Let Freedom Ring (1939)

Railroad owner Jim Knox uses everything to get the land he needs for his new railroad cheaply. Everybody hopes, that Steve Logan ends his regime, but he allies with Jim Knox. Nobody knows, ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

Ben Hecht (original story), Ben Hecht (screenplay)

Stars:

Nelson Eddy, Virginia Bruce, Victor McLaglen

Cast

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

Storyline

Railroad owner Jim Knox uses everything to get the land he needs for his new railroad cheaply. Everybody hopes, that Steve Logan ends his regime, but he allies with Jim Knox. Nobody knows, that he's actually a government agent. But when Jim finds out, he tries to kill Steve.

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Plot Keywords:

speech | marriage proposal | rancher | fistfight | irish american | 

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Taglines:

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 !

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 February 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

Song of the West

Filming Locations:

San Jacinto Mountains, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

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

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Quotes

Maggie Adams: You've got lots of money, haven't you?
Jim Knox: Ooooh, I keep it in barrels.
Maggie Adams: Then why do you go around robbing poor people, stealing their land and burning them out? If you're such a rich man, why are you a thief?
Jim Knox: Where I come from people don't call me a thief, they call me a 'financier'.
Maggie Adams: And what country do you come from?
Jim Knox: It's not a country, it's a street. Wall Street.
Maggie Adams: Well that street isn't big enough to run this country Mr Knox. You own the sheriff and the courts and you've got all the money in the ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Big Noise (1944)

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Soundtracks

"Dusty Road"
(1939)
Music and Lyrics by Otis René (as Otis) and Leon René
In the score during the opening credits
Played on piano by Charles Butterworth (uncredited) and sung by Nelson Eddy (uncredited) and railroad builders,
with orchestral accompaniment

User Reviews

Mr. Arnold Wonders, "Why Bother?"

LET FREEDOM RING is a well intentioned musical comedy about the post-Civil War age of the robber barons. So, who should play a smiling, unscrupulous business tycoon but that most realistic one Edward Arnold

• in the year that he also played Boss Jim Taylor in MR. SMITH GOES TO

WASHINGTON (and shortly before his fascist minded tycoon in Capra's MEET JOHN DOE). Only his attempt to dominate a small western town that is in the way of his planned railroad somehow comes to the attention of the U.S. Government, who send Nelson Eddy as a special agent to unite the townspeople to confront and defeat the nefarious Arnold. This should tip one off as to this being a Hollywood fantasy. The government in Washington in the 1870s would not only have not bothered sending any agent out to do this, but it would have sent word to Arnold (with palm outstretched) that it was there to assist him in his land grabbing activities. If you doubt me, read Allan Nevins' biography of Stuyvesant Fish, President Grant's Secretary of State - the most honest man in his government. Nevins chronicles the series of scandals that tarnished Grant's two terms, several dealing with railroads.

It is a disparate group that Eddy has to bring together. Besides his love interest (Virginia Bruce) there is the Mayor (Guy Kibbee), the local newspaper editor (Raymond Walburn), the railroad's leading bully boy (a misguided one, as it turns out) Victor MacLaghlan, and such strong, firm citizens as Charles Butterworth. Yet, at the end of this cute little film Eddy manages to get the townspeople united against Arnold and his moneyed army. They sing their defiance in Edward's face. Watch the conclusions of this bizaare movie closely. Arnold is not defeated at the end...he justs realizes he has miscalculated in that he picked a route that goes through a town full of lunatics. He shakes his head in bewilderment, picks himself up (probably realizing that the route through some more promising town is better), and leaves. Knowing how smart Edward was, he probably did build his railroad through a better route after all!