Classic Films in Focus: DESPERATE JOURNEY (1942)

If director Raoul Walsh's WWII action movie, Desperate Journey (1942), had been made a few decades later, it would have boasted a catchy name that more accurately describes its tone and characters, something like The Great Escape (1963) or The Dirty Dozen (1967), so don't let its vague yet somber title dissuade you. Fans of modern team movies will recognize many familiar elements, including the near-constant action, the plucky (but imperfect) group of heroes, and the snappy banter and jokes, delivered in this case by Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Alan Hale, Sr., Arthur Kennedy, and Ronald Sinclair as five RAF airmen from different Allied backgrounds trying to escape Nazi Germany after crashing their plane. If you're in the mood to watch classic Hollywood stars punch a bunch of Nazis, Desperate Journey provides such scenes in abundance, with a jaunty attitude that will particularly entertain those who already love the Indiana Jones movies and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

Errol Flynn takes the lead as the Australian Terry Forbes, who hopes to do as much damage to the Nazis as possible while trying to escape from Germany with his comrades. Regular Flynn sidekick Alan Hale, Sr., plays his Scottish pal, Kirk Edwards (with no attempt at a Scottish accent or anything like it), while future US President Ronald Reagan plays the intrepid American, Johnny Hammond. Joining the trio are Arthur Kennedy as pragmatic Canadian Jed Forrest and Ronald Sinclair as young Englishman Lloyd Hollis II, the son of a famous English pilot from the previous world war. Trapped behind enemy lines and initially captured, the group rushes to get out of Nazi territory with valuable information they've nabbed during their brief period as POWs. Along the way, they encounter constant danger from the enemy as well as unexpected help from the sympathetic Kaethe Brahms (Nancy Coleman).

Given the time and place in which it was made, it probably goes without saying that Desperate Journey is meant to be a patriotic morale booster for Americans and other Allies, with our noble heroes representing the US, Australia, Canada, England, and Scotland. Like Casablanca (1942), the movie takes place before the United States enters the war, so the protagonists are all fighting for the Royal Air Force in spite of their varied backgrounds. The peril they face is real, and several characters die to prove it, but overall it makes escaping from Nazi Germany look more like a daring adventure than a traumatic ordeal. Most of the Nazis are interchangeable goons, and some, including the one played by Sig Ruman, are buffoons, while Raymond Massey is more formidable as the main villain, Major Baumeister. The boys spend most of the movie in stolen Nazi uniforms, repeatedly blending into groups of soldiers and then being revealed as imposters, which gives them an opportunity to bash heads, grab guns, and make a run for the exit. They have little time to grieve their own dead as the action propels them ever forward, right up to the very end of the picture, but like most action teams they manage to work in plenty of quips and witticisms as they go.

Lively performances from the leads and entertaining, near-constant action prop up the simple plot and overtly patriotic message, with Flynn and Reagan splitting the best lines and scenes. Reagan deftly handles a great comedic bit where Johnny spouts technical nonsense in lieu of aviation secrets to Major Baumeister, while Flynn and Hale are very much in their element with the mix of fight scenes and banter so familiar to fans of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and their other films together. Hale probably does the seed spitting gag a few too many times, but his character has a compelling backstory as a WWI veteran who planned to sit out the latest conflict until his son was killed at Dunkirk. Ronald Sinclair fills the obligatory "kid" role for the bunch with perfect innocence and pathos, while Arthur Kennedy plays a more restrained part as the group's voice of reason. Nancy Coleman isn't in the picture much, but her presence relieves the all-boys atmosphere for a few scenes, and there's just the faintest sense of a wrong time, wrong place romance between Kaethe and Terry. The movie spends much more of its time on the planes, trains, and automobiles that the heroes use to make a break for the German border, with an especially elaborate car chase in the third act leading up to a grand finale involving a stolen plane.

As befits an action movie of this type, Desperate Journey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Special Effects, which it lost to Reap the Wild Wind (1942). Ronald Reagan also starred in the small town melodrama, Kings Row in 1942, before he was called away for military service - primarily making training films - for the remainder of the war. See more of Errol Flynn and Alan Hale, Sr., in Dodge City (1939), The Sea Hawk (1940), and Gentleman Jim (1942), the last of which was also directed by Raoul Walsh. For another picture with Walsh, Flynn, and Arthur Kennedy, see They Died with Their Boots On (1941). Desperate Journey was the final acting performance of New Zealand native and child actor Ronald Sinclair, who appeared in a series of Five Little Peppers movies. After serving in the US Army in WWII, Sinclair became a film editor and worked on many pictures with Roger Corman as well as later hits like Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990).

Classic Films in Focus: KINGS ROW (1942)

Mixed reviews are often the hardest ones to write, and I have mixed feelings about Kings Row (1942), the Sam Wood drama adapted from the controversial novel by Henry Bellamann. I think, ultimately, the film is useful as an example of the ways the Hays Code could undermine the purpose of an artistic work in its relentless censorship of any really serious engagement of complicated issues, especially those involving sex. The original novel was an explosive bestseller, while the adaptation is far more conventional and even banal. It's hard to watch Kings Row and not notice the gaps and missteps where material had to be cut out or heavily revised in order to appease the puritanical Joseph Breen, but the film still has some very fine performances, especially from one of my favorite supporting actresses, the diminutive Maria Ouspenskaya.

In the film, Robert Cummings plays the protagonist, Parris Mitchell, who grows up in turn-of-the-century Kings Row, a sort of Everytown, USA. Parris has a privileged childhood despite being orphaned, and his best friend, Drake (Ronald Reagan), enjoys similar wealth and ease. Parris suffers a doomed romance with a fragile girl named Cassie (Betty Field), whose father, Dr. Tower (Claude Rains), serves as a mentor to the aspiring physician. Drake, meanwhile, draws the ire of his sweetheart's parents with his wild ways and ultimately settles down with Randy (Ann Sheridan), a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, but his luck takes a turn for the tragic. When a vengeful action threatens to destroy Drake, Parris and Randy work together to restore his will to live.

The movie garnered three Oscar nominations, with nods for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography, and James Wong Howe certainly does make the most of the sets and faces on offer. The film also features a plethora of fine performers in supporting roles, including Charles Coburn, Judith Anderson, Henry Davenport, Claude Rains, and the always terrific Ouspenskaya, whose small stature never prevents her from totally dominating a scene. Cummings, Sheridan, and Reagan get the most screen time as the adult versions of the three main characters, whose friendship sustains them through the lowest points in their lives. Sheridan manages to make Randy appealing in spite of the weird tightrope she has to walk about what kind of girl Randy is and the blatantly sexist drivel she has to spout to soothe Drake's wounded self-esteem. Cummings is good looking but not terribly exciting as Parris, while Reagan gets the role of his career as the once carefree victim of Fate's turning wheel.

However, the changes that the Hays office demanded rob Kings Row of most of its purpose as a scathing commentary about the dark side of small town American life. The opening sign extolling the town's virtues should be read ironically, but instead the film bears it out as truth. We never really get the sense that Kings Row is a bad place at all; there's one sadistic doctor with very limited screen time and one crooked banker, but most of the other negative elements have been swept under the rug. The most glaring changes involve the Tower family; the movie makes Cassie a hysterical, mentally disturbed girl whose father is a paragon of paternal concern... for Parris, not his own child. With Drake's initial girlfriend, Louise (Nancy Coleman), also dissolving into hysteria and incipient madness later in the film, Kings Row seems to suggest that what's really wrong with small town America is just a bunch of overwrought girls, not the secret and villainous actions of their powerful, authoritarian fathers. Parris, who is supposed to be a caring psychiatrist, even goes so far as to consider having Louise committed to an asylum to shut her up although he knows perfectly well that she is telling the truth. He only reconsiders because it turns out not to be necessary to protect Drake, whose mental health means more to him than Louise's life. That sexist attitude makes Parris less sympathetic as a character, for it shows how easily he can become just a new generation of the same old attitudes embodied by Dr. Gordon and Dr. Tower.

Director Sam Wood earned two other Oscar nominations in addition to Kings Row, the others being for Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) and Kitty Foyle (1940). See more of Ann Sheridan in Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), They Drive by Night (1940), and Nora Prentiss (1947). Robert Cummings stars in Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (1954), while Ronald Reagan has his other most memorable dramatic roles in Dark Victory (1939) and Knute Rockne, All American (1940). If, like me, you just can't get enough of Maria Ouspenskaya, see her in Dodsworth (1936) and Love Affair (1939), both of which earned her nominations for Best Supporting Actress, and don't miss her best remembered performance in The Wolf Man (1941).

You can read a little more about the background of the Kings Row novel and film here.

10 Classic Movies About Football

"Go out and win one for the Gipper!"

Fall is the perfect time to explore classic Hollywood's cinematic celebrations of one of America’s great passions, the game of football. Classic football movies tend to feature college teams like West Point and Notre Dame, and they often focus on the determined coaches who lead the teams rather than the players themselves, although underdogs and beloved legends also get the star treatment. Here are ten classic movies that depict America’s love affair with football. You'll find silent film star Harold Lloyd at the kick-off with The Freshman (1925) and the Duke himself, John Wayne, scoring the final touchdown as an embattled college coach in Trouble Along the Way (1953).

1. The Freshman (1925)

2. West Point (1927)

3. Horse Feathers (1932)

4. Navy Blue and Gold (1937)

5. Knut Rockne All American (1940)

6. Good News (1947)

7. The Spirit of West Point (1947)

8. Father was a Fullback (1949)

9. Jim Thorpe: All American (1951)

10. Trouble Along the Way (1953)

Spotlight films

The Headliner: Knute Rockne All American (1940)

Dir. Lloyd Bacon

An all-star cast makes Knute Rockne the standard for classic football movies, with its sentimental charge to "win one for the Gipper" one of Hollywood's most quotable lines. Pat O'Brien stars as the dedicated coach, with Donald Crisp and Ronald Reagan as supporting players. Based on the story of the real life Notre Dame coach, the film celebrates the legendary coach's contributions to the game and ensures that Ronald Reagan will forever be known as "the Gipper," even to people who have never seen the film.

The Hidden Gem: Good News (1947)

Dir. Charles Walters

With a screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Good News stars Peter Lawford as a college football star and June Allyson as his coed love interest. Originally a stage musical and already made into a film in 1930, Good News is set on a college campus during the 1920s. The song, "Pass That Peace Pipe," earned an Oscar nomination, thanks in part to an energetic performance by Joan McCracken.

The Cult Classic: Horse Feathers (1932)

Dir. Norman Z. McLeod

The Marx Brothers make a mockery of college and its sacred institutions in this wacky farce, with straight man Zeppo actually playing the son of his real life brother, Groucho. The usual antics ensue as Groucho, Chico, and Harpo introduce chaos at every turn, and the final scene brings the entire Marx crew onto the field for some truly unorthodox plays, including a touchdown made in a horse-drawn garbage cart.

Although it looks like very few, if any, of these movies are available for streaming on Netflix, you will find several that you can rent for streaming from Amazon at $2.99 per movie.

An earlier version of this article appeared on Examiner.com. The author retains all rights to this content.