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Very disappointing...

Sorry, this movie sucks

Fantastic!

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Mercifully I've spent my whole life in sublime ignorance of this piece of cheese though I am inclined to curse the day - last week - when I spotted it in a Charity shop and bought if for a pittance on the strength of names like George Brent, Alan Hale, William Keighly not to mention that threadbare vaudeville act Cagney and O'Brien.What a crock. There was barely one frame that was watchable. Talk about the mixture as before. William Keighly may have been a journeyman director but he was on some fairly tasty movies not least Each Dawn I Die which was right before this one and he shared a director credit (though I wish someone would explain why) with Michael Curtiz on THE version of Robin Hood (the one with Errol Flynn that they STILL can't equal seventy years later). Clearly he phoned this one in as did virtually everyone connected with it. Pure banjo pics.

"The Fighting 69th" is one of the most powerful motion picture dramas of war I have ever seen. Boasting a first-rate cast and an inspiring screenplay, it concerns the famously nicknamed Fighting 69th regiment of mostly New York Irishmen facing the travail and terror of the First World War. (If you have not yet seen this film, please DO NOT read the rest of this commentary.) The great James Cagney stars as Pvt. Jerry Plunkett, a tough-talking wiseacre of a soldier having absolutely no idea how seriously he lacks courage and bravery.....that is, until it becomes time for him to engage in battle overseas! Pat O'Brien is superlative as the 69th's brave, humble chaplain Father Francis P. Duffy (based on the real-life chaplain of the same name, to whom this motion picture is dedicated). Despite Plunkett's disdainful behavior - he makes menaces of his immediate superiors Sgt. "Big Mike" Wynn (Alan Hale) and Major "Wild Bill" Donovan (George Brent) - Father Duffy befriends Plunkett and looks beyond Wynn's & Donovan's dislike for the young braggart soldier. Plunkett becomes a severely tough pupil, but through the patience and encouragement of Father Duffy, he eventually comes to recognize the importance of faith and prayer. In the end, Plunkett becomes a hero and dies in a gesture of bravery and patriotism.The following are my favorite scenes from "The Fighting 69th". Before the fighting Irishers travel overseas, Father Duffy offers a humble petition to God inside his tent. Sgt. "Big Mike" Wynn harasses the slumbering Jerry Plunkett by literally dragging his underwear-donning carcass out of bed & out of the tent, and splashing a bowl of water in his face. After the wild free-for-all between the 69th and the 4th Alabama Infantry, the stern Major Donovan explains to the rioters the importance of all American armies fighting together as ONE NATION; especially at a time like this, there is absolutely no room for sectional feuds. Jerry and Big Mike engage in a fistfight (which Jerry has essentially been asking for all along), after which Jerry covers for Big Mike by claiming it was only an exhibition! During the final battle, Jerry tells Big Mike to shut his big Irish yap and show him how to use a Stokes mortar so that he can cut through enemy barbed wire and save the day for the 69th. And finally, the most climactic moment of all: Father Duffy recites the Lord's Prayer with a group of wounded soldiers, when who should join in the prayer but the intransigent Jerry Plunkett, now a much wiser human being; as he dashes out to lend a hand to the remaining 69th men on the battleground, Father Duffy almost has a tear in his eye as he softly recites the parable of the lost sheep."The Fighting 69th" is quite an outstanding motion picture. In the end, Major Donovan and Sgt. Wynn come to have respect and pride for the slain tough-talking blowhard who they originally believed was a coward.

Jerry Plunket is a street brawling, tough as boots rebel from Brooklyn, he has no time for the traditions of the all Irish 69th New York Regiment, and he has even less time for his army superiors. But as Jerry is about to find out, War has a knack of making or breaking a man......It's not hard to see why The Fighting 69th was a very popular movie back on its release, coming out as America was about to enter WWII, it's flag waving patriotism targeted its audience with gusto supreme and lashes of Irish sentiment, furthering the cause was in having James Cagney in the critical lead role of Plunkett. Yet oddly, Plunkett is the made up character here, for the story is based on actual characters that the film wishes to honour. Father Duffy {Pat O'Brien} & Wild Bill Donovan {George Brent} being two highly respected men from this actual {and highly acclaimed} fighting unit.The story follows a now well trodden path, brash cocky man learns lessons the hard way, is there to be redemption come the finale ?, respect, bravery and indeed salvation are all given the once over by the makers here, there are few surprises but the film gets in there, does it's job, and leaves without lingering either side of the good or bad fence. The direction from William Keighley is vigorous, and the supporting players are solid, if unspectacular {haven't we seen this O'Brien turn before?}, but all and everything is second fiddle to the perfectly cast Cagney, bullish and stoic, his turn as Plunkett lifts the film above average, because without him the film would be instantly forgettable.Enjoyable enough 6.5/10

This isn't exactly the most realistic or subtle film Cagney or Warner Brothers ever made. However, despite being a piece of unbelievable fluff, it still is very entertaining--with lots of action and histrionic performances--particularly from Cagney. He plays a blow-hard who acts tough but knuckles under in action during WWI. In fact, for cowardice in action he is sentenced to death and must choose whether to go out like a man or die as a lily-livered coward. Considering it's pure Hollywood hokum, it's not hard to figure out how he'll make his final exit. So, in summary it's VERY formulaic and silly but still worth a watch just because it's so entertaining.