If you are going my way, you better be proud to be an American, a Democrat, a Republican, heck, even a Whig! But no commies allowed, not in Leo McCarey's world of the pro-Americana, anti-Red universe. So for all-American mom and pop (Helen Hayes and Dean Jagger) to go through the horrific discovery that one of their sons (Robert Walker) may indeed be a communist spy (not just a sympathizer) is a bit too much and turns their perfect world (which includes two athletic sons, now off fighting in Korea, and one intellect, now working in Washington D.C.) upside down.
You know you are in Leo McCarey territory when you see Frank McHugh as the Catholic priest greeting Jagger and Hayes and the two athletic sons, inquiring where the missing Walker is. He's too busy to be attending the final family dinner before the two athletes (Richard Jaeckel and James Young) head off to war. His absence means pain for his devoted mother who smiles through her tears, but this doesn't hide the fact that he's her favorite. He wasn't a jock like the others, but more sensitive, intelligent and curious, and thus, the weakling of the family who got mom's attention over the others. When he does finally appear, she dotes on him as if he was the second coming of Jesus, but his father realizes that something has changed, and not for the better.
Before long, Walker and Jagger are arguing over a speech that Jagger made for his lodge, one which promotes an old ideal of American values that Walker finds dated. He agrees to edit Jagger's speech which ends up with the crossing out of key points Jagger had wanted to make and gives Jagger even more suspicions that his son has crossed over into the dark side. Hayes does not want to even consider the possibility that her son has become a traitor, but the sudden meeting of Van Heflin through a car accident opens up a can of worms when it is revealed that he is a government agent investigating Walker. Long conversations between Heflin and Hayes (some 18 years before their one crucial scene in "Airport") open up Hayes' eyes to the possibilities, and a sudden trip to Washington D.C. for an impromptu visit with Walker opens her eyes to the horrific truths she has been denying.
While all the performances are outstanding, the melodramatic script at some points gives a convoluted view of the main plot line, and at times, Hayes becomes so excessively melodramatic that it appears that the actress, in addition to the character, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She seems to be a modern day version of Amanda Wingfield, the grasping mother of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie". Jagger's low-key performance occasionally erupts into a tense disgust, and it is obvious that while Walker may be Hayes' favorite, he prefers the two heroic soldiers that once were two heroic athletes. It's obvious that there has always been a tension between Jagger and Walker's characters, and that Hayes often had to step into the middle. Heflin is very subtle in his performance as the ultimately concerned agent who is equally as determined to protect Hayes as he is to complete his mission. The confrontation between Hayes, Heflin and Walker in the film's key turning point scene is truly intense as Walker gives the impression that he could have his own mother committed for believing such "lies" about his real profession.
The really great performance comes from Walker, so nice and All-American as soldiers in "Since You Went Away" and "The Clock" (as well as the two "Sergeant Hargrove" films), but so dastardly as the "let's swap murders" antagonist of "Strangers on a Train". He continues the dastardly streak here, never loosing his cool even when he misplaces a very important key, yet determined to complete his mission without interference even by his own parents. As Walker suddenly died during the making of this, some shots of him from "Strangers From a Train" were used, particularly one of him in a phone booth where the audio is strangely muffled out. It is ironic considering that both of these films were made by different studios.
The very dramatic conclusion is eye-raising to be sure. Walker creates a speech after a sudden change of heart, and his message seems to come straight out of all those "so patriotic that butter wouldn't melt in your mouth" propaganda films of World War II. What worked in 1943 doesn't quite work in 1952, with the world in turmoil and everybody suspected of being a "red" in one of the greatest "witch hunts" since the days of Salem Massachussats. While McCarey and his writing staff certainly seem to mean well, this comes off as a bit too much, even if it is a step above "Big Jim McClain" and "The Red Menace" which really took anti-Communist propaganda way too far. Had this been written with less anger towards the Walker character and given his background some more perspective, it would have been a more well-rounded film rather than the artistic flop it turned out to be.
You know you are in Leo McCarey territory when you see Frank McHugh as the Catholic priest greeting Jagger and Hayes and the two athletic sons, inquiring where the missing Walker is. He's too busy to be attending the final family dinner before the two athletes (Richard Jaeckel and James Young) head off to war. His absence means pain for his devoted mother who smiles through her tears, but this doesn't hide the fact that he's her favorite. He wasn't a jock like the others, but more sensitive, intelligent and curious, and thus, the weakling of the family who got mom's attention over the others. When he does finally appear, she dotes on him as if he was the second coming of Jesus, but his father realizes that something has changed, and not for the better.
Before long, Walker and Jagger are arguing over a speech that Jagger made for his lodge, one which promotes an old ideal of American values that Walker finds dated. He agrees to edit Jagger's speech which ends up with the crossing out of key points Jagger had wanted to make and gives Jagger even more suspicions that his son has crossed over into the dark side. Hayes does not want to even consider the possibility that her son has become a traitor, but the sudden meeting of Van Heflin through a car accident opens up a can of worms when it is revealed that he is a government agent investigating Walker. Long conversations between Heflin and Hayes (some 18 years before their one crucial scene in "Airport") open up Hayes' eyes to the possibilities, and a sudden trip to Washington D.C. for an impromptu visit with Walker opens her eyes to the horrific truths she has been denying.
While all the performances are outstanding, the melodramatic script at some points gives a convoluted view of the main plot line, and at times, Hayes becomes so excessively melodramatic that it appears that the actress, in addition to the character, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She seems to be a modern day version of Amanda Wingfield, the grasping mother of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie". Jagger's low-key performance occasionally erupts into a tense disgust, and it is obvious that while Walker may be Hayes' favorite, he prefers the two heroic soldiers that once were two heroic athletes. It's obvious that there has always been a tension between Jagger and Walker's characters, and that Hayes often had to step into the middle. Heflin is very subtle in his performance as the ultimately concerned agent who is equally as determined to protect Hayes as he is to complete his mission. The confrontation between Hayes, Heflin and Walker in the film's key turning point scene is truly intense as Walker gives the impression that he could have his own mother committed for believing such "lies" about his real profession.
The really great performance comes from Walker, so nice and All-American as soldiers in "Since You Went Away" and "The Clock" (as well as the two "Sergeant Hargrove" films), but so dastardly as the "let's swap murders" antagonist of "Strangers on a Train". He continues the dastardly streak here, never loosing his cool even when he misplaces a very important key, yet determined to complete his mission without interference even by his own parents. As Walker suddenly died during the making of this, some shots of him from "Strangers From a Train" were used, particularly one of him in a phone booth where the audio is strangely muffled out. It is ironic considering that both of these films were made by different studios.
The very dramatic conclusion is eye-raising to be sure. Walker creates a speech after a sudden change of heart, and his message seems to come straight out of all those "so patriotic that butter wouldn't melt in your mouth" propaganda films of World War II. What worked in 1943 doesn't quite work in 1952, with the world in turmoil and everybody suspected of being a "red" in one of the greatest "witch hunts" since the days of Salem Massachussats. While McCarey and his writing staff certainly seem to mean well, this comes off as a bit too much, even if it is a step above "Big Jim McClain" and "The Red Menace" which really took anti-Communist propaganda way too far. Had this been written with less anger towards the Walker character and given his background some more perspective, it would have been a more well-rounded film rather than the artistic flop it turned out to be.