''Men Must Fight'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film starring Diana Wynyard, Lewis Stone and

Phillips Holmes Phillips Raymond Holmes (July 22, 1907 – August 12, 1942) was an American actor. For his contributions to the film industry, he was posthumously given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. Early life, education and career Born in ...

. It is based on the 1932 Broadway play of the same name by Reginald Lawrence and S. K. Lauren.Hall, Mordaunt
"Diana Wynyard in a Pictorial Version of a Play by Reginald Lawrence and S.K. Lauren."
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', March 11, 1933. When her lover is killed in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, a woman raises their son as a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campai ...

. However, when a second world war looms "between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and a country referred to as the Eurasian States in 1940", that belief is put to the test.

Plot

Nurse Laura Mattson and World War I military pilot Lt. Geoffrey Aiken fall in love after only knowing each other for a few days. Tragically, he is brought to her hospital and, by chance, put under her care after being fatally wounded on his very first mission. After he dies, Laura realizes she is pregnant. Edward Seward loves her and persuades her to marry him. As far as anyone knows, the child will be his. By 1940, Laura's son Bob has grown into a young man, newly engaged to Peggy Chase. Laura has raised Bob to embrace

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace camp ...

. Meanwhile, Edward Seward, now

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

, flies home after having negotiated the Seward Peace Treaty, which he claims will make it impossible for any country to go to war again. However, when the U.S. ambassador to the state of "Eurasia" is assassinated while en route to the Eurasian State Department to discuss an earlier diplomatic incident, the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

sends the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

across the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to underscore the U.S. demand for a formal apology. Eurasia refuses to comply, and another

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

becomes inevitable despite the treaty. Laura speaks at a large peace rally, over her husband's strong objection. The rally is broken up a group of angry men. A mob then gathers at the Seward home and starts pelting the place. Edward manages to disperse the crowd by first reminding the mob of each American's right to voice his or her own opinion in peacetime, and pledging himself wholeheartedly to the struggle once war is declared. When a news reporter interviews him, he insists his son will enlist. Bob categorically denies this, causing Peggy to break off their engagement. Unable to get his son to change his mind, Edward tells him that he at least has no right to sully the Seward name, revealing that he is not Bob's father. Laura confirms it, and tells Bob of his real father and how he died. War breaks out. Privately, Edward informs his wife that the war is going badly because America fell behind during the years of peace; the "

Canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

" has been captured by the enemy, and 12,000 U.S. troops killed in two days by enemy gas bombs. When Eurasia launches an air raid on

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, destroying such landmarks as the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from " Empire State", the nickname of the ...

and the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East Rive ...

, hundreds are killed and Laura is injured, though not seriously. Bob changes his stance and enlists, not in the chemical division as a trained chemist as Edward had suggested, but as an aviator like his real father. Bob and Peggy marry, then he departs with his squadron. As she watches Bob's squadron fly over the city, Laura now understands that freedom is not free; that we must always be prepared to safeguard it; and we all have a responsibility to defend it.

Cast

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified): * Diana Wynyard as Laura Mattson Seward * Lewis Stone as Edward "Ned" Seward *

as Bob Seward *

May Robson Mary Jeanette Robison (19 April 1858 – 20 October 1942), known professionally as May Robson, was an Australian-born American-based actress whose career spanned 58 years, starting in 1883 when she was 25. A major stage actress of the late 19t ...

as Maman Seward * Ruth Selwyn as Peggy Chase, Bob's fiancée * Robert Young as Lt. Geoffrey Aiken *

Robert Greig Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian pol ...

as Albert, the Sewards' butler *

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

as Mrs. Chase, Peggy's mother * Don Dillaway as Lt. Steve Chase, Peggy's brother (as Donald Dilloway) *

Mary Carlisle Mary Carlisle (born Gwendolyn Witter; February 3, 1914 – August 1, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer, best known for her roles as a wholesome ingénue in numerous 1930s musical-comedy films. She starred in more than 60 Holly ...

as Evelyn, Steve's fiancée *

Luis Alberni Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films. Early years Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...

as Soto, the Sewards' cook, who quits so he can go home and fight for the other side

Production

''Men Must Fight'', a.k.a. "What Women Give" in its working title, was in production from mid-December 1932, and reflected the unstable period between the wars. In creating a realistic scenario for a war in 1940, the future included television and video telephones.Eames 1982, p. 91. Based on a Broadway production that premiered on October 14, 1932, some of the staginess of the play was reflected in its set.Carr, Jay
"Articles: Men Must Fight."
''Turner Classic Movies.'' Retrieved: May 28, 2013.

Reception

In reviewing ''Men Must Fight'',

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', praised the performances of two of the leads, writing that "Miss Wynyard gives an affecting and very earnest interpretation of a mother who protests vociferously against war ... Mr. Stone does splendidly in his part", while "Phillips Holmes is not especially effective". In a later review,

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fi ...

noted the prophetic nature of the plotline, "This powder keg of a film is fascinating on many levels, particularly as it looks into the 'future' and uncannily depicts the world at war and the mainstream popularity of television."Maltin, Leonard
"Leonard Maltin Movie Review: Men Must Fight."
''Turner Classic Movies.'' Retrieved: May 28, 2013. American film critic

Wheeler Winston Dixon Wheeler Winston Dixon (born March 12, 1950) is an American filmmaker and scholar. He is an expert on film history, theory and criticism.Bill Goodykoontz, December 23, 2012, USA TodayDefining Tarantino Accessed Aug. 25, 2013, Quote = "...long, invo ...

noted that the film "predicted with eerie accuracy the outbreak of war in 1940", and that it depicted men as being "unreasonable aggressors by reason of their gender alone."

, 2003, Wallflower Press, London and New York, ''Visions of the Apocalypse: Spectacles of Destruction in American Cinema'', Retrieved November 28, 2014, (paperback) (hardcover), see page 122, bottom paragraph

Box office

The film grossed a total (domestic and foreign) of $434,000: $229,000 from the United States and Canada and $205,000 elsewhere. It made a profit of $25,000.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Eames, John Douglas. ''The MGM Story: The Complete History of Fifty Roaring Years.'' London: Octopus Books Limited, 1982, First edition 1979. .

External links

* * * {{Edgar Selwyn 1933 films 1930s science fiction war films American black-and-white films American science fiction war films Anti-war films American films based on plays Films directed by Edgar Selwyn Films set in 1940 Films set in the future Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1930s political films Films about chemical war and weapons Films about diplomacy Western Front (World War I) films Films set in Washington, D.C. Films set in New York City Films about aerial warfare 1930s English-language films 1930s American films