L'homme à la carabine

... and definitely a change from the more affable fellows he had been playing.

Marsh Willliams (James Stewart) is a guy with a chip on his shoulder, running a still during Prohibition. He is doing this for economic reasons, and also, like most people, thought that the 18th amendment was ridiculous. When his still is surrounded by federal agents. Marsh, along with the others working the still, run but first return fire with the agents, and one agent is killed. Convinced by his wife (Jean Hagen) to surrender, his murder trial ends in a mistrial - it could not be determined who fired the fatal shot - and Williams decides to plead guilty to second degree murder rather than have his father sell some of his land to pay for a second trial. He is sentenced to thirty years hard labor and unsuccessfully tries to convince his wife to divorce him so she can remarry somebody who can be with her.

On one level the film is a pseudo biography of Williams in prison and how he develops a semi-automatic rifle using just the tools he has in the prison blacksmith shop, and how focusing on that task literally changes his personality for the better. On another level it is a scathing indictment of the prison system and its brutality as it existed in the US until the middle of the twentieth century.

Jean Hagen plays Marsh's devoted and loyal wife, and Wendell Corey is good as H. T. Peoples, the warden of the prison farm Williams lands at after spending time in some horrendous places such as the chain gain and the rock pile. Peoples wants to know what makes Williams tick, but Williams keeps testing his authority in front of the other prisoners, creating a dangerous situation for himself should he just let these incidents go. When Williams ends up lasting 30 days in "the hole" when no other prisoner could endure a week he wants to know why, and the answer is intriguing.

At its core, Carbine Williams is a story of resilience, innovation, and redemption. Carbine's determination to develop a safer and more efficient firearm mechanism while serving time in prison is both inspirational and a testament to the human spirit's capacity for growth and change. The film does an excellent job of highlighting the importance of second chances and the potential for individuals to make positive contributions to society, even after making grave mistakes.

As other reviewers mention, this is a very good portrayal of one of the most interesting and talented men to ever serve time for murder. Unlike "Birdman of Alcatraz," which portrayed one of the most revolting murderers in history as some sort of a saintly scientist, this film accurately describes Carbine Williams' transformation from a rebellious moonshiner (who may or may not have killed a Fed in self-defense) into an admirable and very valuable citizen.

Williams' brilliant innovations in weapons design made a significant contribution to the Allied victory in WW2. I carried an M-1 carbine (essentially his design) in the Army and still own several of them -- perhaps the best all-purpose firearm in history.

This movie isn't shown often and most people are unaware of it, but it deserves a wider audience.

Ten years before Burt Lancaster came out with the acclaimed Birdman of Alcatraz, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced this neglected gem of a film starring a dark and brooding James Stewart as David Marshall Williams who invented the M-1 carbine rifle while in prison.

Before writing this review I took a look at the wikipedia article on Marsh Williams and found that MGM had stuck pretty close to telling the real story about Williams. For the farmer the Great Depression began after the Armistice was signed and the food they produced was no longer needed to feed troops. Many like Marsh Williams turned to making moonshine, not just as a way of distilling spirits for personal use, but for economic survival. That fact cannot be emphasized enough in telling the Carbine Williams story.

The federal men were seen as taking the bread out of the farmer's mouths in the North Carolina hills and other such places and the rural folk reacted accordingly. Williams was convicted of murdering a federal agent during a raid. He didn't get the death penalty because no one could tell who really fired the fatal shot, but as he was part of the group he shared responsibility. He got thirty years.

Williams was a skilled machinist and after he got over the bitterness of his incarceration with the help of a friendly warden he worked out the design of the weapon that later became the M-1 carbine rifle used by our armed forces in World War II.

James Stewart in developing his character as Marsh Williams borrowed a whole lot from some of the characters in his Anthony Mann westerns. This is not the 'aw shucks' Jimmy we all identify him with, but a very bitter man, as bitter even as George Bailey when he thinks the world's deserted him in It's A Wonderful Life.

Jean Hagen plays the Donna Reed like wife here who with a man incarcerated has a lot more troubles than Ms. Reed dealt with. The third major role is that of Wendell Corey's warden whose belief in Stewart is sustained.

Carbine Williams tread earlier along the same lines that Birdman of Alcatraz did. And in depicting the moonshining community, Carbine Williams shows folks that could have been the ancestors of the family Robert Mitchum was part of in Thunder Road. It's a good story about a man who found his soul and his work in the oddest of places.

"Graceful" is not a word one would use in the same sentence with "Jimmy Stewart." Gangly, awkward, and with a reedy, high-pitched voice, he seems to have none of the things that we think an actor should have, and yet he was truly one of the great ones. His presence in this true story of David Marshall Williams, designer of the M-1 rifle, lifts what is a fascinating human story to begin with by a quantum notch. Stewart's portrayal of the character transformation of this angry, troubled man is one of the finest things I have seen from him. Abetted by Wendell Corey in the essential role of his prison warden and an excellent script, this movie is truly an underrated gem. They just don't make 'em like Jimmy anymore.

Jimmy Stewart plays real-life inventor Marsh "Carbine" Williams, a not-so-very-nice guy, really. Which is mostly the reason why Stewart wanted to take the part. Marsh Williams is convicted of murder although there was really never any proof. He is a bitter man, proud, trying to spare his family the heartache of seeing him in prison, but they stick by him anyway.

I enjoyed this movie; my favorite part probably being the friendship that slowly develops between inmate Williams and Captain Peoples ("Cap"). Watch for a good scene towards the end where Cap makes his friendship for Williams loud and clear - a true symbol of the trust he had in the alleged killer.

The story of the man, his family, and his friends, is the real story here. The fact that he invented a new kind of gun is a side-note. Interesting, though, the ability he had to build things with bare essentials and his own two hands.

Good movie. Not the typical "everyman" Stewart, but he does a great job in the part.

Jean Hagen (perhaps best known for her role as the ditzy silent-movie star opposite Gene Kelly in "Singin' in the Rain") plays Stewart's wife in the movie.