{"id":601,"date":"2010-10-18T21:22:48","date_gmt":"2010-10-19T01:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=601"},"modified":"2011-01-02T12:48:03","modified_gmt":"2011-01-02T17:48:03","slug":"dvd-uncertain-glory-1944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=601","title":{"rendered":"DVD Review: Uncertain Glory (1944)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> \/\u00a0T to U<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/a><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Film: Excellent\/ 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 being caught again by his old nemesis, a crimminal must decide whether it’s more noble to die under the blade of the guillotine, or sacrifice himself to the Nazis and free 100 French hostages.<\/p>\n

Special Features:<\/p>\n

Warner Night at the Movies: “The Mask of Dimitrios” (1944) trailer + Newsreel + “The United States Coast Guard Band” (1944) musical short + 2 1944 wartime cartoons: “Brother Brat” + “Russian Rhapsody” (28:40) \/ Theatrical trailer<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

The most atypical of Flynn\u2019s WWII propaganda films, Uncertain Gory<\/strong> begins as a crime thriller about a crook who miraculously escapes the guillotine and seeks aide from a partner in crime, morphs into the latter half of Les Miserables<\/strong> where a an escaped convict is hunted down by a ruthless detective, and concludes with the last act of Charles Dickens\u2019 A Tale of Two Cities<\/strong> wherein a rogue considers a noble act of redemption by offering to exchange his life to save many innocents from execution.<\/p>\n

Amazingly, this hodge-podge works because screenwriters Laszlo Vadnay and Max Brand (based on a story by Vadnay and Teutonic pariah Joe May) never sway attention from the uneasy relationship between rogue Jean Picard\/Emil DuPont (Flynn) and Inspector Marcel Bonet (Paul Lukas, fresh from his 1943 Oscar win for the propaganda film Watch on the Rhine<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

Picard flees Paris and heads for a small town, only to be snatched by Bonet, one of France\u2019s top cops \u2013 a man so familiar with Picard\u2019s antics that he manages to out-guess his maneuvers to escape the law in a small town. The story takes a fascinating turn when 100 local men are poised to be executed for blowing up a bridge necessary for Nazi activities unless the French resistance saboteur turns himself in. Picard makes a bargain Bonet simply can\u2019t dismiss: Picard will offer himself up to save the 100, and enjoy a few days of freedom, as well as dying by firing squad instead of the nasty guillotine.<\/p>\n

Picard has 3 days to learn enough details in order to convince the Nazis he\u2019s their wanted man, and the screenwriters throw in some clever plot twists that constantly challenge Bonet\u2019s wayward sensibilities. We\u2019re never quite sure whether he\u2019ll follow through, as it\u2019s clear he\u2019s constantly looking for an opportunity to escape \u2013 a desire that intensifies when he falls for a pretty local girl whose brother is part of the doomed 100.<\/p>\n

Uncertain Glory is primarily about the battling wits and moral choices made by two sworn enemies, and their need to maintain a lie for their own safety when things become increasingly hairy. Whether it\u2019s due to Lukas\u2019 superb performance, Raoul Walsh\u2019s taut direction, or a script that embraces Flynn\u2019s inner rogue, Flynn gives a solid performance that\u2019s convincing, charming, and sympathetic \u2013 the polar opposite of the more serious role he walked through in Edge of Darkness<\/strong> a year earlier.<\/p>\n

Brand and Vadnay\u2019s dialogue sparkles with wit and economy, and the propagandistic elements are more subtextural; aside from France being occupied by Nazis, the story could be transposed to any country and time period, and we\u2019re spared heavy-handed speeches about glory and obligations. (Even the local priest isn\u2019t an intrusive moral force, making the character a no-nonsense realist instead of a filmic clich\u00e9.)<\/p>\n

Picard in many ways is an ordinary man, because he\u2019s constantly weighing his options, and struggling with increasingly selfless decisions that weren\u2019t part of his DNA prior to his bargain with Bonet. Picard\u2019s flirting with women is in tune with his disregard for social mores, and the most offensive characters aren\u2019t the Nazis, but a group of townsfolk who decide to handpick a lamb to save the 100. The girl Picard tries to woo \u2013 Marianne (Jean Sullivan) \u2013 can never have him because the life of her brother complicates things, and in order for Picard and Marianne to live happily, the brother must die.<\/p>\n

While the film\u2019s finale isn\u2019t a shock, it\u2019s handled without melodrama, and Lukas\u2019s simple end credit utterance is more affective than any of the wordy paragraphs studios grafted at the end of their propaganda vehicles.<\/p>\n

Warner Home Video\u2019s DVD includes a theatrical trailer, and the popular Warner Night at the Movies programme, packing vintage shorts and cartoons to evoke the entertainment one would\u2019ve enjoyed alongside the main feature.<\/p>\n

The vintage newsreel covering the Russian front is also present on Edge of Darkness<\/strong>, and the \u201cUnited States Coast Guard Band\u201d musical short, with songs \u201cunder the direction of Lieutenant Rudy Vallee\u201d and a marching\/song program at the iconic Hollywood Bowl. Of the music montages, \u201cAnchors Away\u201d is the most amusing, with sound and footage of battleship salvos synchronized to the song\u2019s percussive finale. Other montages are a bit surreal, combining submarine footage with a related lyrics, and combat footage with singing troops and the live band back in Hollywood, inferring that war is heroic, jovial, collegial, and kinda fun.<\/p>\n

In addition to trailers for Uncertain Glory and Jean Negulesco\u2019s 1944 feature film debut, The Mask of Dimitrios<\/strong>, there\u2019s two of the funniest wartime cartoons every made. \u201cBrother Brat\u201d (1944) has Elmer Fudd doing babysitting for Rosie the Riveter. Fudd\u2019s efforts to control a monstrously disobedient child prove futile, and one wonders if the book Rosie left him \u2013 \u201cChild Psychology\u201d by Pistol P. Momma \u2013 were written by a twisted little pervert. When the kid dumps an anvil on Porky\u2019s little cranium, the author\u2019s next suggestion reads \u201cGive baby a cat and watch his little puss light up,\u201d so he does, and tells the brat \u201cHere Butch, play with this c-ca-ca\u2026 pussy\u2026 uh pet!\u201d The cartoon\u2019s highlight comes when Butch chases Porky around the house with a freakin\u2019 hatchet!<\/p>\n

The other work of pure genius is Bob Clampett\u2019s \u201cRussian Rhapsody\u201d (1944), where Adolph Hitler decides to fly a bomber to Moscow all by his little self because every other effort disappears or crashes. We soon learn that those Nazi bombers get devoured by \u2018Gremlins from the Kremlin\u2019 \u2013 bizarro caricatures of weird fantasy creatures (er, members of the Warner animation department) who saw off, tear, and spread \u201ctermiteskis\u201d that chew metal (followed by plenty of burps).<\/p>\n

Adolph\u2019s pre-flight speech to fellow Nazis is a tirade of words kinds sounding like \u201csauerbraten,\u201d \u201cZoot! Zoot,\u201d \u201chasenpfeffer,\u201d \u201cFriz Frieling,\u201d and \u201cDa Chattanooga Choo-Choo!\u2019 The entire in-flight assault on uncle Adolph is done to the tune of \u201cSong of the Volga Boatman\u201d (with smooth jazzy vibes), and a version of \u201cDark Eyes\u201d focuses on a gremlin who tries real hard to jump high enough so the tack on his head will poke Adolph square in the ass, and another who smashes dashboard dials with a giant mallet, pausing briefly to tell the audience \u201cI\u2019m only tree and a half years old!\u201d (For further details on the cartoon\u2019s in-jokes, click HERE<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

These cartoons are painfully funny, and it\u2019s about time they\u2019ve found a home on DVD, and within the context of propaganda features. A real treat.<\/p>\n

A year after Uncertain Glory<\/strong>, Flynn would reteam with director Walsh for his final WWII propaganda effort, Objective<\/strong>, Burma<\/strong>!<\/strong> whereas newcomer Jean Sullivan would make two more studio films \u2013 Roughly Speaking<\/strong> and Escape in the Desert<\/strong> (both 1945) before retiring from the movies until the cult shocker Squirm<\/strong> (1976).<\/p>\n

Paul Lukas\u2019 other wartime thrillers include the infamous Confessions of a Nazi Spy<\/strong> (1939) and Address Unknown<\/strong> (1944). The actor would also appear in the postwar unification thriller Berlin Express<\/strong> (1948) before concentrating on the stage and TV, with occasional film appearances.<\/p>\n

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

Flynn\u2019s pre-WWII adventure film, Dive Bomber<\/a><\/strong> (1941), is available separately or as part of The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 2, which includes The Charge of the Light Brigade<\/strong> (1936), The Dawn Patrol<\/strong> (1938), Dive Bomber<\/strong> (1941), Gentleman Jim<\/strong> (1942), and The 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: \u00a0Berlin Express<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>(1948)<\/p>\n

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

IMDB<\/a> <\/a>\u2014 Composer Filmography<\/a><\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews<\/a> \/ T to U<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/a><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Blu-ray, DVD, Film Reviews \/\u00a0T to U . Film: Excellent\/ 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 being caught again by his old nemesis, a crimminal must decide whether it’s more noble to die […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","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-9H","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601"}],"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=601"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2096,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601\/revisions\/2096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}