| Richard Dix | ... | 2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne | |
| Elizabeth Allan | ... | Nancy Adams | |
| Ralph Bellamy | ... | Capt. / Maj. Blake | |
| Theodore Newton | ... | Lt. Foster 'Froggy' Kelley | |
| Nella Walker | ... | Mrs. Adams | |
| Anderson Lawler | ... | 2nd Lt. Tim 'Tombstone' Terry, aka 'Dracula' (as Anderson Lawlor) | |
| Frank Conroy | ... | Maj. / Lt. Col. Wentworth | |
| Joe Sawyer | ... | Capt. Daly (as Joe Sauers) | |
| Arthur Jarrett | ... | 2nd Lt. James 'Jenny' Lind | |
| Claude Gillingwater Jr. | ... | 1st Lt. Tommy Gray | |
| Clarence Stroud | ... | 2nd Lt. Billy Winstead | |
| Claude Stroud | ... | 2nd Lt. Carroll Winstead | |
| Frank Clarke | ... | German Cadet | |
| Helmut Gorin | ... | German Cadet |
76 minutes
Pour des raisons de conscience, un sculpteur exprime son dégoût de la guerre et ne désire pas s'engager dans le conflit de la première guerre mondiale. Sa fiancée en est outrée et le quitte. Rocky s'engage dans l'armée de l'air, devient 2e lieutenant et après une première rencontre dans le ciel avec l'ennemi qui aurait pu lui coûter la vie devient une vraie machine à tuer au péril même de sa vie ...
Un film pro paix et donc bien sûr anti guerre dans ce sens. Vu l'année où il a été tourné, un film tout de même osé ! ça m'intéresserait de voir une liste des films de ce genre, avec les années de sorties....
Pour expliquer son sentiment face à la parade des hommes défilant dans la rue en tenues d'apparat militaire, Rocky décrit la vie des lemmings en Norvège que leur mère met au monde par cinq et qui, le moment venu, se jettent dans l'océan et nagent jusqu'à mourir d'épuisement. Lorsque Nancy demande la raison de ce comportement, il explique que certains pensent que les lemmings sont à la recherche d'un continent perdu ou d'une terre engloutie dans les flots ....
Pour expliquer son sentiment face à la parade des hommes défilant dans la rue en tenues d'apparat militaire, Rocky décrit la vie des lemmings en Norvège que leur mère met au monde par cinq et qui, le moment venu, se jettent dans l'océan et nagent jusqu'à mourir d'épuisement. Lorsque Nancy demande la raison de ce comportement, il explique que certains pensent que les lemmings sont à la recherche d'un continent perdu ou d'une terre engloutie dans les flots ....
Richard Dix donne une très bonne prestation, tout d'abord heureux et créatif avant la guerre puis cynique, complètement pris par sa tâche, déconnecté de la réalité ou plutôt pris par la seule réalité du moment : le combat et la guerre. Son regard déterminé lorsqu'il fait feu, vu à travers le viseur, un œil mi-clos, me reste à la mémoire.
Elizabeth Allan dans le rôle de Nancy, fait très bonne fille de famille bien éduquée et bien gentille mais pas très réaliste ... Elle est bien mignonne ...
 |
| Nancy Adams: Rocky, you're making me ashamed of you. Nobody believes you're sincere and honest about what you say. |
Nancy Adams: You've changed. You're so different. Is this what the war has done to you?
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: Wasn't this what you wanted?
Nancy Adams: I didn't know. I spoke of the glory of war. I know now. The mud, the filth, the suffering, the agony, the poor, helpless, dying boys.
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: It isn't muddy up where I am. When death comes, it comes swiftly and cleanly. Ah, it's a grand war. I only hope the next one is half as good. I used to think I could take clay and mold it into the semblance of a living thing. The closer it came to being alive, the greater my glory. The power of life is more than that, Nancy. Life--life for myself as I control my plane. And then death, swift and final in the squeeze of my fingers.
[laughs]
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: You can't do that with clay, Nancy.
Nancy Adams: Then all that you said about saving yourself for something better--
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: Did I say that? Forget it. Why, this is a great war, and I'm having a grand time. It's all grand, every minute of it. Thirty-three planes shot down. Decorated by a French general. My picture in the papers. The idol of the allies, the hero, the great war ace. Pursued by women. Boy, I wouldn't have missed this for anything. You did me a great favor that day in the studio.
[laughs]
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: Me and my ideals for humanity. Ha! Why, I might still be back there slaving, trying to express myself on some remote conception of art.
Nancy Adams: Please, Rocky!
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: Come on, Nancy. Don't try to make me feel sorry for myself, because there's nothing to feel sorry for.
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: Wasn't this what you wanted?
Nancy Adams: I didn't know. I spoke of the glory of war. I know now. The mud, the filth, the suffering, the agony, the poor, helpless, dying boys.
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: It isn't muddy up where I am. When death comes, it comes swiftly and cleanly. Ah, it's a grand war. I only hope the next one is half as good. I used to think I could take clay and mold it into the semblance of a living thing. The closer it came to being alive, the greater my glory. The power of life is more than that, Nancy. Life--life for myself as I control my plane. And then death, swift and final in the squeeze of my fingers.
[laughs]
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: You can't do that with clay, Nancy.
Nancy Adams: Then all that you said about saving yourself for something better--
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: Did I say that? Forget it. Why, this is a great war, and I'm having a grand time. It's all grand, every minute of it. Thirty-three planes shot down. Decorated by a French general. My picture in the papers. The idol of the allies, the hero, the great war ace. Pursued by women. Boy, I wouldn't have missed this for anything. You did me a great favor that day in the studio.
[laughs]
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: Me and my ideals for humanity. Ha! Why, I might still be back there slaving, trying to express myself on some remote conception of art.
Nancy Adams: Please, Rocky!
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: Come on, Nancy. Don't try to make me feel sorry for myself, because there's nothing to feel sorry for.
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: [looking at medals] For the glory of my country. Tell me, Nancy: are these worth forty-two dead men? Are they worth one dead man?
Nancy Adams: Oh, Rocky.
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: I knew the answer once. I was sure of it. Why did I forget?
Nancy Adams: We all forgot it, Rocky.
2nd Lt. Rex 'Rocky' Thorne: Most of us never knew. We never realized. But I thought I did. And then I forgot--forgot everything in the game of killing.
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