Really Surprised!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

The acting in this movie is really good.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Copyright 20 February 1933 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 10 March 1933. U.S. release: 19 February 1933. 8 reels. 73 minutes.SYNOPSIS: The scene is set in the USA, seven years into the future, namely 1940: A pacifist Secretary of State (Lewis Stone) comes to realize that America has no alternative but to repel an invasion with force, to trade an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. His wife (Diana Wynyard), however, does not refute her pacifist sentiments even when the enemy carries out a sudden, surprise air attack against New York, destroying several famous landmarks including the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building. NOTES: The stage play opened on Broadway at the Lyceum on 14 October 1932, but closed after only 32 performances. Arthur Sircom directed Gilbert Emery, Janet Beecher, Douglas Montgomery, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Alma Kruger, Kent Smith and Edgar Barrier.Ruth Selwyn is director Selwyn's wife.COMMENT: A muddled pacifist stage play, very theatrically over-emoted by Miss Wynyard (fortunately her ham acting has not infected the rest of the cast, though Phillips Holmes comes close to breaking out on a number of occasions), and somewhat over-contrived in its plotting and staging. Nonetheless, the film is of enormous interest not only as one of the few overtly "message" pictures produced by M-G-M, but for its prophetic view of 1940 (which can now be transferred to 11 September 2001) with America involved in a war against Germany and Japan. (Japan is actually identified as the aggressor in the 1932 play but in the movie, the hostile country is called "Eurasia"). The enemy launches a sudden, surprise air attack against New York, destroying several famous landmarks including the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building (which is bombed as was the World Trade Center towers by striking the building twenty or so floors from the top so that the structure topples in upon itself). Another odd twist of "prophecy" has hero Holmes flying away to a hero's death. He was actually killed in a mid-air collision in 1942 whilst serving in that same United States Air Force. The movie correctly foretells the widespread use of television, but falls short in its depiction of present-day telephones. However, the main thrust of the movie lies not in science-fiction gadgetry, but in the "message". And, as often happens when a plot is twisted to accommodate spurious philosophy, consistency of characterization flies out the window. True, Diana Wynyard's role is always relentlessly motivated towards "peace at all costs", but Lewis Stone's undergoes two remarkable reversals which no amount of skilful acting can disguise. Philips Holmes also has to contend with a part of similar instability, but lacks Stone's experience in camouflage. An equally serious defect in the play's construction lies in May Robson's contribution. Her comic relief - especially in the confrontation scene between herself, her loyal butler (Greig) and comically true-to-Eurasia cook (Alberni) - seems mistimed and inappropriate. Ruth Selwyn is a pretty girl, though her attractiveness is marred by a couple of ghastly Adrian costumes.

A nurse named Laura (Diana Wynyard) in World War I has sex with a pilot (Robert Young), who dies soon after. She discovers she's pregnant so she agrees to marry another man (Lewis Stone) so the child will have a father. Years later her son Bob (Phillips Holmes) is grown and the world is on the brink of another world war. But Laura is vehemently anti-war and has raised her son the same. This leads to conflict as Laura's husband is now the US Secretary of State and expects Bob to fight for his country.Fascinating movie with a lot of thought-provoking ideas and prescient look at a second world war and technological advances like television and videophones. Love the art deco sets. The acting is good with melodramatic Wynyard leading the way. Stone is fine in his usual rigid way. Holmes is terrific and one of the most natural actors in the cast. Robert Young makes the most of his limited screen time. Lovely Ruth Selwyn (wife of director Edgar Selwyn, thirty years her senior) is very likable as Holmes' love interest. May Robson is fine in a supporting role that's dripping with bitterness. It's a wonderful Pre-Code film. The opening scene has Young and Wynyard dressing after their lovemaking. Just a year later you wouldn't see a suggestive scene like that. Heck you wouldn't have seen this movie period since the plot involves premarital sex. The climactic scene where the enemy forces attack New York City is gripping stuff. A sad bit of irony is that, in the end of this film, Phillips Holmes' character enlists as a pilot and flies off to war. Holmes himself would enlist in World War II as a pilot and be killed in a mid-air collision in Canada.

During the Great War (aka World War I), British-accented nurse Diana Wynyard (as Laura Mattson) suffers tragically. Understandably, she becomes a fervent pacifist. In 1918, many believed the "war to end war" had occurred. Decades later, it's 1940. Looking great for her advanced years, Ms. Wynyard is married to US Secretary of State Lewis Stone (as Edward "Ned" Seward). They have raised a pacifist son, handsome chemical engineer Phillips Holmes (as Robert "Bob" Seward). When a Second World War breaks out in Europe, the pacifist ideals of Wynyard and the draft-aged Mr. Holmes are tested...From a short-lived 1932 Broadway play, this film predicts what many people once considered unlikely - that another "world war" would follow the "war to end all wars." There were fewer predicting this in the 1930s than the countless speculation about World War III. We don't use the "picture phone" depicted, but the writers and adapters were remarkably correct in some main events. However, this is not really a film about picture phones and chemical weapons...Living up to its title, "Men Must Fight" is a pro-war story. The thesis is that pacifists are wrong...Moreover, a clearly sexist attitude explains Wynyard and her ilk. Also representing the "weaker" gender are director Edgar Selwyn's pretty wife Ruth, and the inimitable May Robson. Holmes is brought up hating war, but this threatens to render him a spineless sissy; in order to be valued and accepted, the character must reform. Considering all this, the closing scene is despicable. The arguments for why people "must fight" wars, which the film makes more subtly, are undermined by the heavy-handedness. In an ironically sad postscript, Holmes enlisted in the real World War II and died in a 1942 plane crash.****** Men Must Fight (2/17/33) Edgar Selwyn ~ Diana Wynyard, Phillips Holmes, Lewis Stone, May Robson

While MEN MUST FIGHT wars, it is the women who wait and strive for peace.This is a fascinating film, all but forgotten now, which both pleads for peace yet urges action against violent aggressor nations. By supplying strong characters to voice both sides, sometimes changing their minds mid-film, MEN MUST FIGHT tries to please everyone without alienating anyone. Politics aside, it is possible to enjoy the film strictly on the basis of its good acting and compelling production values.Beginning during World War One, the movie quickly jumps to 1940, where it tries to predict not only the fashions but also the geopolitics seven years hence from its production. Although the future enemy is called ‘Eurasia,' careful observation during the Coliseum anti-war rally clearly shows the Nazi swastika and the Imperial Japanese Rising Sun flag among the montage of dangers, eight years before America's entry into the still-distant World War Two, proving the prescience of the film's creators.Distinguished English actress Diana Wynyard is a standout as the woman who has seen too much of war's death and tries valiantly to convince others to renounce all warfare. She is well matched by Lewis Stone as her pacifist husband who must rethink his beliefs after high governmental office forces him to confront real dangers. These two excellent performers ably show the full force their decisions have on their most intimate relationships.Phillips Holmes gives a compelling performance as Wynyard's conflicted son--caught between pacifism & patriotism, he shows the stress going through the mind of any young man facing a really difficult decision. Ironically, considering the film's conclusion, this fine young actor would be killed in a midair collision in Ontario in August of 1942, preparing to fight the Nazis as a member of the Canadian Air ForceElderly May Robson makes one of her typically energetic film appearances as Lewis' sharp-tongued mother. Pretty Ruth Selwyn does well with her undemanding role as Holmes' patriotic fiancée; stately Hedda Hopper plays her strong-minded mother. Robert Young makes the most of his very brief role as the flier who is the great love of Wynyard's life. Rotund Robert Greig steals a few scenes as Robson's spirited butler.Movie mavens will recognize Arthur Housman as a shipboard inebriate and Mary Gordon as a spectator during the Coliseum rally, both uncredited.The film's pre-Code status is well demonstrated by its gentle mocking of patriotism and the way in which the opening scenes frankly present Wynyard & Young as unmarried lovers.