They Gave Him a Gun

Fred (Spencer Tracy) and Jimmy (Franchot Tone) are a couple of guys who serve together in World War I and become friends. After the war, Jimmy marries Rose (Gladys George), a nurse Fred was in love with. Years later Fred runs a circus and Jimmy is a gangster. When Rose finds out about her husband's criminal life, she does something that puts her life and Fred's in danger.

Enjoyable gangster picture from MGM. It drags some in the middle but the beginning and end are good. One of Franchot Tone's better roles. Tracy and George are very good, as you might expect from them. WB had the market cornered on gangster movies in the '30s. This is one of the better ones they didn't produce.

... with those three pieces being a war film, a wartime hospital part, and then a gangster film part. All of these parts are good within themselves, but together they produce an incoherent whole.

Spencer Tracy and Franchot Tone play two WWI draftees who meet and become buddies in basic training. Fred Willis (Tracy) is a bit of a wise guy. Jimmy Davis (Tone) is a shy hayseed bookkeeper. The implication is that Davis finds himself in being good with a rifle. When the two are deployed, Jimmy is badly wounded after cleaning out an enemy machine gun nest.

After the war, Jimmy just seamlessly transitions to a - hitman for the mob??? The implication is that when "they gave him a gun" he evolves from someone who faints at the idea of bayoneting somebody into The Enforcer. I just don't buy it.

On top of that we have the two leading men falling for nurse Rose Duffy, played by Gladys George. George was a great character actress, but I'm just not buying her as the angel of mercy who peacetime knits quietly while hubby is out murdering for hire while she doesn't have a clue. For one, she is and looks too old for the part. She was 37 when this was made and looks it. George was best at playing wise "dames" like saloon keeper Panama in The Roaring Twenties.

You've got good acting in this film and well staged battle scenes, but in the end it delivers a muddled message and is probably one of the last of the American anti-war films inspired by WWI.

There's no doubt that W.S. Van Dyke was capable of great direction, and therefore it's frustrating that he made so few first rate movies. This one consistently has great scenes followed by duds. Gladys George is woefully miscast as a young nurse but gives a good performance; Franchot Tone, also miscast, makes a strong impression that works too hard against his weak character. Tracy is fine as always as the stiffly moral pal. Great photography, exciting war scenes, excellent montages by Slavko Vorkapich.

Franchot Tone gets into trouble when "They Gave Him a Gun" in this 1937 film, also starring Spencer Tracy and Gladys George.

Fred and Jimmy (Tracy and Tone) meet during World War I when they are both in the service. When Jimmy is injured and hospitalized and Fred visits, they both fall for Jimmy's nurse Rose (George).

Fred is captured by the enemy and presumed dead. When he returns, he realizes that Rose and Jimmy are an item, so he bows out.

Some time later, Fred meets Jimmy in New York and realizes that he's part of organized crime, but Rose is unaware of it. Jimmy winds up in prison, and, realizing that Rose tipped off the cops, his guys come after her. Fred spirits her away to work with him in the circus.

Predictable film with good performances by Tracy and Tone. Gladys George is dreadfully miscast. She was a very good actress but this was the wrong role for her. The part should have gone to a pretty ingénue with sass. They got the sass right but not the rest of it. Maureen O'Sullivan, Diana Lewis, Jean Parker, for instance, was under contract and would have been fine. How could Gladys George not know her husband was a gangster?

W.S. Van Dyke aka "One Shot Willy" directed and does a few interesting things. For the most part, this is a typical '30s film that Warner Brothers would have made. Really doesn't look like an MGM movie at all.

It is always interesting to see a film like this.It features famous stars in an obscure virtually unseen and forgotten film.Obviously there is a reason for this.That of course is that this is a misfire on every count.After all casting Gladys George as a young nurse!Talk about stretching credulity.Tracy is probably the best of the principals,but needs someone stronger to play off than Tone.The script was worked on by 5 credited writers but who knows how many more had a hand,and it shows.The motivation for many of the characters is totally lacking and all of a sudden they go in a totally different direction.In fact what might be called the turning moment in Tones character is a point in question.He has wanted to desert when he was in boot camp.Faced with a German soldier he puts up his arms and surrenders.he then sees that the German is dead and his shame at his actions then spurs him on to redeem himself with a courageous act.What a lot of nonsense.Anyway to sum up,not a great film,but worth seeing for Tracy.