Review of The Men (1950) by Jesse L — 18 Dec 2004

(DVD) (First Viewing, 5th Zinnemann film).

I've come to greatly admire Fred Zinnemann as a director- not that he was a great cinematic artist or visionary (because he certainly wasn't), but because he made a series of films in the late 40's and early 50's that take on tough issues and examine them with a great deal of respect and sympathy for humanity and human problems.

After presenting to the world Monty Clift in THE SEARCH in 1948 two years later, he gave Marlon Brando his screen debut in this film, effectively launching the careers of two of the greatest actors cinema has ever encountered. Both deal with soldiers who are forced to find a way to survive and rationalize the effects of WWII in their respective lives. THE MEN finds Marlon Brando as a bitter and strong-willed paraplegic who is bitter at fate and the world in general for his physical condition, and the ever-graceful Teresa Wright as the woman who loved him and must decide if she can marry a man confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Zinnemann manages to accomplish several important things in THE MEN that allows the material to rise above the potentially exploitative subject matter: he establishes the sense of close community the paraplegic men create to help them psychologically survive their physical afflictions, he demonstrates how physically and mentally exhausting fighting this condition is on the men, and in one beautifully set up scene involving the girlfriends and female family member of the various men, is subtly able to depict how this condition is undiscriminating, affecting every race, age and social class. It is this special attention to detail that elevates THE MEN above it's obvious B-picture status.

The performances by the young Brando and Wright are nuanced with emotion and insight, and Mercury Theatre member Everett Sloane (LADY FROM SHANGHAI, CITIZEN KANE) gives solid support as the doctor torn by his scientific knowledge and his human emotions.

It never quite rises to greatness like THE SEARCH does, but in its own way, THE MEN is an important look at a certain time in American history, and how it affected those involved in the situation.