Watch We've Never Been Licked For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

We've Never Been Licked is one of those wartime flagwavers that has gone woefully out of date. In fact I'm sure that audiences were scratching their heads during the showing of this film in theaters across the country. Except possibly in Texas where no matter what they love their Aggies of Texas A&M.Radio sportscaster Bill Stern, the Howard Cosell of his day narrates this film during a break in a Texas A&M football game during a broadcast to tell the story of a young Aggie played by Richard Quine who made a sacrifice for Uncle Sam.Quine was a student at Texas A&M before Pearl Harbor and seemed to join in the Aggie swing of things, football, cadet corps, and girls in the person of Anne Gwynne. But she likes his roommate Noah Beery, Jr. much better.In the meantime Quine is also buddying it up with a pair of Japanese exchange students who are getting increasingly isolated as tensions mount between the two countries. They're really there to spy and get some secret scientific formula being worked on at the Aggie laboratory.Quine goes deep undercover and I mean deep. He discovers such other spies as William Frawley and Edgar Barrier working for the Land of the Rising Sun. In fact Barrier is made up Oriental and not too well. To keep his cover Quine quits the Aggies and goes to Japan with the epithet of traitor hung around his neck.After Pearl Harbor though Quine redeems himself and I have to say in one of the most unbelievable climaxes ever in the history of film. I dare not say more, you have to see it to believe it.Playing one of the upperclassmen to Quine and Beery is Robert Mitchum in one of his early films and one I'm sure he probably didn't have fond memories of. But God bless the cast they pulled this off without a smirk showing.

This is really a WWII movie that happens to be set at Texas A&M University. It's a really great flick to kick back and watch - especially if you are an Aggie or WWII buff. I saw this for the first time when I was at A&M and loved it. No it wasn't Robert Mitchum's best movie, but it really wasn't his worst either. Noah Berry also went on to greater stardom. Anne Gwynne was featured in many monster movies in the 40's and 50's. I have an original set of Movie Lobby Cards, along with a press release and corresponding picture from the movie. I have them framed in my office. I would love to find an original poster. I've searched for years and haven't found one yet for sale. Here is a bit of trivia for you: Anne Gwynne - she's the grandmother of Chris Pine (of Star Trek fame!).

Typical WWII tear jerker. If you are part of the generation that came of age around that era you'll still get some goosebumps when you see it even though it is really quite corny. I just wished I knew when it was ever going to be on TV again so I could tape it.

One of the reviewers comments that this film is "corney[sic]...(and) if you're not an Aggie, would probably won't like it." Well, I'm not a [Texas] Aggie but I saw this film at the old Kern theater in Bakersfield when I was a kid. I thought it was a true story and went on believing it until I saw it again one night on the late night show on TV. Corny? Well, that may be a bit harsh but in the context of WWII and the times, it doesn't seem so. The fact is, it's dated. Created for US feel-good propaganda during the war, its anti-Japanese message comes across as racist and hate-mongering. But, isn't that what propaganda is all about? As a serious student of the Pacific War, this story shows a horrible lack of understanding of Japanese culture. But, bridging differences and fostering understanding was not the order of the day in 1943. It was "kill Japs," and sadly, this is what this film portends. I hope we don't believe that way now.