Home of the Brave (1949)

 

   

           “Home of the Brave” is a movie that was based on a Broadway play written by Arthur Laurents. He was inspired by a photo of American soldiers in the Pacific in WWII. He wrote the play in nine nights. It was directed by Mark Robson (“The Bridges at Toko-Ri”). Carl Foreman wrote the screenplay. He later went on to write the screenplays for “Bridge on the River Kwai” and “The Guns of Navarone”. It turned out to be a good decision. Stanley Kramer produced. He was noted for his message movies like “Judgment at Nuremberg” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”  Kramer insisted he change the main character of the play from Jewish to black because “Jews have been done.” He intended for the picture to “blow the lid off the race issue.” I personally think he mad the right decision because I feel it made less sense for Moss to be considered incapable of doing his job because he was Jewish. Tackling the segregation of the military and the view of blacks in the military was more impactful.

            An amphibious landing on an island calls for a suicide mission to survey the landing area. One of the volunteers is Moss (James Edwards) from an engineering unit. (This was a bit of a stretch because the Army was segregated and it was unlikely a black engineering unit would have been nearby and there were no white engineers available.) Hey, he has the skills and he wants to go. The problem is he’s black. The lieutenant is happy to have him along. Finch (Lloyd Bridges) is thrilled because he and Moss were friends in high school and played on the same basketball team (which allows for a hilarious flashback to a high school game). Finch represents the northern whites who were clueless about what blacks faced even in the North. He ends up inviting him to his graduation party and is surprised that Moss does not attend. Mingo (Frank Lovejoy in his debut) doesn’t care. But T.J. (Steve Brodie) is the type of Southerner who is openly racist and does not even notice. He does not think a black man can do a white man’s job and he continues to make racist comments when they are in the jungle. The movie is shown using flashbacks. Moss is currently under the care of a doctor (Jeff Corey) who is trying to treat him for his blindness and paralysis. These symptoms are caused by mental stress from the mission, but also from a lack of self-worth. Something happened on the mission that caused the first, the second was caused by society.

            “Home of the Brave” is a movie that is not well-known. It did critical acclaim upon its release and it did well at the box office, although not in the South, for obvious reasons. It managed to combine war, psychology, and treatment of African-Americans. It works because the cast is good and the plot is not preachy. One theme is that everyone should be judged on their ability. Moss is good at what he does, so there should not be any problems including him on the mission, especially because he volunteered. The movie is very dialogue driven and is stage bound due to its origin as a play. It was filmed mostly on a sound stage. (Herbert Tweedy (yes, that’s his last name) imitated twelve different birds for the jungle scene.) However, there was not need for any combat scenes. It’s not that kind of war movie.

            The movie was released in the 1940s when black roles in war movies were still rare. This makes the plot even more shocking and ahead of its time. The n-word is used 8 times! This was the first significant use of it since the Production Code had banned it. Audiences must have been shocked and it is still shocking today. It also was an early depiction of PTSD in a WWII film. You feel like you are watching a revolutionary movie.      

GRADE  =  B