I was surprised to see John Ford's name listed as the director for this film, and even more surprised when it was over. With Oscar wins for greats like "The Grapes of Wrath" (1940) and "How Green Was My Valley (1941), I can't imagine what Ford might have thought after completing this picture, which doesn't quite work as either a war adventure or a military comedy. Which is saying something considering the cast that was assembled to put this effort together.
It all starts reasonably enough as Jimmy Cagney swaggers into a World War I French town leading his troops, awaiting the arrival of his new 'Top Soldier'. I wondered about that characterization for quite a while since the term was used a number of times. When 1st Sergeant Quirt (Dan Dailey) finally reports to his commanding officer, the official greeting boils down to a chalk line fist fight that gets repeated each time the men come up with a reason to challenge each other, and there's no shortage of those.
Corinne Calvet portrays the romantic interest for both men in the film, but the way her attention see saws back and forth between them, the set up becomes little more than contrived for the sake of a story. Her character Charmaine doesn't seem to spark with either Captain Flagg (Cagney) or Quirt, and considering the way she was treated by both, I'm surprised she didn't tell either one to take a hike, military or otherwise.
The film descends into 'Hogan's Heroes' territory later in the movie when Flagg's assignment to capture a German officer sets the friendly rivals off into enemy territory. For me, the film lost a lot of credibility when Flagg and Quirt wind up glad handing the German Colonel after knocking off a trio of higher ranking soldiers. It somehow seemed beneath Cagney's screen persona to make sport of a war time situation like that. Also, the film's attempt to convey some symbolic meaning to it's title generally falls flat when a wounded Marine challenges Flagg, shouting 'What price glory?' during a scene that wasn't very stirring or emotional, another device in the film that really doesn't work.
Company L's colorful cast includes William Demarest, Harry Morgan, Wally Vernon and an unrecognizably young Robert Wagner who doesn't make it home. Each has generally limited screen time in support of Flagg's blustery demeanor, except Wagner who's off and running in a romance of his own with a French school girl. It might have been a tearjerker, but it wasn't.
Interestingly, James Cagney appeared in another World War I film, "The Fighting 69th" about a regiment of mostly New York Irish soldiers. Again, the story is fairly simplistic, though fans of the actor can count on his solid performance in each. It's only too bad that he wasn't given more to work with.
It all starts reasonably enough as Jimmy Cagney swaggers into a World War I French town leading his troops, awaiting the arrival of his new 'Top Soldier'. I wondered about that characterization for quite a while since the term was used a number of times. When 1st Sergeant Quirt (Dan Dailey) finally reports to his commanding officer, the official greeting boils down to a chalk line fist fight that gets repeated each time the men come up with a reason to challenge each other, and there's no shortage of those.
Corinne Calvet portrays the romantic interest for both men in the film, but the way her attention see saws back and forth between them, the set up becomes little more than contrived for the sake of a story. Her character Charmaine doesn't seem to spark with either Captain Flagg (Cagney) or Quirt, and considering the way she was treated by both, I'm surprised she didn't tell either one to take a hike, military or otherwise.
The film descends into 'Hogan's Heroes' territory later in the movie when Flagg's assignment to capture a German officer sets the friendly rivals off into enemy territory. For me, the film lost a lot of credibility when Flagg and Quirt wind up glad handing the German Colonel after knocking off a trio of higher ranking soldiers. It somehow seemed beneath Cagney's screen persona to make sport of a war time situation like that. Also, the film's attempt to convey some symbolic meaning to it's title generally falls flat when a wounded Marine challenges Flagg, shouting 'What price glory?' during a scene that wasn't very stirring or emotional, another device in the film that really doesn't work.
Company L's colorful cast includes William Demarest, Harry Morgan, Wally Vernon and an unrecognizably young Robert Wagner who doesn't make it home. Each has generally limited screen time in support of Flagg's blustery demeanor, except Wagner who's off and running in a romance of his own with a French school girl. It might have been a tearjerker, but it wasn't.
Interestingly, James Cagney appeared in another World War I film, "The Fighting 69th" about a regiment of mostly New York Irish soldiers. Again, the story is fairly simplistic, though fans of the actor can count on his solid performance in each. It's only too bad that he wasn't given more to work with.