{"id":586,"date":"2010-10-17T13:11:08","date_gmt":"2010-10-17T17:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=586"},"modified":"2023-06-30T11:11:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T15:11:10","slug":"dvd-desperate-journey-1942","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=586","title":{"rendered":"DVD: Desperate Journey (1942)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Return to:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> \/\u00a0D<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Film: Very Good\/ DVD Transfer: Very Good\/ DVD Extras: Very Good<\/p>\n

Label\/Studio: Warner Home Video \/ Catalogue: 30000-29755 \/ Region: 1 (NTSC) \/<\/p>\n

Released: August 3, 2010<\/p>\n

Synopsis: After their bomber’s crash landing, a troupe of allied soldiers trek through Germany to blow up their missed target.<\/p>\n

Special Features: Warner Night at the Movies: “Born for Trouble” (1942) trailer + Newsreel + \u201cBorrah Minevitch and His Harmonica School\u201d (1942) and “All Star Melody Masters” (1943)” musical shorts + 1942 cartoon: “The Dover Boys at Pimento University” (32:25) \/ 1941 Propaganda short \u201cThe Tanks are Coming\u201d (20:04) \/ Theatrical trailerler<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

Desperate Journey<\/strong> was among a series of kinetic anti-Nazi actioners produced by Warner Bros. that attempted to Hitler\u2019s regime by portraying acts of heroism, honor, tolerance, democratic ingenuity, and anti-fascist wise-cracks, and the film remains weirdly entertaining today.<\/p>\n

Journey<\/strong> is pure propaganda \u2013 democratic cooperation\u00a0Good<\/em>, fascist Nazism\u00a0Bad<\/em> \u2013 but this particular entry feels familiar because the concept of dropping present-day archetypes into a period conflict with goofball antics is totally contemporary.<\/p>\n

The multi-nation crew packed into a Britsh bomber include Aussie Terry Forbes (Errol Fynn),kick-ass Yankee Johnny Hammond (a wiry and breezily fun Ronald Reagan), Yankee sidekick Kirk Edwards (Alan Hale), bookish Canadian Jed Forrest (a ridiculously wiry and youthful Arthur Kennedy), and green-earned Lloyd Hollis (Ronald Sinclair), wanting desperately to follow his father\u2019s high-kill rate of Germans, and maintain the family\u2019s military honor.<\/p>\n

Flynn leads his troupe through Germany\u2019s hinterland after their bomber crashes, and he muscles everyone to finish the job of destroying their second target before the group flees Kraulandt or dies in blaze of bullet-riddled glory. Reagan functions as the bosom buddy who only follows orders if Flynn\u2019s not about to sacrifice himself and leave the troupe leaderless; and Hale is the benevolent muscle who cracks skulls with earthy wit, and gets to speak the funniest lines in the picture.<\/p>\n

Two comedic highlights include a sequence where the group awaits security details under a bridge and Hale hopes the next stormtrooper\u2019s uniform will fit his form comfortably; and the group riding in Hermann Goring\u2019s private train car, flicking cigarettes at the fat man\u2019s portrait, and verbally pissing on Nazi honor. That latter scene is illustrative of the film\u2019s smooth balance of propaganda and the ridiculous, which undoubtedly inspired Steven Spielberg\u2019s\u00a0Indian Jones and the Last Crusade <\/strong>(1989), where Indy is caught in a Nazi rally and has to work his way around fascist caricatures (including Uncle Adolph).<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Journey<\/strong>, Raymond Massey devours the scenery as Major Otto Baumeister, a monocled, anti-American pig whose frustration in constantly being outwitted by the democratic insurgents rises like a brassy musical crescendo. Massey is very careful, though, in making sure his performance isn\u2019t total caricature; while he spouts reams of German invective, he\u2019s still perceived as a dangerous threat.<\/p>\n

(It\u2019s also unique that the filmmakers have virtually all German characters speaking in German. Most of the actors are American and manage to phonetically express recognizable German, but those curious of what Warner Bros. felt wasn\u2019t necessary to subtitle can read English translations in the DVD\u2019s subtitle track \u2013 a nice bonus, particularly for the scene where a real German actor berates the camouflaged insurgents and kicks them out of Goring\u2019s car for getting so\u00a0gem\u00fctlich<\/em>with monogrammed\u00a0Nazi-partei<\/em> booze and cigars.)<\/p>\n

The pro-democratic\/anti-totalitarian politics are dated, but they\u2019re treated with such irreverence that\u00a0Journey<\/strong> feels like a slick pulp novel, whose real focus is on adventure instead of being another voice against fascism. Raoul Walsh\u2019s direction is unbelievably slick and zippy, so there\u2019s no time for characters to stop and give audiences a stilted speech because fists have to keep swinging, guns need to be fired, and a big refinery of something needs to be blown up good.<\/p>\n

The most amusing character is the Canadian, because he\u2019s the group\u2019s Voice of Reason. Whether he\u2019s there to keep the troupe politically diverse or support the British and Canadian forces in a post-Dunkirk climate, Jed always does the smart thing; he\u2019s a bookkeeper by trade, so he\u2019s naturally pragmatic and petty. For example: whatever secrets the group discovers, he replicates details on paper to ensure anyone who survives this \u2018desperate journey\u2019 will carry the goods back to Allied forces.<\/p>\n

When the British soldiers are killed early in the film, the Canuck also becomes the figurative rep of the British Empire, working for the colonial commonwealth in addition to Canada. He\u2019s the moderator, and he\u2019s Flynn\u2019s antithesis – always challenging the Yankee knee-jerk reaction to crack skulls, except when the group needs some deserved payback after losing men along the way.<\/p>\n

The allied troupe eventually reach a safe house, and are aided by a pretty German resistance fighter, Kaethe (Nancy Coleman) whose role in the drama isn\u2019t just to save the group from the Nazis, but show the world Not All Germans Are Evil \u2013 a stark contrast to the outright vilification of Japanese in related propaganda vehicles.<\/p>\n

Warner Bros., as a studio, leapt onto the propaganda stage with\u00a0Confessions of a Nazi Spy<\/strong> in 1939, a film that reflected the studio\u2019s disgust at the fascist regime as well as its long-standing tradition of dramatizing and incorporating real-time news events to keep their films hot and topical.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an overt reference to concentration camps that clearly implies people who get shipped there never come back. Weirdly, Jews as an ethnic group aren\u2019t mentioned, and that causes one to conjecture whether the studio wanted to infer the camps as a threat to all faiths and political beliefs, or the omission of any reference to Jews was part of Hollywood\u2019s odd little quirk that Jews aren\u2019t really a part of the global culture; they\u2019re just there, among us, but they\u2019re okay folks. (It\u2019s a weak stance that probably helped fuel screenwriter Ben Hecht\u2019s rage in magazine and newspaper articles, and performance works such as\u00a0We Will Never Die<\/a><\/strong>, a year later, in 1943.)<\/p>\n

The production values in\u00a0Journey<\/strong> are above-average for a topical quickie, with Walsh\u2019s deft handling of action scenes limiting the exposure of obvious indoor sets and models of planes, trains, and blown up targets. (The bombing run, as well as the plane\u2019s eventual crash, however, are brilliantly choreographed, and serve as a perfect example of WB\u2019s in-house, modernistic action style.)<\/p>\n

Max Steiner\u2019s score follows the same route of\u00a0Casablanca<\/strong> (also made in 1942), stitching together national anthems, but with an emphasis on the British anthem (but\u00a0not<\/em> the Canadian) to keep reminding audiences of the British losses in the bomber\u2019s crash, and the need to destroy the second target as being particularly vital to Britain\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n

Warner Home Video\u2019s extras include a theatrical trailer, and the military propaganda \/ training film \u201cThe Tanks are Coming\u201d (previously archived on the first release of\u00a0Objective, Burma!<\/strong>), filmed in blazing Technicolor in 1941.<\/p>\n

Made for Department of Defense, “The Tanks Are Coming” is a gorgeous 1941 Technicolor featurette, starring\u00a0Objective<\/strong> co-star George Tobias as a do-good New York City cab driver who volunteers and enters training for tank driving. The humour is broad, the enemy insults overt, but the training film also offers a fascinating glimpse at basic training for tank drivers, and a sample of America’s mobilization of industries for war production. (Watch for Gig Young as the geeky radio operator after the Declaration of Independence material at the beginning.)<\/p>\n

The Warner Night at the Movies programme also offers up a trailer for 1942\u2019s\u00a0Born for Trouble<\/strong>(originally named\u00a0Murder in the Big House<\/strong>), a newsreel covering the Nazi losses on the wintry Russian front, the surreal musical short \u201cBorrah Minevitch and His Harmonica School\u201d (1942), with Jean Negulesco (Boy on a Dolphin<\/strong>) directing a lot of caffeinated harmonica players, a fat guy smacking a midget, and the latter big guy singing a love song while three players stride back and forth popping ping pong balls from their mouths.<\/p>\n

Like Negulesco\u2019s short \u201cAll Star melody Masters\u201d (archived on\u00a0Northern Pursuit<\/strong>), the short was an exercise for composition, deep focus photography, and weird homespun humour, as well as a showcase for the smallest and the biggest double-decker, freight-sized harmonicas ever seen. Also included in the programme is Negulesco\u2019s \u201cThe United States Air Force Band\u201d (archived onEdge of Darkness<\/strong>), and the goofball cartoon \u201cThe Dover Boys at Pimento University,\u201d featuring the song \u201cOld PU,\u201d and the immortal quote by the short\u2019s villain: \u201cA runabout. [yelling] I\u2019LL STEAL IT!\u00a0 NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Errol Flynn would appear in a wave of further WWII actioners, as did Reagan and Massey. Massey would co-star with Helmut Dantine in\u00a0Hotel Berlin<\/strong>, (1945), whereas Dantine and Flynn would appear in the propagandistic\u00a0Edge of Darkness<\/strong> and\u00a0Northern Pursuit<\/strong> (both 1943).<\/p>\n

This was Kennedy\u2019s second film with Flynn after the Civil War actioner\u00a0They Died with Their Boots On<\/strong> (1941), also directed by Walsh. Reagan and Flynn also co-starred in western\u00a0Santa Fe Trail<\/strong> (1940). Nancy Coleman would also appear in\u00a0Edge of Darkness<\/strong> a year later.<\/p>\n

This title is part of Warner Home Video\u2019s TCM Spotlight: Errol Flynn Adventures box, which includes\u00a0Desperate Journey<\/strong> (1942),\u00a0Edge of Darkness<\/a><\/strong> (1943),\u00a0Northern Pursuit<\/a><\/strong> (1943),\u00a0Uncertain Glory<\/a><\/strong>(1944), and\u00a0Objective, Burma!<\/a><\/strong> (1945).<\/p>\n

Flynn\u2019s pre-WWII adventure film,\u00a0Dive Bomber<\/a><\/strong> (1941), is available separately or as part of The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 2, which includes\u00a0The Charge of the Light Brigade<\/strong> (1936),The Dawn Patrol<\/strong> (1938),\u00a0Dive Bomber<\/strong> (1941),\u00a0Gentleman Jim<\/strong> (1942), and\u00a0The Adventures of Don Juan<\/strong> (1948).<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2010 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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Related external links (MAIN SITE):<\/em><\/p>\n

DVD \/ Film: \u00a0Boy on a Dolphin<\/a><\/strong> (1957) — \u00a0Casablanca <\/a><\/strong>(1943) — They Died with Their Boots On<\/a><\/strong> (1941)<\/p>\n

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External References<\/em>:<\/p>\n

IMDB<\/a> —\u00a0Composer Filmography<\/a><\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/ Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> \/ D<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews \/\u00a0D . Film: Very Good\/ DVD Transfer: Very Good\/ DVD Extras: Very Good Label\/Studio: Warner Home Video \/ Catalogue: 30000-29755 \/ Region: 1 (NTSC) \/ Released: August 3, 2010 Synopsis: After their bomber’s crash landing, a troupe of allied soldiers trek through Germany to blow up their missed target. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[24,92,25],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-9s","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=586"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20740,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586\/revisions\/20740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}