Cheap Heroes for Sale (Video) (Richard Barthelmess, Loretta Young) (William A. Wellman) Price

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Customer Reviews of Heroes for Sale

FASCINATING BARTHELMESS PRE-CODER.
A war veteran becomes in turn a drug addict, a millionaire and the central figure in a labour dispute. During WWI, Lieutenant Roger Winston is assigned to capture a German prisoner. Overcome by fear, he hides in a foxhole while Tom Holmes (Barthelmess), another soldier from the same town, carries out the mission. On the way back Tom is struck by a shell and Roger slyly returns with the prisoner: Roger is promoted and decorated for bravery. Tom's life is saved by the Germans, but he becomes a morphine addict to relieve his pain...An interestingly realistic film - with a less than believable storyline - it nevertheless gives viewers a glimpse of the nearly forgotten vastly underrated Richard Barthelmess. The man was a fine actor who had a unique magnetism rarely seen on film. BREADLINE was the film's working title: Wellman - the director - used real hoboes for the hobo scenes & real laundry workers for the laundry scenes. 2O year-old Loretta Young and Aline MacMahon are fine in their roles.

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No Studio Gloss Here
Richard Barthelmess stars as a man who reminds us that heroes aren't just the people who do the big, newsworthy things, but can be the ordinary person who does what they should when the odds are stacked against him. Robbed of his hero status following bravery in WWI, Barthelmess returns to America a drug addicted shell of his former self. Throughout the course of the film, he rises and falls several times, battling labor strife, drugs, and the Communism scare, all the while trying to save himself and those he loves during the Great Depression. Barthelmess is effective in the central role, as is Loretta Young as his wife. The real standout, however, is Aline MacMahon as their friend, a loyal woman with a big, but broken heart. While other studios were making glossy films about impossibly rich people, Warner Bros made films about ordinary people struggling to survive. It's a startling look at the Thirties, well directed, acted, and written. It appeals to the social conscience in all of us.

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Realistic, Gritty Drama from the 1930's
There's nothing sugar-coated in this movie! Silent film star Richard Barthlemess appears as a WWI veteran who endures a narcotic addiction, rehabilitation, career advancement, marriage, parenthood, wealth, labor riots, death, prison, a "Red" scare, police scare tactics, and homelessness. Loretta Young portrays his wife, and the wonderful actress Aline MacMahon appears as his most loyal friend. She raises his son when he's wrongly imprisoned, and is the executor of his accumulated wealth, which he requests she use to run a soup kitchen for the poor. Her performance is beautifully understated, and her love for him shines through.

Although this movie is from the early 1930's, the topics and problems Barthlemess faces could come right off the newspaper headlines from today. This is an interesting social commentary, and certainly worthy of your time.