The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Let Freedom Ring is a pleasant way to kick back and relax for part of an afternoon. It isn't without its corniness and the story is thin and jumbled, even with these there isn't really anything that is terribly wrong about Let Freedom Ring. It is beautifully shot with an evocatively rendered setting, there's definitely a western aura about it. The music is catchy with clever lyrics, When Irish Eyes are Smiling comes off best, while the dialogue is mostly witty, heartfelt and thoughtful with the odd corny moment. The western and patriotic parts are rousing and don't preach at all, and the more romantic parts are full of charm. The message is a good one and it is one that still resonates. The direction is efficient and done with professionalism. The performances are great, Lionel Barrymore, Edward Arnold(on menacing villain duty) and especially Victor McLaglen fare the best in support, while Virginia Bruce is a smart and alluring female lead, also exuding a great deal of charm. Nelson Eddy is in glorious voice, not a surprise as his voice is a contender for the most beautiful baritone voice on film(between him and Howard Keel), and it is here where he gives one of his better acting performances, he can be wooden but here he looks very comfortable and his performance is very solid. In conclusion, a really nice film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Let Freedom Ring was probably made with the best of intentions, but it sends out a curious mixed message in the final product.The folks at a western town where the railroad is coming through are overwhelmed by the arrival of immigrant railroad workers, working on the railroad being financed by robber baron Edward Arnold. There are a few ranchers and farmers whose land stands in the railroad's path and these folks are dealt with summarily by Arnold's hired men. One man who won't give in is Lionel Barrymore whose son is coming home from Harvard a lawyer and ready to take up the rancher's cause.Only Nelson Eddy decides the best way to fight is to go Zorro on the bad guys. But other than Charles Butterworth no one knows he's the Wasp (a very interesting choice of names by the way). What Arnold's done is used the tried and true methods of the political bosses of the east, getting the immigrants to vote. Nelson's idea is simple, if the immigrants only knew the truth about what a bad guy Arnold is, they'll vote with the original settlers and knock out the alien urban political machine in their midst. He kidnaps newspaper editor Raymond Walburn and takes him and the press to a mountain cave where some subversive newspapers are printed and distributed.The railroad workers are a real mixed bunch of immigrants, not the Irish working west or the Chinese working east as history has it. It's a real United Nations working on Arnold's railroad. The workers are kept in line by foreman Victor McLaglen and Nelson has the unenviable task of beating some sense into him like John Wayne did in The Quiet Man.Of all the films that starred Jeanette and Nelson and they certainly have come down in history as a duo, this was the worst of what they did at MGM. Nelson is about to be hanged along with Barrymore for crimes that are undefined at best, but certainly nothing worth being hung for. And Virginia Bruce who plays the Nelson's girlfriend saves the day with a rendition of My Country Tis of Thee that the immigrants join in with. In the face of a revolt by his paid for immigrant voters, Arnold quite rationally packs up and leaves town to build his railroad somewhere else.I kid you not, that's the ending here. Just what is the message, vote with the settlers and lose your jobs with Arnold? But somehow you'll get by here? I do wonder some times if 20 years from after the incidents of this film take place and the town as settled into a sleepy backwater of the west while some towns where the railroad has come through that are now cities, that the good citizens of that town haven't rethought about what Nelson Eddy did. If they did they're probably running him out on a rail.Nelson is of course in good voice and has a variety of concert and popular pieces to sing including a ballad to the immigrants written by Sigmund Romberg, Where Else But Here. The song is a heartfelt tribute from an immigrant who did make good in his adopted country. Too bad it didn't have a better venue.The almost platinum blonde Virginia Bruce I'm sure is dubbed here. And I'm sure Jeanette MacDonald was just as happy she wasn't accompanying Nelson on this trip west.

LET FREEDOM RING is at its best whenever NELSON EDDY is permitted to sing forth in his strong baritone voice with a number of pleasant songs and this he does frequently. Sometimes it's at the request of VICTOR McLAGLEN who does a funny turn as the simple-minded villain of the piece who takes time out from fisticuffs to do an Irish jig when it pleases him. One of the nicest scenes has Eddy honoring McLaglen's request to sing "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling". In Eddy's hands, the song never sounded so good.The plot has something to do with railroads vs. cattlemen and some skullduggery on the part of Nelson who rallies support from the townspeople to literally "let freedom ring" by opposing the mob boss (Edward Arnold) and demanding their own right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Yes, it's got that flag-waving flavor throughout, no doubt because the world was on the brink of entering into World War II which was all about fighting for freedom.As a story, it's somewhat jumbled in the telling, relying solely on the strength of Nelson Eddy to deliver a solid central performance--and he does. He's obviously having a good time, even without Jeanette.Not too much can be said for Virginia Bruce, his demure blonde leading lady, who lifts her voice in song only once. She is demure and sweet, even when she's supposed to be feisty, and that about sums up her performance.Not the kind of film that most of Eddy's fans would clamor to see, but it passes the time pleasantly enough.

"Let Freedom Ring is an undeservedly little-known "patriotic western" with comedy and, of course, music, written by veteran screenwriter Ben Hecht and featuring practically every character actor in Hollywood at the time (Victor McLaglen in a hilarious performance, Charles Butterworth ditto, the wonderful Edward Arnold, Lionel Barrymore, Raymond Walburn, Guy Kibbee, Gabby Hayes, H. B. Warner, Louis Jean Heydt) and the lovely and gentle Virginia Bruce as leading lady. Nelson Eddy looks terrific and natural--no eye makeup, no lipstick and no Jeanette MacDonald!--and, needless to say, sings divinely. His performance is relaxed, funny and charming, he was clearly an expert horseman, and the fistfight near the end of the movie between him and Victor McLaglen is worth the price of admission. It was performed by themselves; no stunt doubles. Highly recommended to anyone who hasn't seen it.