Warners early-talkie social consciousness at its most vocal, this William Wellman programmer is uncommonly cynical and negative; it doesn't send you out happy, and I can't imagine it was a hit in the depths of the Depression. It's the saga of an unsung hero, underplayed sympathetically by Richard Barthelmess, who suffers enough bad luck to fill at least two more movies. A hero in war, he lets an unscrupulous friend take credit for his deeds, then becomes addicted to morphine when it's used to treat his war wounds. He goes through detox rather easily and quickly, the first of several credibility-challenging developments. Others include his drawing a five-year prison sentence for leading a riot, when it would be clear to any observer he's innocent; his wife dying in said riot (a surprisingly graphic sequence); being suspected of being a red and chased out of Chicago; and running into his old Army buddy in a Hooverville. There's some pro-FDR proselytizing and some persuasive looks at soup kitchens, job-displacing industrialization, and mob violence. And through it all there's Aline MacMahon, one of the best actresses Warners ever had, making much of a not-that-interesting best-friend part. I don't buy all the relentlessly negative plot twists, but it's a powerful film, and it sticks to the bones.
Review of Heroes for Sale
