An expensive technicolor film 15 years in the making, King Vidor's romance with American is showcased here and is done richly. There was a series called "Industry on Parade" on television years after this which might have gotten inspired by this film. The Iron and Steel Industries have no better showcase than this immigrants story.
There are some free based things with the story. Despite speculation that this is actually based upon a real person's story, the way it is presented, the King Vidor script is a compilation of several people. It highlights the land of opportunity aspect of America. It's hero, is a man who likes to read with no formal education but gets his start learning to read in a classic one room school house from a school teacher who happens to be an attractive red-head as well, he later marries and produces a large family.
Of course, because of the story, we do not really get exposed to the real working conditions of these industries too often. We do get the dangers shown to us. There is the do-it-yourself spirit of the American Dream on display too. An immigrants rise from the bottom including a walking trek from NYC to Minnesota and beyond are here. There is a lot of location work and this film was so expensive that MGM lost a pile of money on it.
There is a short cameo of the late Jimmie Dodd who would go on to write the theme for the Mickey Mouse Club and star in it. The Disney tie is really correct at his story is as American as this one. The anti- union segment covers this story when Dodd appears, but it is not quite the real Americana story of Big Business that really happened everywhere in this country. It does work well in his story.
It does make sense with the Auto Industry the rise of the Unions, which by the 1960's would really have created a huge middle class in America. This is where it came from, and the fact that the US outproduced the Axis in order to win World War 2 is quite accurately shown in this movie.
The cast, though not as well known as other films in the period, does fine though the emotions in the script are rather contained. The most emotional moment is the death of a son in World War 1.
More than anything, this movie is about the American Dream and the Industries that grew because of it.
There are some free based things with the story. Despite speculation that this is actually based upon a real person's story, the way it is presented, the King Vidor script is a compilation of several people. It highlights the land of opportunity aspect of America. It's hero, is a man who likes to read with no formal education but gets his start learning to read in a classic one room school house from a school teacher who happens to be an attractive red-head as well, he later marries and produces a large family.
Of course, because of the story, we do not really get exposed to the real working conditions of these industries too often. We do get the dangers shown to us. There is the do-it-yourself spirit of the American Dream on display too. An immigrants rise from the bottom including a walking trek from NYC to Minnesota and beyond are here. There is a lot of location work and this film was so expensive that MGM lost a pile of money on it.
There is a short cameo of the late Jimmie Dodd who would go on to write the theme for the Mickey Mouse Club and star in it. The Disney tie is really correct at his story is as American as this one. The anti- union segment covers this story when Dodd appears, but it is not quite the real Americana story of Big Business that really happened everywhere in this country. It does work well in his story.
It does make sense with the Auto Industry the rise of the Unions, which by the 1960's would really have created a huge middle class in America. This is where it came from, and the fact that the US outproduced the Axis in order to win World War 2 is quite accurately shown in this movie.
The cast, though not as well known as other films in the period, does fine though the emotions in the script are rather contained. The most emotional moment is the death of a son in World War 1.
More than anything, this movie is about the American Dream and the Industries that grew because of it.