Set in Ireland during the 1916 Easter Rebellion, Barbara Stanwyck stars as Nora Clitheroe, the wife of Jack (Preston Foster), a former ranking member in the Irish underground. He's itching to get back into the fight, but he's promised his wife that his fighting days are behind him. Naturally, the call to arms becomes too strong, and as Jack heads back into the fray, Nora rages at his decision and the heartbreak of war.
Director John Ford basically disowned the finished film, claiming RKO had edited it into garbage. I don't think it's quite that bad, but it really isn't very good, either. Stanwyck is fairly awful, strident and struggling with her accent. Foster, who can be a compelling presence, is dull here. Brothers Barry Fitzgerald and Arthur Shields, both making their first substantial appearances in an American movie, are what you'd expect. Fitzgerald's goofball character is meant to be the comic relief, but he's just irritating. The only performance that moved me at all was from Bonita Granville, as a young girl dreaming of a better life.
Director John Ford basically disowned the finished film, claiming RKO had edited it into garbage. I don't think it's quite that bad, but it really isn't very good, either. Stanwyck is fairly awful, strident and struggling with her accent. Foster, who can be a compelling presence, is dull here. Brothers Barry Fitzgerald and Arthur Shields, both making their first substantial appearances in an American movie, are what you'd expect. Fitzgerald's goofball character is meant to be the comic relief, but he's just irritating. The only performance that moved me at all was from Bonita Granville, as a young girl dreaming of a better life.