Friendly Enemies (1942) User Reviews

Fine adaptation of long-running play

[16mmRay · 7/10 · 8 February 2014]

I have one serious problem with this film, which I will address in a bit. To begin, FRIENDLY ENEMIES was a dramatic play that ran an incredible 440 performances on Broadway from July 1918 to August 1919. The cast was made up of popular New York actors of the period, most of whom are today forgotten. The play was first adapted to the screen in 1925 and starred the Dutch-act comedy team of Lew Webber and Joe Fields. And therein lies the problem of this faithful-to-the-period talkie remake. Cast as two German patriarchs now ensconced in America are Charles Winninger and Charles Ruggles. Both Charlies were very fine actors with great comic timing. But for some reason director Allan Dwan had them emulate Webber & Fields' vaudeville-style Dutch accents rather than use more realistic dialects. He would have been better off using authentic German-American actors. Felix Bressart and Jean Hersholt would have been perfect. Ilka Gruning, who plays Winninger's wife, was Austrian and her authentic dialect was perfect. Much of the power of the dialogue was lost to distraction in the leading players' exaggerated accents. As always, Otto Kruger is very fine as the villain in the piece, understated and chillingly threatening. As with all Edward Small pictures of this period, the production values are first-rate. And, as with most Edward Small pictures of this period, FRIENDLY ENEMIES is very difficult to see. Keep an eye out for it. It remains a timely and thoughtful story.

Are immigrants identified by their natural heritage or the country they adopt?

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 19 January 2021]

This is a unique pairing of two actors known for their comedy even though they were quite adept at drama. Charles Winninger and Charles Ruggles are longtime best friends who decided to immigrate from Germany to the United States as young men, and they are very proud, both of their heritage and their adopted country. But when those two countries are at war, they have different feelings, with Ruggles very pro-American and Winninger sticking to old customs and concerned that old friends and family in Germany will be harmed as a result of this war.

With Winninger's son (James Craig) and Ruggles' daughter (Nancy Kelly) engaged, their battles pass down to the children, especially after Winninger finds out that Craig has enlisted for active duty and that his wife, Ilka Grunning, knew of this and kept it from him. To top Winninger's misery, he discovers that wealthy German immigrant Otto Kruger has used the money he gave for a so called peace organization has been used to blow up the ship that he believes Craig is on.

A powerful play when this came out in 1918, it was obviously rushed into film production as part of the propaganda machine as America entered its second world war. part of it certainly is very powerful, especially Winninger finding out that his actions have possibly caused his son to be killed.

Both Winninger and Ruggles do their best to create powerful characterizations, but they aren't quite convincing as German immigrants. The performance of Ilka Grunning though is outstanding, and she's one of the finest supporting actresses of 1942. Kruger adds another great villain to his gallery of rogues, and you may get chills everytime he smiles. Made by independent producer Edward Small, mainly known for wacky comedies and swashbucklers, this is a product of its time, well intended, but dated in many ways.