Anybody that doubted John Gilbert's acting talents needs to watch this classic silent film from Director King Vidor.
Gilbert plays James (why do I have to work) Apperson, a poor little rich boy the son of wealthy parents (Hobart Bosworth, Claire McDowell). His industrious brother Harry (Robert Ober) is following in his father's footsteps as a hard working manager in their father's business. James' girlfriend Justyn (Claire Adams) encourages James to enlist in the army when WW1 is declared.
More or less shamed into enlisting he joins up with his two buddies Bull (Tom O'Brien) a bartender, and Slim (Karl Dane) a construction worker who are shipped off to France. At first the boys are not sent into combat. They spend their idle time among the locals and James meets and falls in love with local girl Melisante (Renee Adoree).
Finally the boys are sent off into combat and there is a heart wrenching scene between James and Melisande as he leaves for the fighting. When the scene shifts to the battlefield we are treated to some of the best battle scenes ever filmed. There is the slow march through a forest amid sniper's bullets and later battlefield sequences without equal. The boys move from enthusiastic enlistees to the brutal reality of war including experiencing some tragic consequences.
It is in these scenes that we see Gilbert's acting talent come to the fore. Especially memorable is his scene in a fox hole with a dying German soldier. Gilbert moves effortlessly from a spoiled rich kid, to a fun loving inexperienced soldier, to a battle hardened veteran. It seems a shame that Gilbert's career started to spiral downward only a few short years later.
Keep the Kleenex handy for the closing scenes.
Gilbert plays James (why do I have to work) Apperson, a poor little rich boy the son of wealthy parents (Hobart Bosworth, Claire McDowell). His industrious brother Harry (Robert Ober) is following in his father's footsteps as a hard working manager in their father's business. James' girlfriend Justyn (Claire Adams) encourages James to enlist in the army when WW1 is declared.
More or less shamed into enlisting he joins up with his two buddies Bull (Tom O'Brien) a bartender, and Slim (Karl Dane) a construction worker who are shipped off to France. At first the boys are not sent into combat. They spend their idle time among the locals and James meets and falls in love with local girl Melisante (Renee Adoree).
Finally the boys are sent off into combat and there is a heart wrenching scene between James and Melisande as he leaves for the fighting. When the scene shifts to the battlefield we are treated to some of the best battle scenes ever filmed. There is the slow march through a forest amid sniper's bullets and later battlefield sequences without equal. The boys move from enthusiastic enlistees to the brutal reality of war including experiencing some tragic consequences.
It is in these scenes that we see Gilbert's acting talent come to the fore. Especially memorable is his scene in a fox hole with a dying German soldier. Gilbert moves effortlessly from a spoiled rich kid, to a fun loving inexperienced soldier, to a battle hardened veteran. It seems a shame that Gilbert's career started to spiral downward only a few short years later.
Keep the Kleenex handy for the closing scenes.