On W List of Movie Reviews
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What Price Glory (1952)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
3/25
3/25:
The DVD cover for What Price Glory is completely misleading by painting it as a serious war film.
Originally meant to be a musical, it's rather half drama, half comedy which makes the whole thing weird, especially
when it concerns WWI. To be honest with you, I don't think those who fought at the time would be offended by
what's shown on screen. It's just that the film is all over the map. In the meantime, Joseph MacDonald should've
gotten an Oscar nomination for the cinematography. It's stunningly rich in color that was never shot in France but
on a sound stage.
Make no mistake: this is an exceptional performance by James Cagney who has a great line: "It's a lousy war,
kid...but it's the only one we've got." Not many would've been as good as he. Dan Dailey has amusing moments. The
best and the funniest is when he ordered a laughing corpsman on the bridge to stand up and march to the left,
causing him to fall into the water. Because of Cagney and Dailey being stuck with the war, the film has a strong
ending.
Awkwardly placed in the middle of a love triangle between the male leads, the French actress Corinne Calvet is
okay. It's impossible to tell how much they feel about her. On the other hand, Robert Wagner's love
interest is played by Pier Angeli's twin sister, Marisa Pavan, in screen debut. She'll be Oscar-nominated four
years later for her performance in The Rose Tattoo.
All in all, James Cagney fans will appreciate What Price Glory, but it's a disappointing war picture for
the most part.