Let Freedom Ring (1939)

Director:

Jack Conway

Writer:

Ben Hecht (original story and screenplay)

Release Date:

24 February 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Thrill-Blasting Drama of Men and Women at the Turn of a New Era with a cast as big as the Majestic land they Glorify !

Plot:

Railroad owner Jim Knox uses everything to get the land he needs for his new railroad cheaply. Everybody hopes...

Plot Keywords:

Speech | Marriage Proposal | Rancher | Fistfight | Irish American

Cast

Nelson Eddy	...	Steve Logan
Virginia Bruce	...	Maggie Adams
Victor McLaglen	...	Chris Mulligan
Lionel Barrymore	...	Thomas Logan
Edward Arnold	...	Jim Knox
Guy Kibbee	...	Judge David Bronson
Charles Butterworth	...	The Mackerel
H.B. Warner	...	Ned Rutledge
Raymond Walburn	...	Underwood - Editor
Dick Rich	...	'Bumper' Jackson
Trevor Bardette	...	Gagan
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Jerry 'Pop' Wilkie (as George F. Hayes)
Louis Jean Heydt	...	Ned Wilkie
Sarah Padden	...	'Ma' Logan
Eddie Dunn	...	'Curly' - Bartender

Also Known As:

Song of the Plains (Australia)
Song of the West (USA) (working title)
The Dusty Road (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #5064)

Filming Locations:

San Jacinto Mountains, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The setting is 1868, but Steve sings the 1904 song "Ten Thousand Cattle Straying" and the 1912 song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling".

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Big Noise (1944)

Soundtrack:

Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair

Poor Ben Hecht

He may have written this script in the hopes that it would have been given a more serious treatment by MGM. Instead his rail against internal industrial fascism on the eve of America's entry into WW2 to fight external fascists was turned into a starring vehicle for Nelson Eddy of all people. Hecht must have gone on an extended bender when he heard his story was going to be punctuated by several of Eddy's baritone interludes.

Does it all gel? No. It's a bit of shizophrenic curiosity piece to say the least. But Hecht's message resonates now as it did then, and the picture does provide many pleasing moments and is actually quite entertaining to sit through.

Eddy is likable and is even believable as a two fisted hero. His scenes with Victor McLaglen, actually beating the hell out of McLaglen in the last act, are a hoot. McLaglen is always a fun ham to watch and here he's playing his usual larger than life Irishman, though more like his turn in the Quiet Man than his lovable appearances as the Sergeant in John Ford's Cavalry trilogy. McLaglen was branded (no doubt unfairly) with the reputation of being a crypto-fascist around the time this came out. This role probably had a lot to do with it.

As far as villains go, Edward Arnold played the most menacing corporate/political wolves captured on film in that era. Here he's at it again, playing Dick Cheney to good effect a couple of years before Dick Cheney was even hatched. He also appeared in a very similar role in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the very same year as this release.

This film is uneven, at times unbelievable, and very corny. It lands short of being good but it's still fun, thought provoking (what with the current political climate), and worth seeing.