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

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Any film with Jimmy Stewart of Henry Fonda in it is a guaranteed very good film. "Carbine Williams" is no exception. When he takes on a role, you can't imagine anyone else doing a better job. Here he plays a man from a large country family in North Carolina who is very self-centered, but a decent fellow. After busting up rocks for a railroad for 40 cents an hour, he finds building boilers a better option. It turns out these boilers are used for illegal 'stills' and before long he is distilling whiskey. This leads to trouble and a prison sentence. It goes on from there. Stewart is terrific as is Wendell Corey and Jean Hagen as his loving wife. The true story is based on an article in Reader's Digest "Most Unforgettable Person" series. It is available from Warner Bros. Archive Collection on (barebones) DVD.

"Carbine Williams" is a seldom seen film. It offers a rare James Stewart in a role that was so opposite to the kind of characters he usually portrayed. The film which was based on a real individual, David Marshall Williams, gives us a glimpse about his life in rural North Carolina. The film, directed by Richard Thorpe, should be seen as a curiosity piece showcasing a great actor.Marsh Williams' life was not a happy one. He had the misfortune of being at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Without being a criminal, he was condemned to jail. His time in prison was not exactly a happy one because everything conspired against him. Marsh had high values and evidently, he was ashamed of even corresponding with his family. It takes a wise man, Capt. Peoples, a warden from the facility where he was serving time, to see that Marsh had the potential for achieving greatness, as he proves at the end.James Stewart plays a much younger man with conviction. Mr. Stewart was an actor that always delivered in spite of playing against type. In fact, his performance is more nuanced in this film. Jean Hagen, the good girl who marries Marsh, is also good. Wendell Corey has the more interesting role of the warden who sticks his neck out because he believes in a man, that by right, shouldn't be helped. Veteran actors Paul Stewart, Porter Hall, James Arness, Rhys Williams, Otto Hulett, and Leif Erickson are seen in supporting roles."Carbine Williams" is worth a try because of all the elements that went into the production of the film.

Ten years before Burt Lancaster came out with the acclaimed Birdman of Alcatraz, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced this neglected gem of a film starring a dark and brooding James Stewart as David Marshall Williams who invented the M-1 carbine rifle while in prison. Before writing this review I took a look at the wikipedia article on Marsh Williams and found that MGM had stuck pretty close to telling the real story about Williams. For the farmer the Great Depression began after the Armistice was signed and the food they produced was no longer needed to feed troops. Many like Marsh Williams turned to making moonshine, not just as a way of distilling spirits for personal use, but for economic survival. That fact cannot be emphasized enough in telling the Carbine Williams story.The federal men were seen as taking the bread out of the farmer's mouths in the North Carolina hills and other such places and the rural folk reacted accordingly. Williams was convicted of murdering a federal agent during a raid. He didn't get the death penalty because no one could tell who really fired the fatal shot, but as he was part of the group he shared responsibility. He got thirty years.Williams was a skilled machinist and after he got over the bitterness of his incarceration with the help of a friendly warden he worked out the design of the weapon that later became the M-1 carbine rifle used by our armed forces in World War II.James Stewart in developing his character as Marsh Williams borrowed a whole lot from some of the characters in his Anthony Mann westerns. This is not the 'aw shucks' Jimmy we all identify him with, but a very bitter man, as bitter even as George Bailey when he thinks the world's deserted him in It's A Wonderful Life.Jean Hagen plays the Donna Reed like wife here who with a man incarcerated has a lot more troubles than Ms. Reed dealt with. The third major role is that of Wendell Corey's warden whose belief in Stewart is sustained.Carbine Williams tread earlier along the same lines that Birdman of Alcatraz did. And in depicting the moonshining community, Carbine Williams shows folks that could have been the ancestors of the family Robert Mitchum was part of in Thunder Road. It's a good story about a man who found his soul and his work in the oddest of places.

This movie is a great movie for those who are into guns. Weather it be gun collecting, or just history. This movie portrays the actual real life story of how the winchester carbine was brought about. It is correct in it's history, and very interesting. Jimmy Stewart does an excellent job of portraying the feelings of a prisoner who may be wrongly convicted. It was never determined who actually killed the agent. This man made a rifle to help the American fighting man of the armed forces. Lighter, faster and more reliable than anything up to it's time. This was done inside a prison, with nothing but a file. When it was found out what he was doing, the warden of the prison eventually stands behind him and helps him in his efforts. If you are not interested in guns it is still a informative movie with a great human interest story!