A coward sir? From now on everytime I hear the name of Plunkett, I’ll snap to attention and salute. – The Fighting 69th (1940)
Cowardice, Bravery, and Community: The Fighting 69th (1940) – Classic War Film Analysis
Join me for a Midi as I dive into “The Fighting 69th” (1940), a stirring World War I drama that explores Cowardice, Bravery, Religion, and Community. Uncover the powerful performances, historical context, and emotional depth of this classic war film.
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Trying something a little different today.
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I’m going to record live
and do limited editing.
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And try to get out more movie
summaries in a shorter time.
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I’ll still make more traditional
long forms and some shorts,
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but I’m going to try this new format
and see how it works.
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You can let me know in the comment.
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I appreciate your support.
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How’s it going?
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I wanted to talk to you
a bit about a movie I just watched.
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It’s an old movie.
I’ve seen it many, many times.
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It’s called The Fighting 69th,
and it came out in 1940.
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This movie stars James Cagney.
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I’m a big fan of this guy
who was a great actor.
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So the movie tells the story of the 69th
National Guard Regiment from New York
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that was sent over as part of the American
Expeditionary Force.
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It’s based on a true story.
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These World War One units,
they activated these National Guard units
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from New York,
which was a really intense Catholic unit.
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The Fighting 69th had been a unit during the American Civil War,
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and they’re famous for their battle at Fredericksburg.
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They are very Catholic, very traditional.
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A lot of local guys from Irish immigrants who were Catholic.
The government took National Guard units from all over the country and combined them. Now the Harlem unit had to fight to get included. Can you imagine fighting to get your unit included in the war? 2
It wouldn’t happen today, but it did happen back then.
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But they would take like, Alabama units and stuff like that. And they mashed them all together and made the All-American Division that was sent over there. And so the American Expeditionary Force.
Well, this movie tells that story. The movie focuses on one guy, Gerry Plunkett, played by Cagney. And he’s a real tough street guy. You know, he’s not really a coward. He’s a physically brave guy.
But when he gets to the unit, he can’t really follow instructions because he’s more of a rogue guy.
And then when they eventually get up to the line in France, he freaks out because he can’t just sit around
while artillery is bombarding him.
He wants to do something.
So through a series of events, he gets in trouble.
Gerry Plunkett, who is kind of protected and watched over by Father Duffy, who was played by Pat O’Brien.
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And he just is sappy as Knute Rockne, you know.
It’s the same movie where “Win One for the Gipper” with Ronald Reagan.
And so he was playing that same character, but this time he was a Catholic priest
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instead of a Catholic football coach.
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Eventually, Gerry Plunkett gets so many people killed
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that they court-martial him for cowardice, and they sentence him to death.
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He doesn’t want to really die like that by execution.
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And he begs the father to let him go.
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Won’t do it.
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So by happenstance, an artillery shell hits where he’s being imprisoned and blows the wall down.
And instead of escaping, he sees Father Duffy preaching to some men to be brave.
And he goes forward to help out.
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And in one critical moment, he helps Big Mike, a soldier who was too big to be in the military, played by Alan Hale Sr. That’s the father of the Gilligan’s Island skipper.
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They use mortars to drive the Germans back and make the attack successful.
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A German grenade is thrown into the pit where Big Mike and Jerry are hiding.
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And Jerry, Jimmy Cagney’s character, jumps on it and blows himself up to save his friend.
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They realize that he redeemed himself and they forgive him in the end.
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Part of the story is true.
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They had a famous poet in their unit.
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He was killed when a underground bunker that they were in was hit
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by artillery and collapsed.
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So I really like this movie. James Cagney is good.
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He shows his New York tough guy, but he’s a little more nuanced
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because he’s a coward when it comes to the
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the big stuff, the artillery and the sitting and waiting in trenches.
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One really great moment in this movie is he is talking to another fella from New York
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who’s obviously Jewish, pretending to be Irish so he can be in the unit.
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And they get into a Yiddish conversation in the movie.
Cagney spoke fluent Yiddish from his time growing up in New York.
So it’s a good movie.
It’s a real traditional.
It’s The Fighting 69th (1940).
Give it a look. I think you’re going to like it.
