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Wonderful Movie

Undescribable Perfection

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Hawksian Worshipers can Deflect Blame for this Really Bad Movie all They want, the Authorship must be Attributed to the Director without Apology. The "he can do no wrong" Hordes of Howard Hawks Admirers must, in this and other Films, Concede that the "Man" is Overrated.In this One He Borrows from Other Movies, even His own, for the War Footage and Delivers an Awkward (a Hawks trademark) Film Filled with Braggadocio He-Man Flourishes. You see it's Tough Stuff when Characters Speak in Clipped Sentences that are Supposed to be about Camaraderie and Familiarity but come off in the Hawksian World as Hardly having a Clue how "Real People" Bond and Interact.This is a Fun Watch. Seeing the Opening Strain Mightily to Bring the Viewer in to this Real World of WWI with Fashions so Art-Deco and Out of Place that it does Nothing but Scream Fake. Most of Hawk's Movies Scream Fake, even the Best of Them. After a Disastrous Start the Film becomes Watchable, if Unintentionally Humorous, as the Director Struggles for some "Reality" with a Love Triangle (some say a Quadrangle) with Pre-Code Situations and Macho Member Measuring. There is a Bizarre Subplot Starring a Cockroach Named Wellington and although He is Sacrificed for the Cause, One Cannot Deny, He was a "Stout Fellow".

Ponderous, miscast slog of a film. The performers try their best but only Cooper's character is believable. Crawford, Young and Tone are all supposed to be British born, none speak in anything but refined American accents. Their parts should have been played by Diana Wynyard, Ronald Coleman and Leslie Howard all truly English actors actively working in Hollywood at the time, the film would probably still have been a bore but at least it would have felt grounded in some kind of reality. MGM was trying to move Joan away from the shop girl roles that were her bread and butter at the time but this was an ill advised vehicle for her. Missing Hawks customary economy of timing and pace and a lacking any visual sense of time or place, Joan's clothes in particular are inappropriate and at times bizarre-one outfit looks like she has an ironing board attached to it!, you'd be better served to seek out other work by all involved.

This is a movie that is entertaining to watch, but if you think about what's occurring too much, your brain might just explode!! That's because the script is amazingly bad in spots and the casting is among the worst of the 1930s. While it's obvious MGM spent a lot of money assembling such talent as Joan Crawford, Franchot Tone, Robert Young and Gary Cooper, what lamebrain thought that the first three stars would be great playing Brits?! The stars attempt no accent whatsoever, but come off as being as British as Carmen Miranda!! The film begins with WWI. Three lifelong friends are torn apart, as the two men (Tone and Young) go off to war and the lady (Crawford) is left home alone. Due to financial difficulties, she is forced to rent the family estate to an American (Cooper), as the Americans still are neutral and Cooper thought it would be fun to live there. Over time, Cooper falls in love with Crawford and they plan on marrying. However, Cooper also finally sees what Britain is fighting for and volunteers for the Royal Air Corps--where he is soon reported killed in an accident. Heartbroken, Crawford seeks solace in the arms of Young and soon marries him. Naturally, later, Cooper turns up alive and Crawford is conflicted--stay with her husband (who is more of a friend than lover) or run off with dashing Cooper.Now, although this plot is rather "soapy", it still could have worked--even if it seemed very, very unlikely and clichéd. However, combined with lousy casting AND two very long and unnecessary "macho interludes", the film seemed to lose its way. When I say macho interludes, I am referring to several action segments that did nothing to further the plot and strained credibility beyond the breaking point--though they were pretty exciting and looked very good for 1933. In one, Cooper takes Young along for a bombing mission--even though they fought for different armies by this point in the film (American and British--and you can't just take a friend up for laughs during wartime!). Amazingly, Young is able to shoot down four fighter planes while operating as a gunner on this plan--despite having no training whatsoever!! Later, Young returns the favor and takes Cooper on a patrol boat mission--during which time they easily sank a German merchant ship with this minuscule souped up motor boat. In fact, later in the film, this same tiny boat sinks a German battleship--something that just could not have happened in real life. If planes and tiny ships had been THIS effective, the war would have only lasted a couple weeks--not four years! Needless to say, because of all the film's clichés, Young is killed in action by the end and this allows Crawford to finally marry Cooper. Don't worry about the fact that Young (now blinded in his last combat mission) STILL went on yet another mission in which he "bought the farm"--it was needed to further the very predictable romance between Crawford and Coop.Overall, a very silly and impossible to believe film that still manages, despite its many problems, to entertain due to nice action sequences and excellent cinematography. But please, please DON'T take this as a good history lesson or lesson on how to write a proper romance.

It's impossible to watch "Today We Live" without mentally recasting it. Franchot Tone and Robert Young as upper-crust Brits? In what alternate universe? No matter how many "I say's" Faulkner gives them, they just can't sublimate their American aura to their British characters. And Joan Crawford's teatime attire by Adrian, breathtaking as it is, is also uncomfortably out of place. (Crawford does manage to sound a little more authentic than Tone and Young.)However, if you can get past the accents and the costumes, there's good stuff here. Young plays the puppy-dog-like Claude to perfection; his turn in the airplane is hilarious. Tone pulls off the tough-big-brother act as well as the no-fuss stoicism of Ronnie. Gary Cooper and Crawford survive not only the world's most abbreviated courtship but also convey the hurt and betrayal that each one's character feels subsequently.In some ways, the film is even daring, portraying heroism without histrionics or flag-waving. And (SPOILER ALERT), despite what the IMDB plot summary says, my impression is that Ann and Claude shack up without benefit of vows, which would make this a very progressive tale indeed.Bottom line: Worth watching, especially if you're a fan of any of the four leads.