and shooting a rifle during artillery practice. Bearing his "Thou Shalt Not Kill" attitude and fear of showing his cowardice while in battle, Jimmy remains in the service thanks to Fred's encouragement. With the United States at War, the platoon comes to Europe. During the battleground fight against the enemy, Jimmy becomes a war hero killing some Germans. He is later decorated for bravery after spending time in the hospital for serious injuries. During his recovery, Jimmy becomes interested in Rose Duffy (Gladys George), his nurse who has also found interest in his best pal, Fred. After the close of the war in 1918, Rose marries one of the men. Back in civilian life in the city during the 1920s, Fred resumes to his former life in the circus while Jimmy's job as an "insurance adjuster" is nothing more than him earning some "easy money" as a mob leader whose closest "friend" happens to be his gun.

A highly original premise taken from the book by William Joyce Cowen, with the story divided into two parts, from war segment to civilian life. While the first half of the story is routine, the second half involving a crime wave and ex-soldiers going through different paths in civilian life is much better. Though Tracy and Tone work well as good friends who happen to be complete opposites, many feel that Gladys George (recent Academy Award nominee for Best Actress in VALIANT IS THE WORD FOR CARRIE (Paramount, 1936)) may seem miscast in a role that might have served better played by another actress, someone like Virginia Bruce, for instance. Even though George is great in the right role (excellent as Panama Smith in THE ROARING TWENTIES (1939) starring James Cagney), looking over her performance here, she is good as a throaty speaking, no-nonsense nurse. She appears to be the right fit cast opposite Spencer Tracy but not so much with Franchot Tone. Overall, George does what she could to make her Rose Duffy both acceptable and believable. As much as Franchot Tone's performance cast against type during the second half might have turned him into a major lead performer, he never reached the status of other top leading MGM actors as Clark Gable, Robert Taylor and especially Spencer Tracy. Look for familiar faces in smaller roles consisting of Cliff Edwards, Mary Treen, Joan Woodbury, Joseph Sawyer and Charles Trowbridge.

Available on DVD and occasionally broadcast on Turner Classic Movies, THEY GAVE HIM A GUN is good enough recommendation for anyone who is familiar with the three lead actors but are unfamiliar with this one. (***1/2)