Heroes for Sale
Directed by William A. Wellman
Written by Robert Lord and William Miznar
1933/US
First National Pictures (Warner Bros.)
IMDb page
Repeat Viewing/Forbidden Hollywood Collection Vol. 3
Thomas ‘Tom’ Holmes: You used to hate the capitalists.
Max Brinker: Naturally. That was before I had money.
William Wellman delivers the epic story of an idealistic “Forgotten Man” in only 70 minutes.
If Tom Holmes (Richard Barthelmess) didn’t have bad luck, he would have no luck at all. His story begins in the trenches of WWI, where he is assigned with several other men to capture a German officer. This is basically a suicide mission but Tom does manage to get his man. Unfortunately, he is badly wounded and his cowardly comrade got the credit and the medals. Tom is taken prisoner by the Germans, who prescribe morphine to ease his agonizing pain. By the time he returns to the US, he is addicted.
His supply gradually dries up and he is tempted to embezzle from the bank he works for to satisfy his habit. He is too honorable for this and tries to get what he needs from a doctor who refuses and then calls the bank on him. So Thomas is fired and sent to the State Narcotic Farm for a couple of years.
When he is released from the Farm in the early 1920s, Tom has beaten his habit and heads out to look for work and a place to stay. He gets a job in a commercial laundry and a room in the boarding house of Mary Dennis (Aline McMahon). Mary has an instant crush on Tom but after she introduces him to Ruth Loring (Loretta Young) it is love at first sight. They marry and have a child.
Time continues to march on. A card carrying Communist has been hanging around spouting all the usual propaganda. This guy has invented a combination washing machine -mangle (!) that will save much manual labor. Tom agrees to raise the capital needed to patent the invention only on the condition that the machine will allow workers more leisure time and not result in the loss of jobs. The laundry owner is agreeable. But when the owner commits suicide, the new owners throw the agreement in the trash. The inventor has no problem with this and works with them to install more machines in other cities. Many workers lose their jobs and blame Tom for this. I’m going to stop here.
I had seen this before and liked it even more this time. Wellman and the screenwriters kept the story moving through decades of turmoil with masterful economy. The hero is seen as both an Everyman and as a fully realized individual. The crowd scenes, in particular, are powerful. Recommended but be warned it is an unsentimental misery sandwich.
Frank Capra is not usually associated with foreign locales, atmospheric cinematography, or epics. He does a fine job here. Everything is spot on from the acting to the art direction. Contemporary audiences did not feel the same and it was one of Capra’s few commercial failures. The film was banned in Britain. Highly recommended.
This more than stands the test of time and people will probably still be watching with equal awe 100 years from now. Everything works: the script, the pre-noir cinematography, the social commentary. Peter Lorre leaves an indelible impression in surprisingly little screen time. The definition of a movie you must see before you die.
