Heroes for Sale (1933)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Robert Lord (screenplay) &
Wilson Mizner (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 June 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Missouri | Riot | Pain | Suicide | Trench Warfare

Cast

Richard Barthelmess	...	Thomas 'Tom' Holmes
Aline MacMahon	...	Mary Dennis
Loretta Young	...	Ruth Loring Holmes
Gordon Westcott	...	Roger Winston
Robert Barrat	...	Max Brinker (as Robert Barratt)
Berton Churchill	...	Mr. Winston
Grant Mitchell	...	George W. Gibson
Charley Grapewin	...	Pa Dennis (as Charles Grapewin)
Robert McWade	...	Dr. Briggs
G. Pat Collins	...	Leader of agitators (as George Pat Collins)
James Murray	...	Blind soldier
Edwin Maxwell	...	Laundry company president
Margaret Seddon	...	Jeanette Holmes
Arthur Vinton	...	Captain Joyce
Robert Elliott	...	'Red' squad policeman #1

Also Known As:

Breadline (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

76 min (copyright length) | USA:71 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2611-R, 3 September 1936 for re-release)

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

First National Pictures

Trivia:

Director William A. Wellman used real hoboes for the fight scene and real laundry workers for the laundry scenes.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): A newspaper photograph showing the new equipment at the laundry mistakenly identifies Max Brinker as Hans Brinker.

Quotes:

Thomas 'Tom' Holmes: You used to hate the capitalists.
Max Brinker: Naturally. That was before I had money.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995) (TV)

Soundtrack:

America, My Country 'Tis of Thee

Powerful, painful Depression-era tale

Found on the same disc as my favorite Wellman film, Wild Boys of the Road. Anyone interested in Depression-era movies should throw that disc up on your Netflix queue immediately! That's got to be one of the all-time great double features (which lasts only just over two hours). Heroes for Sale is an episodic, sometimes sloppily constructed story, but it's very involving. Richard Barthelmess stars, and the plot follows him from a soldier in WWI to the present, in the middle of the Great Depression. He experiences much hardship and betrayal through his life. Some hugely positive experiences, too, but when you have something good in your life, there's always the possibility of losing it. This is one of the most cynical, heartbreaking movies of all time. It certainly wouldn't be the film you saw to forget about the horror of modern life. The Fred and Ginger movie's playing down the hall. The film has been frequently accused of having socialist or communist leanings. This is partly true. It's certainly not very trustful of capitalism. But it's just as distrustful of communism. One of its main characters, played by Robert Barrat, begins the film as a communist in a flophouse. He later becomes successful and ends up screwing over his friends and scorning the poor. The film also stars Loretta Young, Aline MacMahon, Charlie Grapewin and Gordon Westcott, and all are very strong. A gut-wrencher which, like Wild Boys of the Road, ends with a faint glimmer of hope. Very faint, with the Depression going strong.