That is the theme in Marlon Brando’s feature film debut, The Men (1950). Brando plays Ken “Bud” Wilcheck, a lieutenant left a paraplegic after being shot in the spine. We witness the incident—flat on the ground, bullets flying all around him, and in an interior monologue he states that he can’t feel his legs. When next we see Bud, he’s in a dark, private room at a military hospital. Depressed and angry, he barely acknowledges the doctors and nurses, and certainly doesn’t want to see his fiancée Ellen (Teresa Wright). Bud is under the care of the tough, but congenial Dr. Brock (Everett Sloane) who decides it’s best to move him on to the general ward, in an effort to motivate him toward discharge.
The residents of the spinal injury ward are an interesting bunch: witty gambler Leo (Richard Erdman) spends much of his time on the phone with his bookie, placing bets on the horses and smoking cigars. Norm (Jack Webb) is a college graduate with an acerbic sense of humor, and a dim outlook on their chances of finding wives and living normal lives in the larger society. Rounding out the trio is Angel (Arthur Hurado), works out constantly, determined to return home and help support his mother and siblings.
When Bud first arrives on the unit, he just wants to be left alone. Naturally, Leo immediately starts in on him, turning his music up loud. Angel attempts to get Leo to cool it, but he can’t help but continue to lob wisecracks Bud’s way. This feet to the fire initiation seems to get through to Bud, and he begins to soften slightly. It perhaps a little bit of, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” at play.
Meanwhile, after much persistence Ellen finally gets in to see Bud, with Dr. Brock’s approval. He tries to send her away with cruel words, but Ellen still insists she wants to marry him. Finally resisting, and with a marriage to look forward to, Bud takes to training alongside Angel with drive and determination.
Filmed at the Birmingham Paraplegic Hospital in Van Nuys, California, The Men features many real-life patients and caregivers. Surprisingly, given that it was 1950, the film doesn’t shy away from some of the more unpleasant realities of paraplegia, including: impotence, incontinence, pain, and death. The film even deals with the difficulties presented in the outside world, no ramps for bud’s wheelchair, people staring at them. The film deserves great credit for its willingness to discuss such issues in an open manner, if it is a bit bland and pedestrian at times.
No matter how bland things get, Brando’s star quality is on display from the word go, and never lets up. His well documented ability to let emotions build up to a well timed climax is on display here, as is the tough guy with a soft heart. It’s easy to see why Brando became an international star so quickly, he was just a natural. I also must give praise to Theresa Wright’s portrayal of Ellen. A terminally underrated actress, Wright won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1942 for her performance in Mrs. Miniver. She also co-starred as Peggy Stephenson in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Here, as Ellen she is rather quiet, but must deal with the initial terror when she realizes that her life with Bud is going to take a lot more compromise than she ever could have imagined.
Presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, Olive Films 1080p transfer is a pretty solid one. There’s a light grain, giving the proceedings a real filmic appearance, and blacks seem nicely balanced. The image also displays some nice depth. There are no digital artifacts to speak of.
The Lossless DTS HD Master Audio track does a nice job with this dialogue heavy film Dimitri Tiomikin’s score benefits greatly from the uncompressed mono track, opening things up to most of the soundfield.
There are no subtitles included.
There are no special features available.
