cricket30 Review of The Eagle and the Hawk

The Eagle and the Hawk (1933)

Would the sheriff in HIGH NOON shoot himself?

[7/10 · 3 December 2014]

Heck no! Gary Cooper would NOT besmirch the reputation of American lawmen like that, nor would he belittle the memories of U.S. servicemen when he starred as SERGEANT YORK (to paraphrase, "Gunning down Germans is more fun than shooting turkeys"). Apparently, actor Fredric March had no such qualms in portraying an American war hero as a nattering ninny. First his "Lt. Jerry Young" reams out Cary Grant's character for trying to shoot the enemy. Then when he finally sees the most deadly tool of the Kaiser face-to-face after instinctively blasting him away despite himself, March's Lt. Young immediately berates his comrades as fools for doing their best to protect our Homeland, after which he shoots himself in the head. "Lt. Young" and March hardly qualify as eagles OR hawks (unless you include chicken hawks). Director Stuart Walker could have beaten Dalton Trumbo to the punch, and titled this early anti-hero piece JERRY GOT HIS GUN!