User Reviews

This film was surprisingly good as evidenced by the other user comments shown here.I know how frustrating it is to know you know someone's name but cannot bring it readily out of the brain archive into the live active part.Some time ago I could not think of the name of that great Victorian art critic, John Ruskin, even though I knew of his identity so that I used a mnemonic trick to always remember his name in case I needed to quote him at my art class.

The script was intelligent highlighting the unmentionable things soldiers have to witness in wartime.As the WW1 song lyric goes, "...they'll never believe us , they'll never believe us".Richard Arlen who played Johnny March gave a sensitive performance as the amnesiac soldier and no, I won't provide a spoiler how it resolves in the end.He meets all of the relatives of the dead U.S. soldiers his commanding officer advised he served with in the hope of establishing his true identity.I was glad to see this on Youtube for the first time especially as I was born in 1946 about the time this film was made when some great WW11 post war stories were being produced.7/10.

There were four corpses in the farmhouse, burned and dismembered beyond recognition, their dog tags scattered, because they were -- had been -- American soldiers fighting in France. There was also a fifth man, Richard Arlen, and he was alive, but he couldn't remember who he was. So when he was being transferred to a military hospital, he left the train, went AWOL, with the names and addresses off the dog tags, hoping that he was one of them, that familiar places and people would jog his memory, and he could return home and get on with his life.

It's a nice idea for a movie, and Arlen's low-key acting is spot on, as is the way that as he goes along, being disappointed in turn, he leaves the survivors of the dead soldiers a little better off in four vignettes. Of course, this is a Republic picture, and it's the first directorial job of Walter Colmes, so the subtext is pounded out pretty hard in four vignettes and an epilogue.

Still, there are good roles in it for Roger Pryor, as a patriotic hoodlum, as well as Forrest Taylor and Sarah Padden as an old farm couple trying to come to terms with the death of their son. It's all rather unsubtle for my taste, but its heart is so clearly in the right place that I willingly forgive that.

Right after WW2, Johnny finds himself on a hospital ship heading for home. There is only one problem; he doesn't remember who he is or where he comes from.

He was injured when defending a house completely surrounded by German troops together with three fellow soldiers, As the house was bombed the others perished whilst Johnny was wounded and in the process lost his memory.

Back in the states he goes awol, seeking out the families of the four men trapped in that house.

An OK 40's movie, but it does have some slight problems with logic in the script. The army doesn't know which of the four men survived, yet the families he visits all seem to know that their husband/father/son/brother has been killed; The army told them.

An interesting World War II psychological drama casting Richard Arlen, star of the silent epic, WINGS, as a soldier who survived a bombing in which three others, who were burned beyond recognition but who possessed similar physical descriptions, perished. Hospitalized, and suffering from amnesia as a result, he adopts the name of "Johnny March," goes AWOL, and sets out to visit the locales where service records indicated the four victims lived in hopes of establishing his identity. Especially poignant are his scenes with Bobby Driscoll, the talented child star, in one of his early roles. When "March" shows up at his doorstep, the boy believes him to be his father, who is missing in action. I give this film a rating of three out of a possible five stars.

Postwar drama about a soldier with amnesia trying to figure out who he is by visiting the families of four different soldiers. It's enjoyable enough, pleasant even despite the heavy themes of war and death. It moves along at a leisurely pace and most of the people in it talk in low tones. The cast is good and the script about as well as could be expected for a low budget B picture of its kind. Give it a look if you've got nothing better to do.

A man who gave all and lost everything :when you return from WW2 and you suffer from amnesia ,what does life lay in store for you?

There are four possible identities, thus the movie is roughly divided into four parts; the film does not pass over in silence the sufferings the amnesiac soldier leaves in his wake: the scene in the restaurant where friends seem to recognize Sally 's husband , the little boy (young Bobby Driscoll ,a child actor who was also featured in the excellent 'the Sullivans") who needs a father so bad ....the fourth part restores balance:The soldier ,who delivers a superb speech , comes to the rescue of the old couple about to sell their house because dad cannot stand the place where his dead son used to live (a deeply moving performance by Sarah Padden as the mother who would like to keep memories of this house so much).

In my book ,the third part in Chicago is less gripping and there's a slight sag in the tension and emotion in "Johnny March's" search ; but by the segment in the Anderson 's house, it's back for good. And the denouement is not what one expects : besides ,considering Johnny's childhood, it's thoroughly plausible.

The following year ,Joseph Mankiewicz would do "somewhere in the night" with an amnesiac in search of his past ;the budget was bigger ,but it was a film noir whereas "identity unknown" is a simple drama.

Let's give it a generous C plus since it does a good job, on about a tenth of the budget of "Best Years", of channeling the sadness of returning vets. But the writing, acting, and cinematography are all fairly poor and the whole thing has the feel of one of those inspirational sixteen reelers you'd watch in the Sunday School basement on Saturday afternoon following last week's sixteen reeler on the dangers of demon rum with a promo by the assistant pastor for next week's filmed warning on the evils of promiscuity. Still, Richard Arlen has moments of quiet power and Cheryl Walker's cloying saintliness cannot quite hide how hot her bod is.

Richard Arlen was one of those guys you never hear about, but always found great drama to be in, whether by agent or by his own choosing.

The story here is about an amnesiac soldier found in a farmhouse with three dead bodies. For dog tags are found. The bodies are burned, and no one from their unit is available for identification.

Our main character finds himself on a hospital ship and back in the states, and is given the names and addresses of the four men in hopes it will jar his memory. He is frustrated by his Amnesia so much that he runs out and visits each address on his own in order to find out his identity.

Arlen is great in such roles. The plot itself is full of some contrivances and holes, but the characters are multi dimensional and very credible, which makes for the best films, credible characters in incredible circumstances.

The low key atmosphere works great to help sustain our interest, because this is a mystery above all else, and we have a sneaking suspicion how it will turn out, but not the exact outcome.

Everything is done beautifully, and this works like a charm because you truly care about not only our unidentified soldier, but also about all the characters. A directorial achievement. A hidden gem.

The story begins with doctors informing a guy (Richard Arlen) that he'd been injured during the war and that they have no idea WHO he is, as his dog tag got lost. To make it worse, he has no idea who he is as well! So, he decides to jump off his train and investigate whether he's any of four men who were in the same building where he was found...and was the sole survivor. What happens next is a bit like an episode of "The Fugitive" and often this nameless man ends up helping those he meets.

This film often makes little sense but is enjoyable. A few of the illogical things include his jumping from the train (and thus going AWOL) as well as how people react to him. In particular, he meets one woman and although they barely know each other, by the end, they appear ready to get married! Logical, no....but also inoffensive and a decent time-passer.

I enjoyed this film quite a bit. There were really some poignant moments as a GI suffering from amnesia goes AWOL to figure out who he is. He has a list with four names on it and it appears that he is actually one of the names on that list. As he visits several homes traumatized by war it soon becomes apparent that the odyssey isn't just about him but about everyone suffering from the deaths of their loved ones in the military.

Richard Arlen isn't the greatest actor ever but his downbeat style works almost perfectly here. He plays a really decent man who is confused and a bit dazed. Some of the incidents could have used a tiny bit more craft to fulfill their potential. The part where a young boy thinks his dead father has come home could have been real dramatic dynamite. That sequence is realized OK but not great here. Otherwise, this is a good film that held my interest all the way. The ending was a tad anti-climatic but not terrible. Good little film here about the sometimes hidden devastation of war and the healing that hopefully occurs later.

Recently a funeral procession passed my house. It was for a young man killed in Afghanistan. He had a young child that I don't believe he ever saw. It was a very solemn moment.

An odd amnesia story: in France, a barn is bombed containing four American soldiers. Only one survives but without a memory. In order to reconnect with his earlier life and identity, he decides to visit the closest of kin to all these four casualties, hoping that he might be recognised somewhere. He ticks them off one by one and finally reaches the conclusion that he was none of them. Here is the mystery.

But in each of the four places he visits he unconsciously performs some miracle, saving the parents of one of the four soldiers from selling their home, forming an intimate relationship with the son of one of the others, saving the position and future of the brother of one of the others, and consoling the widow of the fourth. But there is more to it than that.

Like most amnesia stories, it's a fascinating mental journey of discovery into the unknown, and like so often in such cases the final rise of the curtain is a stage-opening to an astounding surprise. The conclusion is as welcome as it is totally unexpected.

(Flash Review)

Just like The Bourne Identity, the story kicks off with a man with a case of amnesia. After that 'click bait' that is where any likeness ends. A WWII soldier returns and with his amnesia can't remember where his dog tags were lost and has no idea who he or his family is. He had been with four other men who all died and as he returns home he visits each address to see if a visit can jog his memory of who he is. One is the lonely single wife and another is a young boy who actually thinks this man is his father. Will any of these visits reveal his Identity or will he be forced to define a new life for himself? A overall, this is a simple low budget movie, with suspect actors, for audiences a few years away from the war.

Charming movie. A panorama of the post war idyllic America; a time brimming with hopes for permanent peace and feelings of community and national brotherhood. Never mind such a country never existed: it was real for all common Americans involved, and it was magic. The amnesia of the main character seems to be an excuse to depict common decent human beings. As I said, it was the magical America of Norman Rockwell's illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post.

To change the tone: also to be mentioned are the stunningly beautiful ladies selected for this movie. And Richard Arlen plays his role very convincingly.

And the plot is very entertaining.

This film, ostensibly about a US soldier returning from World War Two with amnesia searching for his former identity, is actually about the effects of losing a loved one in the war. It surprisingly touching and has a low-key naturalness uncommon in low-budget Republic Pictures productions, probably thanks to screenwriter Richard Weil, as the rest of the production crew have few noteworthy accomplishments.

Richard Arlen, who in real life served in World War One, is thus about one war too old for the lead character and turns in his usual stiff performance, here suitable for one suffering from memory loss. The underlying gimmick is that he's told that could be any of four missing GIs. Yes, this could have been resolved by sending his photo to the four families involved, but the script manages to make his mission somewhat plausible. His traveling around the country for a week with nothing but his uniform, which remains clean and neatly pressed just as he stays well-groomed and clean-shaven, is less plausible but typical of Hollywood movies of all eras.

He encounters, respectively, the wife, the son, the brother, and the parents of the four men, each episode containing a small drama in itself related directly or indirectly to the missing soldier's absence. Some twists and turns along the way. No need to spoil them.

There have been lavishly produced better-known films about the war's effects on the home front and returning soldiers, yet somehow I felt this forgotten film better captures the bittersweet feeling of victory mingled with loss.

Best performance is by Bobby Driscoll, just beginning his career as a child star that was to end in tragedy. More surprising is that of Cheryl Walker, now almost unknown, as a soldier's widow. Walker was a SoCal beauty queen who had a brief film career before becoming something of a Bircher in later life. This may not suggest a major talent but her performance here is moving and sympathetic. Somehow she never got beyond B movies and stand-in work.

I'm not a big fan of movies relating to war, but this one struck a chord with me. Its naturalistic portrayal of ordinary people was more common in European movies at that time.

The part of the brother of one of the missing is played by one John Forrest. Watching it one would assume he was a well-known character actor yet he appeared in only ten other films, all in uncredited bit parts. I mention this because everyone involved seemed to performing over their heads. Nice score by another non-household word, Jay Chernis. Just one of those times when everything clicks.