"Kings Go Forth" is, apparently, the only World War II film set against the background of "Operation Dragoon", the Allied invasion of Southern France in August 1944, here referred to by its unofficial nickname of the "Champagne Campaign". (This nickname was not geographic- Champagne of course is in Northern France- but was used to imply that the Allied troops had little to do except sit around and drink champagne).
At the heart of the plot is a love-triangle with two American soldiers, Corporal Britt Harris and Lieutenant Sam Loggins, falling in love with the same girl. The girl, Monique, is not French but American, although she has lived in France since she was a child. And then comes a startling revelation. Both Harris and Loggins have assumed that Monique is white, but it turns out that she is of mixed race, the daughter of a white mother and black father who moved to France because of America's intolerant attitude towards mixed marriages. This revelation changes the way in which both men, especially Harris, view the situation.
It is difficult for us today just how unusual, even shocking, a film like this would have seemed in the world of the 1950s. It was made at a time when calls by black Americans for equal rights and an end to segregation and discrimination were becoming more insistent. For a long time Hollywood had been part of the problem. It had rarely made explicitly racist films (although there were notorious exceptions such as "Birth of a Nation"), but had nevertheless concentrated on films by white Americans, for white Americans, about white Americans. Black actors were relegated to minor roles and the experiences of black Americans ignored.
By the late fifties things were slowly changing. "Kings Go Forth" not only features a mixed-race character in a major role, it makes an explicitly anti-racist statement. (Tony Curtis, who stars as Harris here, made another film in 1958 with an anti-racist theme, "The Defiant Ones"). Loggins is able to overcome his own inbred racial prejudices; Harris is not, and thereby reveals himself as a cad in his treatment of Monique.
To a modern audience it may seem regrettable that a white actress like Natalie Wood was cast as Monique instead of a black or mixed-race one. According to some sources Dorothy Dandridge was slated for the part, but this might have caused some difficulties with the Production Code. The casting of Dandridge, or any other black actress, would also have meant that the plot would have needed considerable rewriting. Dandridge was not of mixed race- both her parents were black- and nobody would have taken her for white, and the fact that both Loggins and Harris initially believe Monique to be white is an important plot point. Probably today's solution would be to cast a biracial actress who looks white, but I doubt if such an actress could have been found in the Hollywood of 1958, at least among the major stars.
Dandridge would have been 36 in 1958, seventeen years older than Wood, so if she had been cast, the script would also have had to have been rewritten to make her character an experienced adult rather than a teenage ingenue. That might, in fact, not have been a bad thing. Wood is not at her best here, and never seems really comfortable playing opposite Sinatra, who was old enough to be her father.
The two male leads, however, are both very good, bringing out the differences between their characters. The two men are very different. Harris, the younger of the two, is handsome, charming and from a wealthy background. He is capable of great bravery on the battlefield, but has difficulty accepting military discipline. Loggins, from a working-class background, was originally a private, but has worked his way up to become an officer; he can be abrasive, is more reserved than Harris, and lacks his easy charm. It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that Monique initially prefers Harris, and is devastated when she realises that he does not return her feelings. Perhaps the most important differences is brought out in an exchange between the two men, where Harris freely admits that has always got what he wanted without effort, whereas Loggins has had to struggle to get what he wants, and as a result has a depth of character which Harris lacks.
As a war film, "Kings Go Forth"- the significance of that title is never made clear- is not particularly interesting, but as a psychological character drama it is first rate. It is also interesting in the way it shows how Hollywood was, belatedly, starting to treat racial issues with the seriousness they deserved. 8/10.
At the heart of the plot is a love-triangle with two American soldiers, Corporal Britt Harris and Lieutenant Sam Loggins, falling in love with the same girl. The girl, Monique, is not French but American, although she has lived in France since she was a child. And then comes a startling revelation. Both Harris and Loggins have assumed that Monique is white, but it turns out that she is of mixed race, the daughter of a white mother and black father who moved to France because of America's intolerant attitude towards mixed marriages. This revelation changes the way in which both men, especially Harris, view the situation.
It is difficult for us today just how unusual, even shocking, a film like this would have seemed in the world of the 1950s. It was made at a time when calls by black Americans for equal rights and an end to segregation and discrimination were becoming more insistent. For a long time Hollywood had been part of the problem. It had rarely made explicitly racist films (although there were notorious exceptions such as "Birth of a Nation"), but had nevertheless concentrated on films by white Americans, for white Americans, about white Americans. Black actors were relegated to minor roles and the experiences of black Americans ignored.
By the late fifties things were slowly changing. "Kings Go Forth" not only features a mixed-race character in a major role, it makes an explicitly anti-racist statement. (Tony Curtis, who stars as Harris here, made another film in 1958 with an anti-racist theme, "The Defiant Ones"). Loggins is able to overcome his own inbred racial prejudices; Harris is not, and thereby reveals himself as a cad in his treatment of Monique.
To a modern audience it may seem regrettable that a white actress like Natalie Wood was cast as Monique instead of a black or mixed-race one. According to some sources Dorothy Dandridge was slated for the part, but this might have caused some difficulties with the Production Code. The casting of Dandridge, or any other black actress, would also have meant that the plot would have needed considerable rewriting. Dandridge was not of mixed race- both her parents were black- and nobody would have taken her for white, and the fact that both Loggins and Harris initially believe Monique to be white is an important plot point. Probably today's solution would be to cast a biracial actress who looks white, but I doubt if such an actress could have been found in the Hollywood of 1958, at least among the major stars.
Dandridge would have been 36 in 1958, seventeen years older than Wood, so if she had been cast, the script would also have had to have been rewritten to make her character an experienced adult rather than a teenage ingenue. That might, in fact, not have been a bad thing. Wood is not at her best here, and never seems really comfortable playing opposite Sinatra, who was old enough to be her father.
The two male leads, however, are both very good, bringing out the differences between their characters. The two men are very different. Harris, the younger of the two, is handsome, charming and from a wealthy background. He is capable of great bravery on the battlefield, but has difficulty accepting military discipline. Loggins, from a working-class background, was originally a private, but has worked his way up to become an officer; he can be abrasive, is more reserved than Harris, and lacks his easy charm. It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that Monique initially prefers Harris, and is devastated when she realises that he does not return her feelings. Perhaps the most important differences is brought out in an exchange between the two men, where Harris freely admits that has always got what he wanted without effort, whereas Loggins has had to struggle to get what he wants, and as a result has a depth of character which Harris lacks.
As a war film, "Kings Go Forth"- the significance of that title is never made clear- is not particularly interesting, but as a psychological character drama it is first rate. It is also interesting in the way it shows how Hollywood was, belatedly, starting to treat racial issues with the seriousness they deserved. 8/10.