The Men (1950)
No doubt inspired by the fantastic and popular post-war drama The Best Years of Our Lives, there were a slew of films that explored various problems of veterans adjusting to civilian life. In The Men, helmed by Fred Zinnemann, a group of paraplegic veterans are the focus. A combination of real hospital patients and Hollywood actors were used, making the film that much more powerful. When we see the men crawling around on the floor and hoisting themselves up onto their wheelchairs, some of them aren’t acting.
There’s a very revealing scene, which, had it not been paying tribute to our soldiers, probably wouldn’t have made it past the censors. In it, the doctor in charge (Everett Sloane) talks with his patients’ wives to prepare them for the changes in their household. He discusses the sense of failure, bouts of depression, and loss of masculinity that his patients feel. They can’t “please a woman” anymore, and the wives need to be sensitive to that very delicate feeling of failure. Teresa Wright, an ex-fiancé of one of the patients, asks for extra help since the man she came to see won’t agree to see her. Which brings us to the best part of the movie (because we can all agree Dimitri Tiomkin’s incessant and irrelevant score is the worst): Marlon Brando.
It was extremely brave to make his film debut as a paraplegic veteran who can’t please a woman anymore. He might have been typecast as unmasculine, inept, or barred from being a leading man. Obviously, we all know that didn’t happen to him, but try to imagine the chance he took in taking the role. This is one of my favorite of his performances, because it’s so “anti-Brando” as we’ve come to know him. He’s emotional but closed off, ashamed and vulnerable. He’s not the type to explode with a loud shout or get in a fistfight. Can’t imagine him that way? Rent this forgotten drama.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Marlon Brando movies here!
More Teresa Wright movies here!
There’s a very revealing scene, which, had it not been paying tribute to our soldiers, probably wouldn’t have made it past the censors. In it, the doctor in charge (Everett Sloane) talks with his patients’ wives to prepare them for the changes in their household. He discusses the sense of failure, bouts of depression, and loss of masculinity that his patients feel. They can’t “please a woman” anymore, and the wives need to be sensitive to that very delicate feeling of failure. Teresa Wright, an ex-fiancé of one of the patients, asks for extra help since the man she came to see won’t agree to see her. Which brings us to the best part of the movie (because we can all agree Dimitri Tiomkin’s incessant and irrelevant score is the worst): Marlon Brando.
It was extremely brave to make his film debut as a paraplegic veteran who can’t please a woman anymore. He might have been typecast as unmasculine, inept, or barred from being a leading man. Obviously, we all know that didn’t happen to him, but try to imagine the chance he took in taking the role. This is one of my favorite of his performances, because it’s so “anti-Brando” as we’ve come to know him. He’s emotional but closed off, ashamed and vulnerable. He’s not the type to explode with a loud shout or get in a fistfight. Can’t imagine him that way? Rent this forgotten drama.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Juhi Thaker" for posting!
More Marlon Brando movies here!
More Teresa Wright movies here!
Hot Toasty Rag Awards:
Best Director of 1950: Fred Zinnemann
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Actor: Marlon Brando
Best Dramatic Screenplay
Hot Toasty Rag Awards:
Best Director of 1950: Fred Zinnemann
Hot Toasty Rag Nominations:
Best Actor: Marlon Brando
Best Dramatic Screenplay