The Fighting 69th
by William Keighley
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alan Hale, George Brent, James Cagney, Jeffrey Lynn, Pat O'BrienDirector: William Keighley
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Tony Gaudio
Editor: Owen Marks
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Producer: Louis F. Edelman
Writer: Dean Riesner
Writer: Fred Niblo Jr.
Writer: Norman Reilly Raine
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; Hebrew (Original Language); Latin (Original Language); Yiddish (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 90 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-04-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of The Fighting 69th
Movie Review: "The Fighting 69th (1943) ... James Cagney ... William Keighley (Director) (2007)"
Summary: 5 Stars
Warner Bros. Pictures presents "THE FIGHTING 69TH" (1943) (90 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- The US 69th division was a national guard contingent comprised of Irish Americans, who fought with the Rainbow Division in the WWI years 1917-1918 --- Into this ethnic stronghold comes cocky Jerry Plunkett, a streetwise tough who is certain that he can lick the Germans single-handedly --- But during his first taste of real combat, Plunkett turns coward and inadvertently reveals the 69th's position --- Held responsible for the deaths of his companions, Plunkett is sentenced to a firing squad --- Thanks to a bomb that levels the stockade in which he is held, Plunkett set out to redeem himself on the battlefield.
The beauty of James Cagney's star performance is that he is as thoroughly convincing as a "yellow belly" as he is a hero.
The real-life personages depicted in The Fighting 69th include military priest Father Duffy (Pat O'Brien), future OSS leader Wild Bill Donovan (George Brent) and poet Joyce Kilmer (Jeffrey Lynn).
Another outstanding tour de force for Cagney!
Under the production staff of:
William Keighley [Director]
Norman Reilly Raine [Original Screenplay]
Fred Niblo Jr. [Original Screenplay]
Dean Riesner [Screenplay] (as Dean Franklin)
Louis F. Edelman [Associate Producer]
Hal B. Wallis [Executive Producer]
Adolph Deutsch [Original Music]
Tony Gaudio [Cinematographer]
Owen Marks [Film Editor]
BIOS:
1. William Keighley [Director]
Date of Birth: 4 August 1889 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date of Death: 24 June 1984 - New York City, New York
2. James Cagney [aka: James Francis Cagney]
Date of Birth: 17 July 1899 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 30 March 1986 - Stanfordville, New York
the cast includes:
James Cagney - Pvt. Jerry Plunkett
Pat O'Brien - Father Duffy
George Brent - Wild Bill Donovan
Jeffrey Lynn - Joyce Kilmer
Alan Hale - Sgt. 'Big Mike' Wynn
Frank McHugh - Crepe Hanger Burke
Dennis Morgan - Lt. Ames
Dick Foran - Lt. 'Long John' Wynn
William Lundigan - Timmy Wynn
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams - Paddy Dolan
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 90 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (04/24/2007)
Summary of The Fighting 69th
FIGHTING 69TH - DVD MovieYou'd have to be the world's biggest grouch to dislike a movie like The Fighting 69th. For starters it's got James Cagney as a smart-aleck from Brooklyn--can't go wrong there, can you?--and then you've got Pat O'Brien second-billed in a sentimentally iconic role as Father Duffy, the beloved and much-decorated real-life chaplain of the legendary Irish-American army regiment of World War I. The time is 1918, on the battlefields of France, but this is a 1940 Warner Brothers production, so you can bet there's plenty of blarney, bravery, and roughneck action as the Fighting 69th prepares to engage German forces in WWI's final offensive, the Battle of the Argonne. Up to that point, Jimmy Plunkett (Cagney) has proven less than worthy of fighting in the fearsome 69th. He's a Brooklyn punk with plenty of false bravado, but when bullets are flying and grenades are falling, he's nothin' but a yellow-bellied crybaby, making the kind of mistakes that get people killed--in this case, many of his closest comrades. He's eventually forced to find his courage, and does so with honor to spare. In classic Warner Bros. fashion, the wartime sentiment is ladled on so heavily that cynics may gag or burst out laughing, but the supporting cast is fantastic (especially Alan Hale Sr. and George Brent as quintessential Fightin' Irish heroes), and William Keighley directs with such energetic enthusiasm toward the material that you can't help but be swept up in the action. It's flag-waving fun, and Cagney's a constant pleasure, even as he's quivering in his boots.
Available separately or as part of the James Cagney Signature Collection, The Fighting 69th has been given the red-carpet treatment by Warner Bros., with a bevy of "Warner Night at the Movies" DVD bonus features from 1940, including a vintage newsreel, short subjects, two cartoons (including "The Fighting 69½th"), movie trailers and an audio-only radio adaptation of The Fighting 69th starring Pat O'Brien, Robert Preston and Ralph Bellamy. With all this stuff on one DVD, what's not to like? --Jeff Shannon
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