{"id":41126,"date":"2018-10-12T09:12:44","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T16:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41126"},"modified":"2021-07-27T14:06:32","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T21:06:32","slug":"home-of-the-brave-1949","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41126","title":{"rendered":"Home of the Brave (1949)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You either like a guy or you don&#8217;t. That&#8217;s all there is to it; that&#8217;s all there&#8217;ll ever be to it.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-41128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nDuring World War II, a paralyzed war veteran (James Edwards) tells an army psychiatrist (Jeff Corey) about his experiences as the only black man in an otherwise all-white platoon &#8212; led by a young major (Douglas Dick) &#8212; tasked with reconnaissance work on a Pacific island held by the Japanese. While his former high school buddy (Lloyd Bridges) is genuinely thrilled to see him again, a bigot (Steve Brodie) is open in his disdain, and a troubled sergeant (Frank Lovejoy) observes their conflicts with concern.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>African-Americans<\/li>\n<li>Flashback Films<\/li>\n<li>Lloyd Bridges Films<\/li>\n<li>Mark Robson Films<\/li>\n<li>Mental Breakdown<\/li>\n<li>Racism<\/li>\n<li>Soldiers<\/li>\n<li>World War II<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nBased on a play by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Arthur_Laurents\">Arthur Laurents<\/a> (in which the protagonist is Jewish), <em>Home of the Brave<\/em> is a refreshingly bold if dated and still-troubling depiction of racism in mid-century America. The flashback narrative structure reflects simplistic notions that psychoanalysis can cure enormous ills: if only Edwards can remember exactly what happened the night his legs stopped working, he will surely be well. Setting this dramatically dubious convention aside, Edwards&#8217; challenges come across as all too realistic, aptly demonstrating the insidiousness of what it&#8217;s like to endure chronic racism, both blunt and subtle, on a daily basis. The main problem with Edwards&#8217; travails is that they are presented as simply Edwards&#8217; own deeply internalized <em>belief<\/em> in what he&#8217;s been told for years &#8212; that he&#8217;s inherently lesser than whites on every level. Bridges tries to convince Edwards to move past this toxic brainwashing, but slips up himself at one point, almost using a derogatory term and demonstrating that racist sentiments really are just a tongue slip away. As noted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/78257\/home-of-the-brave#articles-reviews?articleId=133215\">Donald Bogle&#8217;s <em>Blacks in American Films and Television: An Illustrated Encyclopedia<\/em> (1989)<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230; there is a tinge of patronage because it is the white man offering his hand to the black man. Yet there is still something decent about the film&#8217;s sincerity and its optimism.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Indeed, <em>Home of the Brave<\/em> is a rare attempt to face uncomfortable race relations head on, and is worth a look for its unusual and unflinching storyline. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> It&#8217;s telling that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1949\/05\/13\/archives\/home-of-the-brave-at-victoria-and-the-stratton-story-at-music-hall.html\">NY Times referred<\/a> to racism as &#8220;the urgent and delicate subject of anti-Negro prejudice&#8221;; this was about the level of engagement possible at the time in mainstream media.   <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>James Edwards as Moss<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Edwards.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Edwards-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-41131\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Edwards-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Edwards-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Edwards-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Edwards-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Edwards.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lloyd Bridges as Finch<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Bridges.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Bridges-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-41129\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Bridges-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Bridges-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Bridges-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Bridges-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Bridges.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Robert de Grasse&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Cinematography.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Cinematography-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-41130\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Cinematography-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Cinematography-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Cinematography-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Cinematography-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Home-of-the-Brave-Cinematography.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its historical value. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1784#historical\">Historically Relevant<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0041481\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/78257\/home-of-the-brave#articles-reviews?articleId=1008051\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/criterioncast.com\/reviews\/blu-ray-reviews\/sean-reviews-mark-robsons-home-of-the-brave-blu-ray-review\">Criterion Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s4498brav.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1949\/05\/13\/archives\/home-of-the-brave-at-victoria-and-the-stratton-story-at-music-hall.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You either like a guy or you don&#8217;t. That&#8217;s all there is to it; that&#8217;s all there&#8217;ll ever be to it.&#8221; Synopsis: During World War II, a paralyzed war veteran (James Edwards) tells an army psychiatrist (Jeff Corey) about his experiences as the only black man in an otherwise all-white platoon &#8212; led by a young major (Douglas Dick) &#8212; tasked with reconnaissance work on a Pacific island held by the Japanese. While his former high school buddy (Lloyd Bridges)&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=41126\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41126"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74503,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41126\/revisions\/74503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}