Refreshingly free of cant and surprisingly low on propaganda, Joe Smith American is one of the best 'B' features you'll ever see--it was so good, in fact, that it opened in 1942 atop the bill at movie theatres in New York City. Robert Young plays the titular character, an all American 'Joe' who won't spill his guts about a secret bomb sight to the bad guys--even after being tortured and threatened with death. The torture sequence is surely one of the most grueling things committed to celluloid from the period, and in addition to being spectacularly shot by Charles Lawton Jr. was masterfully lit by one of MGM's superbly trained and uncredited craftsmen. The cloth binding used to blind and gag Young, coupled with the narrative use of his inner voice, anticipates the bleak and distressing Johnny Got His Gun by thirty years. And while the film is certainly a tribute to American patriotism--witness the fascinating schoolyard rendition of My Country Tis of Thee, complete with an odd fascist style salute to the flag--it pointedly allows Young's character to sleep in on Sundays and miss church!
17 Reviews
A gripping thriller with some interesting plot twists
arblaw18 May 2004
I haven't seen this movie in about 40 years but it scared the daylights out of me as a kid. To me Robert Young was Jim Anderson, the exemplary dad of Father Knows Best. So it was really disturbing to see him captured by enemy agents and tortured. I don't remember what they did to him but it was terrible. It seems like they smashed his fingers with pliers. Another cool aspect of this movie is the way Robert Young was able to remember the way to the enemy agents' hideout by sound, even though he was taken there blindfolded. To this day I try to listen to what things sound like whenever I am traveling some place, in case I have to go back there again.
This movie also has an excellent visual texture to it -- shot in black and white with terrific use of shadows, sinister bad guys in dark clothing, bulky old cars.
This movie also has an excellent visual texture to it -- shot in black and white with terrific use of shadows, sinister bad guys in dark clothing, bulky old cars.
Robert Young stars as patriotic American who knows how to keep secrets...
Doylenf5 November 2010
This is an exceptionally well-written and directed B-film from MGM directed in crisp, tense style by RICHARD THORPE.
ROBERT YOUNG is at his most affable best as a typical young man of the '40s era who is sought by the government to work on plans for a new bomb-sight design which he must keep top secret. Spies kidnap him and it's while he's being held hostage that he forces himself to remember how he met his wife (MARSHA HUNT) and there are a series of homespun scenes with Young and his son, DARRYL HICKMAN.
But even though loaded with flashbacks, Thorpe keeps the action and suspense alive by cutting back and forth between those scenes and clips of his brutal torture by the spies. Fortunately, he keeps his wits about him and is able to recall various things about the hiding place and his captors that help the FBI capture them in the end. A clever series of incidents leads to the manner in which he's able to lead them to the hideout.
Well done in crisp style with Robert Young and Marsha Hunt making an attractive pair in the leading roles. Darryl Hickman is effective as the son who has a secret of his own that he's unwilling to tell.
Well worth watching as a bit of American propaganda at the outset of WWII.
ROBERT YOUNG is at his most affable best as a typical young man of the '40s era who is sought by the government to work on plans for a new bomb-sight design which he must keep top secret. Spies kidnap him and it's while he's being held hostage that he forces himself to remember how he met his wife (MARSHA HUNT) and there are a series of homespun scenes with Young and his son, DARRYL HICKMAN.
But even though loaded with flashbacks, Thorpe keeps the action and suspense alive by cutting back and forth between those scenes and clips of his brutal torture by the spies. Fortunately, he keeps his wits about him and is able to recall various things about the hiding place and his captors that help the FBI capture them in the end. A clever series of incidents leads to the manner in which he's able to lead them to the hideout.
Well done in crisp style with Robert Young and Marsha Hunt making an attractive pair in the leading roles. Darryl Hickman is effective as the son who has a secret of his own that he's unwilling to tell.
Well worth watching as a bit of American propaganda at the outset of WWII.
Father Knows Best
sol-kay6 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Family man hard worker and loyal American aircraft plant worker Joe Smith, Robert Young, has his loyalty put to the test in the movie "Joe Smith, American". That's when he's kidnapped by four thugs Punchy, Noel Madison, Shoe Stain, Dan Costello, and the Turk, Joseph Anthony, together with their leader Snakering, ???. The evil quartet try to beat top secret information out of Joe on a new US Military bomb-sight that he's working on at the plant.
This torture goes on for hours until knowing that Joe, no matter what they do to him, won't talk they take him for a ride in the country that to be the last ride of his life. Joe despite having the living hell beat out of him still has the presents of mind to remember every detail of what happened and even left clues to where his abductor's hideout is. Joe also makes a daring escape from the moving vehicle that almost cost him his life, by getting hit by a speeding car, when he being both tied up and blindfolded jumps out or the car!
***SPOILERS*** Now rescued by the local L.A police and patched up in a nearby hospital Joe leads the cops, by remembering every detail of his kidnapping, to where the bad guys are hiding who get caught flat footed by paying a game of gin and letting their guard down! Still Mr. Big-Snakering-is yet to be found and arrested but that's all solved at the end of the movie. That's when the big jerk blows his cover by trying to be a good guy and forgetting to take, the only way that Joe can identify the rat, his ring off!
P.S The Film "Joe Smith, American" has in its cast Johnny Smith, Darryl Hickman, Joe's ten year old son and Frank Faylen as the guy in the hospital waiting room, in a flashback, where Joe is waiting to find out whom his wife Mary, Marsha Hunt, would give birth to as the couples first child a boy or a girl. Both Hickman and Faylen would be reunited almost twenty years later as father and son on the hit TV show "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis".
This torture goes on for hours until knowing that Joe, no matter what they do to him, won't talk they take him for a ride in the country that to be the last ride of his life. Joe despite having the living hell beat out of him still has the presents of mind to remember every detail of what happened and even left clues to where his abductor's hideout is. Joe also makes a daring escape from the moving vehicle that almost cost him his life, by getting hit by a speeding car, when he being both tied up and blindfolded jumps out or the car!
***SPOILERS*** Now rescued by the local L.A police and patched up in a nearby hospital Joe leads the cops, by remembering every detail of his kidnapping, to where the bad guys are hiding who get caught flat footed by paying a game of gin and letting their guard down! Still Mr. Big-Snakering-is yet to be found and arrested but that's all solved at the end of the movie. That's when the big jerk blows his cover by trying to be a good guy and forgetting to take, the only way that Joe can identify the rat, his ring off!
P.S The Film "Joe Smith, American" has in its cast Johnny Smith, Darryl Hickman, Joe's ten year old son and Frank Faylen as the guy in the hospital waiting room, in a flashback, where Joe is waiting to find out whom his wife Mary, Marsha Hunt, would give birth to as the couples first child a boy or a girl. Both Hickman and Faylen would be reunited almost twenty years later as father and son on the hit TV show "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis".
WW II "awareness" movie.
TxMike21 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
It was 1942 and the USA had just entered WW II, courtesy of the Japanese who attacked Pearl Harbor. I wish I knew exactly when this movie actually was filmed, whether before or after that attack.
Robert Young, whom many of us got to know really well on later TV series' like "Father Knows Best" and "Marcus Wellby, MD" is Joe Smith. What a generic name, likely chosen to be representative of any citizen in 1942. Joe goes to work in a defense-related job, and thereafter is kidnapped and grilled by men who wanted him to reveal secrets regarding the military plans.
We see that they run him off the road at night, then take him to a place where they grill him, threaten him and his family, and beat him up. We can hear the "voice in his head" telling him to think of other things so it won't hurt so much. Also telling him that he swore he would not reveal any secrets.
Marsha Hunt is his wife, Mary Hewett Smith. His son Johnny is played by young Darryl Hickman, brother of now more famous Dyawne Hickman of "Dobie Gillis" TV fame.
An interesting movie from an interesting period in US history. It drives home the importance of keeping secrets.
SPOILERS: After Joe fails to give away any secrets, he is taken away in a car, blindfolded. But he makes a mark on the door of the room he had been held in, and as the car travels listens for clues to where they are, tar strips in a road, a "carvival" sound, etc. When he gets a chance, he jumps out of the car and the crooks, not wanting to get hit on the highway, leave him, injured, on the side of the road. He eventually gets rescued, cops come to his aid, and they track down the crooks with his clues, reversing the order. The mark on the door proves he was there. It turns out one of the crooks was an "inside" man with law enforcement.
Robert Young, whom many of us got to know really well on later TV series' like "Father Knows Best" and "Marcus Wellby, MD" is Joe Smith. What a generic name, likely chosen to be representative of any citizen in 1942. Joe goes to work in a defense-related job, and thereafter is kidnapped and grilled by men who wanted him to reveal secrets regarding the military plans.
We see that they run him off the road at night, then take him to a place where they grill him, threaten him and his family, and beat him up. We can hear the "voice in his head" telling him to think of other things so it won't hurt so much. Also telling him that he swore he would not reveal any secrets.
Marsha Hunt is his wife, Mary Hewett Smith. His son Johnny is played by young Darryl Hickman, brother of now more famous Dyawne Hickman of "Dobie Gillis" TV fame.
An interesting movie from an interesting period in US history. It drives home the importance of keeping secrets.
SPOILERS: After Joe fails to give away any secrets, he is taken away in a car, blindfolded. But he makes a mark on the door of the room he had been held in, and as the car travels listens for clues to where they are, tar strips in a road, a "carvival" sound, etc. When he gets a chance, he jumps out of the car and the crooks, not wanting to get hit on the highway, leave him, injured, on the side of the road. He eventually gets rescued, cops come to his aid, and they track down the crooks with his clues, reversing the order. The mark on the door proves he was there. It turns out one of the crooks was an "inside" man with law enforcement.
pledging allegiance
kccole-120 December 2007
Interesting movie on a number of levels. As a patriotic retrospective it is good to see how well the "pledge of allegiance" stands up without the "under G*d" inserted by the brave cold warriors of the Eisenhower era and defended with such valiance by the boobs of the new millennium.
Another poster mentioned a strange fascist-like salute to the flag. What they were doing was not saluting the flag. When they stood sideways and raised their right hands, palms forward, fingers flattened and pointing at the flag, they were *presenting* the flag as one would present an honored guest at a banquet. I remember doing that as a child in school.
Another poster mentioned a strange fascist-like salute to the flag. What they were doing was not saluting the flag. When they stood sideways and raised their right hands, palms forward, fingers flattened and pointing at the flag, they were *presenting* the flag as one would present an honored guest at a banquet. I remember doing that as a child in school.
Proudly American & Honest "Call to Arms" Mislabeled as Propaganda
LeonLouisRicci21 September 2016
This one came so Early after Pearl Harbor that it can be seen more as a Rousing Call to Arms and is often Mislabeled a Propaganda Piece.
It is also so "In Your Face" and Unambiguous in its Flag Waving that it actually seems Refreshing because it is so Honest.
Everything here is Quintessential "Americana". The Title, Married Couple with Child in Suburbia, the Pledge of Allegiance (without "Under God" by the way), the Nathan Hale Story, the Factory, References to Church Going and Sunday School, Home Mortgages, the Kid's Writing Tablet, and more.
It's Surprising Robert Young didn't ask His Wife to Pass the Apple Pie when They Gather for a "Father's Day" Dinner.
Taken at Face Value (and that's all there is) it is a Good Thriller with a Brutal Torture Scene, made Tolerable by Flashbacks of more Americana and a Patriotic Voice inside Joe's Head telling Him to "Keep a Secret" for His Family's and Country's sake.
Viewed Today it can seem to Drag its Message Heavy and Long, but it all Works as an Interesting Time Capsule, circa 1942 America through the Eyes of an Average "Joe".
It is also so "In Your Face" and Unambiguous in its Flag Waving that it actually seems Refreshing because it is so Honest.
Everything here is Quintessential "Americana". The Title, Married Couple with Child in Suburbia, the Pledge of Allegiance (without "Under God" by the way), the Nathan Hale Story, the Factory, References to Church Going and Sunday School, Home Mortgages, the Kid's Writing Tablet, and more.
It's Surprising Robert Young didn't ask His Wife to Pass the Apple Pie when They Gather for a "Father's Day" Dinner.
Taken at Face Value (and that's all there is) it is a Good Thriller with a Brutal Torture Scene, made Tolerable by Flashbacks of more Americana and a Patriotic Voice inside Joe's Head telling Him to "Keep a Secret" for His Family's and Country's sake.
Viewed Today it can seem to Drag its Message Heavy and Long, but it all Works as an Interesting Time Capsule, circa 1942 America through the Eyes of an Average "Joe".
A fascinating wartime curio
planktonrules30 December 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This film was made during World War II and it's an excellent example of positive propaganda. The purpose was not just to entertain but solidify the American public behind the war effort. Instead of the usual war films or escapism, the hero of this story is a regular guy---just like those in the audience--and it shows how even people on the home front can be important to the war effort.
Robert Young plays a defense plant worker who is the crew chief responsible to assembling bombers. However, after being interviewed by federal authorities, he's given a super-top secret job installing bomb sights. The American bomb sights were one of the biggest secrets of the war, as planes were able to use this simple computing device to make much more accurate bombing runs.
Soon after beginning this job, Young is kidnapped by enemy agents and is beaten rather brutally in order to get him to talk. However, Young is a true hero and not only refuses, but uses his brain in order to take in every detail and plan his escape. When he does ultimately get away, his incredible mind for details and courage leads to the apprehension of the gang.
While the film at first seemed a tad hokey, over the course of the film it became obvious that this was an extremely well written and exciting film. Plus, Robert Young did an excellent job in the lead role. Even today, over sixty years later, this is still a great suspense film and great curio to give us insight into what it was like to live at the time in the US.
Robert Young plays a defense plant worker who is the crew chief responsible to assembling bombers. However, after being interviewed by federal authorities, he's given a super-top secret job installing bomb sights. The American bomb sights were one of the biggest secrets of the war, as planes were able to use this simple computing device to make much more accurate bombing runs.
Soon after beginning this job, Young is kidnapped by enemy agents and is beaten rather brutally in order to get him to talk. However, Young is a true hero and not only refuses, but uses his brain in order to take in every detail and plan his escape. When he does ultimately get away, his incredible mind for details and courage leads to the apprehension of the gang.
While the film at first seemed a tad hokey, over the course of the film it became obvious that this was an extremely well written and exciting film. Plus, Robert Young did an excellent job in the lead role. Even today, over sixty years later, this is still a great suspense film and great curio to give us insight into what it was like to live at the time in the US.
Just Your Average Joe
bkoganbing5 November 2010
Joe Smith, American is a bit more than flag waving film, typical of the times back in 1942. It's quite the sociological treatise of its time and rates quite a bit more than most propaganda film, B film that it was.
Robert Young's character of Joe Smith is your average American who probably got some help from the New Deal and now that America is mobilizing for war has landed himself a nice job in the defense industry. Which makes him of interest to enemy agents as we shall see.
One of the things that really got me was that one of the questions that was asked of him as he's being grilled by security people is his religious views. Young replies that he doesn't go to church regularly, but hastens to assure these people that he does send his kid young Darryl Hickman to Sunday School and he does believe in God. The security people beam their approval at him. The idea that someone who is of atheist or agnostic or even freethinking views is a security risk is something we'd see later on in full force during the McCarthy era.
Anyway he gets cleared to work on installing a new kind of bombsight into the planes and then one night some enemy agents kidnap and force him under torture to tell about the bombsight. When the agents go to kill him they make the bad mistake of not killing him in the hideout, but take him by car to wherever they're planning dispose of him. Young makes a daring escape and the police get involved in a hunt for the perpetrators.
The out and out flag waving is kept to a minimum, but when young Darryl Hickman tells Young about Nathan Hale whom he learned about in school it's clear that the message of the film is that there might come a day when we could be called on to make a sacrifice like Nathan Hale, even your average Joe Smith, American.
The film was released in February of 1942 and must have been rushed into production after Pearl Harbor. Marsha Hunt plays Young's wife and if you look carefully you will spot Ava Gardner in an unbilled non-speaking part.
Young who played the ultimate average man in Father Knows Best a decade later on television is perfectly suited for the role of Joe Smith, American. He could be any one of us.
Robert Young's character of Joe Smith is your average American who probably got some help from the New Deal and now that America is mobilizing for war has landed himself a nice job in the defense industry. Which makes him of interest to enemy agents as we shall see.
One of the things that really got me was that one of the questions that was asked of him as he's being grilled by security people is his religious views. Young replies that he doesn't go to church regularly, but hastens to assure these people that he does send his kid young Darryl Hickman to Sunday School and he does believe in God. The security people beam their approval at him. The idea that someone who is of atheist or agnostic or even freethinking views is a security risk is something we'd see later on in full force during the McCarthy era.
Anyway he gets cleared to work on installing a new kind of bombsight into the planes and then one night some enemy agents kidnap and force him under torture to tell about the bombsight. When the agents go to kill him they make the bad mistake of not killing him in the hideout, but take him by car to wherever they're planning dispose of him. Young makes a daring escape and the police get involved in a hunt for the perpetrators.
The out and out flag waving is kept to a minimum, but when young Darryl Hickman tells Young about Nathan Hale whom he learned about in school it's clear that the message of the film is that there might come a day when we could be called on to make a sacrifice like Nathan Hale, even your average Joe Smith, American.
The film was released in February of 1942 and must have been rushed into production after Pearl Harbor. Marsha Hunt plays Young's wife and if you look carefully you will spot Ava Gardner in an unbilled non-speaking part.
Young who played the ultimate average man in Father Knows Best a decade later on television is perfectly suited for the role of Joe Smith, American. He could be any one of us.
A must see old movie
faxusnow15 February 2002
I saw this as a child, probably 9 or 10 years old, and can remember thinking how clever this man was to remember the route of the kidnap car. Well acted, Robert Young as the hero and kept you on the edge of the seat all through the movie. Have not seen it since and need to review the movie again.
Earnest WW2 propaganda
twhiteson18 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"Joe Smith, American" is a quaint WW2 propaganda piece with the steady Robert Young as the eponymous lead character.
Joe Smith is an aircraft factory worker who is selected to work on the installation of a top secret bombsight. He's just a regular Joe alright with a drop-dead gorgeous wife, "Mary" (Marsha Hunt) and an "adorable" 9 yr old moppet of a son, "Johnny" (Darryl Hickman). While being driven to school, Johnny extols his father with his admiration for the Revolutionary War patriot, Nathan Hale, and continues to exhibit a steely determination to keep secret from his parents how he spent his allowance despite being punished for his refusal to reveal. Upon reaching the school, Joe is treated to the sight of Johnny and his classmates reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (in its original form prior to its inclusion of "under God") and singing "My Country tis of Thee." Joe's face beams with patriotic pride as he heads towards work.
His son's determination not reveal his secret, the story of Nathan Hale, and the exhibits of patriotism at the school, all serve Joe in good stead to stay silent when he's kidnapped by dastardly spies who are determined to get the bombsight plans from Joe by either bribery, torture or threats of death. Of course, Joe endures and eventually is able to outwit his tormentors, but what do you expect from a WW2 propaganda piece- for the bad guys to actually get away with it?
The best one can say about this film is that it's earnest. It truly wears its patriotic heart on its sleeve. Plus, Robert Young approached the role with his usual likable aplomb. Unfortunately, Marsha Hunt is given little to do except look pretty which she does very well. (Although how old was her character supposed to be when she got married and had a kid? 13? 14? Miss Hunt was just 23 or 24 when she made this movie.) However, Darryl Hickman was a truly annoying child actor. He's just so cloyingly cute that it makes one's teeth ache. Usually, I give kid actors some leeway, but Mr. Hickman gave a similar annoying performance in 1945's "Leave To Her Heaven" in which many in the audience were undoubtedly pleased when Gene Tierney's character didn't lift a finger to save his irritating character. So, how he acted here wasn't just a one-off performance.
It was a different world. The unabashed patriotism and pride in being an American exhibited in this film is something that is NOT taught in our schools today. How many American school kids today can recite Nathan Hale's once famous final words?
Joe Smith is an aircraft factory worker who is selected to work on the installation of a top secret bombsight. He's just a regular Joe alright with a drop-dead gorgeous wife, "Mary" (Marsha Hunt) and an "adorable" 9 yr old moppet of a son, "Johnny" (Darryl Hickman). While being driven to school, Johnny extols his father with his admiration for the Revolutionary War patriot, Nathan Hale, and continues to exhibit a steely determination to keep secret from his parents how he spent his allowance despite being punished for his refusal to reveal. Upon reaching the school, Joe is treated to the sight of Johnny and his classmates reciting the Pledge of Allegiance (in its original form prior to its inclusion of "under God") and singing "My Country tis of Thee." Joe's face beams with patriotic pride as he heads towards work.
His son's determination not reveal his secret, the story of Nathan Hale, and the exhibits of patriotism at the school, all serve Joe in good stead to stay silent when he's kidnapped by dastardly spies who are determined to get the bombsight plans from Joe by either bribery, torture or threats of death. Of course, Joe endures and eventually is able to outwit his tormentors, but what do you expect from a WW2 propaganda piece- for the bad guys to actually get away with it?
The best one can say about this film is that it's earnest. It truly wears its patriotic heart on its sleeve. Plus, Robert Young approached the role with his usual likable aplomb. Unfortunately, Marsha Hunt is given little to do except look pretty which she does very well. (Although how old was her character supposed to be when she got married and had a kid? 13? 14? Miss Hunt was just 23 or 24 when she made this movie.) However, Darryl Hickman was a truly annoying child actor. He's just so cloyingly cute that it makes one's teeth ache. Usually, I give kid actors some leeway, but Mr. Hickman gave a similar annoying performance in 1945's "Leave To Her Heaven" in which many in the audience were undoubtedly pleased when Gene Tierney's character didn't lift a finger to save his irritating character. So, how he acted here wasn't just a one-off performance.
It was a different world. The unabashed patriotism and pride in being an American exhibited in this film is something that is NOT taught in our schools today. How many American school kids today can recite Nathan Hale's once famous final words?
Interesting Artifact
dougdoepke18 October 2017
The movie's timing is interesting. The release date is Feb., 1942 (IMDB), just two months after Pearl Harbor and America's entry into WWII. Clearly, the film's intent is to both inspire audiences and warn of foreign enemies. But the conspirators in the movie aren't identified (with one irrelevant exception). As a result, I'm surmising the screenplay was completed before Pearl Harbor, but war was nevertheless clearly imminent. Had production gone beyond PH, I think the enemy would have been clearly identified. Anyway, it's a rather interesting aspect of the movie's context.
With its flag-waving title, no one expects anything deep or probing. Rather, the plot honors an idealized "average" American, Joe (Young), whose fortitude and ingenuity thwarts an (unidentified) enemy's attempt to steal a revolutionary bomb-sight. The narrative ties Joe's courage to that of the heroic Nathan Hale's famous " but one life to give for my country." Thus, America can face confidently into the War knowing that average Americans retain the heroic stature of old.
I like the first part showing Joe's work and home life. Surprisingly, events resist descending into treacle, mainly because of actor Young and a refusal to sentimentalize him—(He believes in God, but as a working man he sleeps in rather than going to church). At the same time, Hunt's idealized housewife is dutiful and supportive, the way a wife was expected to be.
The second half, however, drifts into plot contrivance and pedestrian violence. Still, I like the way Joe tries to use happy time recollections to get him through the ordeal. Then too, the flashbacks fill in the earlier period of Joe's blissful courtship and marriage to Mary (note the Biblical first names), rounding out their background with patriotic rituals. (btw, as of 2017, she's still with us at age 100!).
Not much of an analytic nature should be expected from this glimpse into wartime ideals. Nonetheless, the cast remains a winning one, along with smooth direction (except for the closing twist), and realistic locations. All in all, thanks be to TMC for digging up this obscure but revealing artifact.
With its flag-waving title, no one expects anything deep or probing. Rather, the plot honors an idealized "average" American, Joe (Young), whose fortitude and ingenuity thwarts an (unidentified) enemy's attempt to steal a revolutionary bomb-sight. The narrative ties Joe's courage to that of the heroic Nathan Hale's famous " but one life to give for my country." Thus, America can face confidently into the War knowing that average Americans retain the heroic stature of old.
I like the first part showing Joe's work and home life. Surprisingly, events resist descending into treacle, mainly because of actor Young and a refusal to sentimentalize him—(He believes in God, but as a working man he sleeps in rather than going to church). At the same time, Hunt's idealized housewife is dutiful and supportive, the way a wife was expected to be.
The second half, however, drifts into plot contrivance and pedestrian violence. Still, I like the way Joe tries to use happy time recollections to get him through the ordeal. Then too, the flashbacks fill in the earlier period of Joe's blissful courtship and marriage to Mary (note the Biblical first names), rounding out their background with patriotic rituals. (btw, as of 2017, she's still with us at age 100!).
Not much of an analytic nature should be expected from this glimpse into wartime ideals. Nonetheless, the cast remains a winning one, along with smooth direction (except for the closing twist), and realistic locations. All in all, thanks be to TMC for digging up this obscure but revealing artifact.
Yo Joe
utgard1415 October 2016
This one's good. Released shortly after the United States had entered WW2, it stars Robert Young as a guy working on a special project for the government who is kidnapped by enemy agents. They beat him up for hours to try and find out what he knows. It's an exciting, fast-paced movie that clocks in at barely over sixty minutes. It reminds me of a longer version of the Crime Does Not Pay short films. If you're familiar with that series I think you'll see what I'm talking about. The cast is good, with Robert Young doing a terrific job in the lead and nice support from the lovely Marsha Hunt as his wife and a young Darryl Hickman as his son. Recognizable character actors make up the rest of the cast. It's an unabashedly patriotic and entertaining movie that doesn't waste a minute of its runtime. Worth a look for most classic film fans.
Great WW II Propaganda Film
whpratt120 December 2007
This film deals with a man called Joe Smith, (Robert Young), who works in a airplane factory and is assigned to working on a new bomb-sight and has knowledge of the blue prints which is top secret. Joe is married to Mary Smith, (Marsha Hunt) and they are a very happy couple until one day Joe is kidnapped by four men who want all the information concerning Joe's knowledge of the bomb-sight plans. Joe is beaten and blind folded and as he is being transported Joe uses all the sounds that he hears while riding in a car to locate just where the kidnappers are taking him. This is a great B film and is very well produced and directed and Robert Young and Marsha Hunt give an outstanding performance.
Robert Young shows hidden acting talents
HotToastyRag17 March 2019
There are lots of movies you can point to and assume they were Robert Young's audition for Father Knows Best, and when Joe Smith, American starts, it seems like it could fall into that category. Robert is a happy family man, a hard worker, and as devoted to making his wife happy as he is to teaching his son good values.
However, Robert gets a promotion and takes part in secret government plans to help out the factory during wartime. One night, he gets kidnapped, beaten, and tortured to try and extract government secrets. This is not your average Father Knows Best episode.
If you're looking for two movies out of Robert's career to make you say, "I didn't know he had it in him!" then rent The Wet Parade and Joe Smith, American. There's a common phrase we at The Rag like to say about performances snubbed by The Academy, "What does it take?" While that phrase certainly applies to Robert's performance in this film, there's another phrase that also applies. Here at The Rag, we happily brag that the actors and actresses honored with awards and nominations "couldn't have been any better." This high praise is well-earned. Rent it for a very heavy, very raw, Rag-nominated performance by Robert Young.
However, Robert gets a promotion and takes part in secret government plans to help out the factory during wartime. One night, he gets kidnapped, beaten, and tortured to try and extract government secrets. This is not your average Father Knows Best episode.
If you're looking for two movies out of Robert's career to make you say, "I didn't know he had it in him!" then rent The Wet Parade and Joe Smith, American. There's a common phrase we at The Rag like to say about performances snubbed by The Academy, "What does it take?" While that phrase certainly applies to Robert's performance in this film, there's another phrase that also applies. Here at The Rag, we happily brag that the actors and actresses honored with awards and nominations "couldn't have been any better." This high praise is well-earned. Rent it for a very heavy, very raw, Rag-nominated performance by Robert Young.
We need films & people like this TODAY!
tkarlmann17 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Oh, you could call this film "corny" by today's 'standards, but I call it Patriotic. When they did the Pledge of Allegiance to Our Flag, they MEANT it. Today, all they show are stupid people burning Our Flag. We can all learn from this simplistic, homespun, apple-pie film. This film is EXACTLY what we need today. And, spoiler alert -- they got all the bad guys too; not like today, where the Bad Guys hide out in plain sight and will never tell the truth and, yet somehow, escape prosecution. Yes, these seem to be simpler times -- but why can't we HAVE simpler times, even today? Do we REALLY need 5G? They didn't have any "G's" in this film, and they got on alright. Do we really need smart, so-called self-driving cars? They seemed to get around with cars in this film, from ~1942, with no power steering, power brakes, Power shifting, or GPS. Have we really become that much weaker as a society, or have we just become stupider -- bowing to every new gadget that seems to be forced on us? This film gave me something to think about! And if you don't mind, I'm going to dream about joining them, and having a slice of Mary's apple pie on their new & UNUSED dining room set!
When I was 9
SLP25 December 1998
I saw this movie when I was 9 at our local movie theatre on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles, CA. It was just a bit after we had entered WWII, and all of us kids at Logan Street School were out checking on the planes that flew overhead to make sure they weren't Jap or Nazi(Politically incorrect now, but the usage then) I remember Robert Young being kidnapped by Nazi spies and what impressed my friends and myself the most, was his leading the FBI back to their hideout while being blindfolded. A real great propaganda film of the day.
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