Half a Hero (1953) User Reviews

Check out the Post-War view of Marriage

[racliff · 5/10 · 29 January 2016]

I saw this movie many years ago, but couldn't remember anything about it. Watching it again, I think I know why. "Half a Hero" is probably enjoyed better as a drama or a view of the world at a certain point in time. Watching Red Skelton is always enjoyable, but wanting this movie to be a comedy can make the viewing almost painful.

Men working hard is great and women wanting to make house & home is wonderful -- whether it's today or 60 years ago. The pain for me surfaces when this couple are at odds during their financial difficulties, bringing up talks that should precede marriage and not deferred until after getting a mortgage.

So if you approach this movie from a non-comedy perspective, I think you will enjoy it. Skelton's performance is almost as good as in _The Clown (1953)_ (qv). Jean Hagen demonstrates a wonderful difference from _Singin' in the Rain (1952)_ (qv) where everyone remembers "Lina Lamont". Single scene participants of 'Kathleen Freeman (I)' (qv) and 'Mary Wickes' (qv) made me smile.

This production made a profit when it was released and then quietly disappeared. If you can find a copy of it, Skelton fans should definitely watch it. Maybe young people getting ready for marriage can learn one or two things as well.

It was good to see Red Skelton

[rsgallo · 6/10 · 6 March 2001]

Half A Hero was a cute bit of fluff. It was a cute story, with the main interest watching Red Skelton perform. He is a real doll to watch. I could relate to his struggles. It was funny, clever, very much the same things we struggle with currently. Tho' I disagreed with his decisions. It was pleasant, but mainly I just enjoyed seeing Red. He is one of the greats that is gone from this world forever, to a much better place I pray.

In my view, not a comedy, but a decent and somewhat serious Skelton performance

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 16 June 2012]

The problem with this film is that it stars Red Skelton. And, if it's a Red Skelton film, then it must be an uproarious comedy. Right? Well, no. This is one of those films that can't quite decide if it's a drama with some comedy, or a comedy with some drama. And, in my view, that dichotomy is always a problem for a film.

Don't get me wrong. I adore(d) Red Skelton since I was a little boy. And I find him rather pleasant in this role. But this is not "The Yellow Cab Man" or "The Fuller Brush Man". This film actually has a pretty serious topic -- a married man gives into his wife and buys a home in the suburbs, only to find himself slowly going broke. Will they lose the house? Will they divorce over it? And then, just to complicate things, his boss at the magazine where he works assigns him to write an article about the "slums of the future" -- the suburbs.

Nope. Not really a comedy.

Jean Hagen is the wife here, and frankly, I'm not so sure she fared well. She was not very successful as Danny Thomas' wife in his series "Make Room For Daddy" (which began the same year), so perhaps playing a mother/housewife was just not right for her. The other main character in the story is the magazine owner, played by Charles Dingle...not one of my favorite character actors. You'll notice other character actors here, as well.

The film has a rather short run time. This is a rare Skelton film I had never seen. Thanks to Warner Archives for releasing it!

Really A Cut Up

[DKosty123 · 6/10 · 18 July 2016]

MGM designs another 1953 B feature here. They put television director Don Weis behind the camera, and sitcom writer Max Schulman who would punch Dobie Gillis to write a forgettable script. One could only wish MGM got more committed to making a better film here.

The cast here, while experienced is really not a lot of support, and that does not help this one.

If you tune in for Red Skelton being funny, you get what you want out of this picture. Most of the cast is television actors. It feels like a summer vacation from TV movie.

If you tune in looking for a classic film, this one is not even close.

Splitting Diamonds is not the same as crop dusting, though both can be killers. The bad guys act like Ben Dobson (Red's) family. In the end the family all falls apart and breaks down while Red is still prepping to cut a large diamond.

It is a hopeless tale with some humor.

My Suburban Heaven

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 29 August 2014]

Those who are expecting some of Red Skelton's more outlandish comedy routines will be somewhat disappointed in Half A Hero. In this film Red essays a role that just post World War II would have been offered to James Stewart. Who's to say this script wasn't seen by Stewart.

Still he and Jean Hagen play a decent post war average couple with her doing the June Cleaver home making and Red working as a writer, or should I say rewriter at a magazine owned by Charles Dingle. One of my favorite character actors, Dingle is at his pompous tyrannical best as Skelton's boss who likes the fact that Skelton and Hagen live in a small New York City apartment and within their means. Listening to Dingle prattle on about that subject I could hear Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter talking about the merits of a thrifty working class.

Anyway Skelton and Hagen do move to the suburbs and face the same problems a lot of post World War II young marrieds face, like my parents for instance. Dingle however wants an expose of these people who don't save who will turn the nation into a mass of suburban slums. Skelton tries to give him what he wants, but he's got his own ideas as well.

The old and young Jimmy Stewart could have phoned in his performance if he had the lead in Half A Hero. Skelton does all right with the part even if it is offbeat casting. Outside of Dingle in the cast, the best performance is by Willard Waterman as a most unctuous real estate salesman.

It's not typical Red Skelton, but it's more than all right.

Only for Red Skelton-devotees...

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 25 January 2008]

Trite sitcom from director Don Weis and writer Max Schulman has Red Skelton cast as a harried husband and father over-his-head in trouble after his caustic spouse convinces him to move the family from New York City to the suburbs. As Skelton's wife, miscast Jean Hagen is all wrong for this scenario (she's so brittle, she makes poor Red look hen-pecked, deadly in a family comedy). Supporting cast (including Mary Wickes, Billie Bird, and Polly Bergen playing herself) is much more at ease with this kind of silly material; though, unfortunately, star Skelton isn't given very much to do. Extremely minor fare. *1/2 from ****

struggles of a newlywed couple....yawn..

[ksf-2 · 5/10 · 10 January 2017]

So Bland. Sadly, this one has none of the clever humor and dialogue that some of Red Skelton's other films had. Skelton and Jean Hagen are newlyweds that take on all the typical, responsible duties of husband and wife. Skelton narrates most of this, and as a result, there is just no magic between husband and wife. There ARE some fun names in here that viewers will recognize -- a brief appearance by Mary Wickes and Frank Cady as husband and wife. Wickes was the hilarious maid in Man Who Came to Dinner and Now Voyager... Frank Cady was in Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. Also Polly Bergen, in one of her very early film appearances. I think the main problem is that the writer wasn't sure just which category this fell in... was it a comedy or a drama? Not much comedy in here. just lots of arguing. I did catch one spit-take from Skelton... Directed by Don Weis; he directed a few films, but quickly moved into directing television. Probably just as well. Can skip this one. Shown on Turner Classics now and then.

Red Skelton comedy with social climbing commentary

[jacobs-greenwood · 5/10 · 20 December 2016]

This Red Skelton comedy provides a social commentary of its time that's not as dated as one might think. In fact, it reminded me of a recent "keep up with the Jones" commercial for a financial lending organization at first, with a little bit of Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) later. Skelton plays a New York magazine writer named Ben Dobson whose ambitious – one might even say 'social climbing' – wife Martha (Jean Hagen) 'encourages' him to continuously 'evolve' into the husband (for the life) she wants. It was directed by Don Weis and written by Max Shulman. Polly Bergen appears as herself in a restaurant club scene that feels out of place in the story.

Ben finds a job working for Mr. Bascomb (Charles Dingle) at Everybody's magazine in New York City; "Everybody loves Everybody's" (a kind of a "Life" magazine). Bascomb is a man of "sound principles", who insists that his employees are as thrifty as he is. During the job interview, Ben more or less goes along with or agrees with whatever Bascomb says and is hired. Ben had been a freelance writer, but this new steady job provides Martha with the opportunity to 'enhance' their domestic situation. First, she manipulates him into having their first child, then (after five years, which pass in less than 10 minutes of screen-time) into moving out of their city apartment to a suburban home with their son Pete (Hugh Corcoran). Willard Waterman plays the friendly and convincing (if conniving) real estate agent Charles McEstway.

Once ensconced in Williams Landing, Martha persuades Ben to 'improve' their lives with one purchase after another, and soon the Dobsons are treading on thin ice using credit for furniture, a television set and other home improvements (and plumbing repairs). Ben decided not to tell his boss – Bascomb would surely not approve – about their moving to the suburbs, which leads to an awkward/unusual moment (that may have been funnier at the time of the film's release than it plays today). Ironically, Bascomb wants Ben to write his first article – he'd been a rewriter (e.g. an editor of sorts) all this time – about the folly of suburbia, and going into debt to buy a home and all the associated "things" (pretty current, eh?).

While initially reluctant, Ben feels forced into taking the assignment by Martha's never ending desire for more; her "need" for a car convinces him to do it. He decides to accept the role of "Community Chest" collector (this is a dated concept) in order to get to know his neighbors better and learn about how everyone else in Williams Landing is "up to their eyeballs in debt". He figures that after his articles are published, Martha will be so embarrassed – and the Dobsons so ostracized – that she'll have to let them move back to the city.

Several comic scenes follow: Ben learns about one neighbor's new addition – an activities room – and another's outdoor grilling/eating patio. His articles are caustic, just the kind of impactful stuff that his boss wants. But when Martha finds and reads them (before they're published), while not happy, she finally understands and agrees to let Ben list the house.

However, when McEstway brings a couple (Mary Wickes and Frank Cady) of prospective buyers to see the house, their comments about what the Dobsons have built (and call home) make Ben defensive. His perspective changes, and so does the conclusion of his series of articles; upon reading it, Bascomb is at first perplexed and then angry. But henpecked Ben follows his wife's script (we learn later) to get a promotion and a raise, just in time for the coming of their second child.

good comedy

[sprywj · 8/10 · 19 February 2001]

This is one of my favorite of the pre-60s comedies, up with It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Red Skelton gives one of his best performances, and the humour is still witty today in a naive sense.

I also recommend Red Skelton's Public Pigeon #1!

When the community chest comes calling, cough uncontrollably.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 23 February 2024]

Red Skelton's Ben Dobson is one manipulated man: by boss Charles Dingle, wife Polly Bergen and the rather cumbersome neighbors who outside a few (like delightful old curmudgeon Burt Mustin) are genuinely boring and predictable. Dingle reminds me of the "Twilight Zone" boss barking "Push, push, push!" to his passive employees.

It seems with every scene, a familiar face pops up for an analogy of suburban staidism, starting with pushy female door to door saleswoman Kathleen Freeman and continuing with neighbors Dabbs Greer and Dorothy Patrick. The story focuses on how Skelton writes a scathing article on the peaceful family neighborhood. Willard Waterman as the real estate rep brings Mary Wickes and Frank Cady as possible buyers of their house, hysterically tearing down everything that Skelton and Hagen have done to fix it up.

Amusing but cynical (and obviously something that recently exited MGM executive Louis B. Mayer would have not approved of. Maybe ahead of its time in an ensemble of basically unlikable common folk, and for me, it presented mixed messages. It's a completely different role for Skelton, lacking his typical schtick and far more serious. In a sense, it's an art film that comments on the foibles of the modern world. A young Polly Bergen appears as herself, singing "Love" almost winning lyrics as Lena Horne did in "Ziegfeld Follies" and Judy Garland did in a Capitol album.

Less a comedy and more social commentary about the post-war era.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 13 January 2017]

Ben Dobson (Red Skelton) is a newly wed who just got a job working for a very old fashioned and frugal boss. The boss values thrift and expects Ben to do the same. Unfortunately, Ben's wife, Martha (Jean Hagen) is NOT so inclined. She is like many folks in the post-war era...she wants it all. She wants a big house in the country, a car, a television and all the stuff that comes with it. As for Ben, you don't really know how he stands on any of this as he's henpecked and Martha makes all the decisions for them. Eventually, he finally let's it out....they can barely afford this life she's chosen and he thinks they need to move back to the city. Of courses, Martha ignores him and insists they continue living outside their means.

As for the frugal boss, he doesn't know that Ben's moved to the suburbs and thinks he still lives in the small New York City apartment he was in at the beginning of the film. This leads to a hilarious scene where he takes the boss 'home'....sneaking into his old apartment and pretending the little girl there is his kid...yet, she inexplicably only speaks French!!

Soon the boss commissions Ben to write an article about life in suburbia...and he wants the article to talk about how folks are over- extending themselves and cannot afford this extravagant lifestyle. Ben decides to do it, after all it IS his job, but doesn't tell his wife about it....and when she learns, she is furious with him. What's next? See the film.

This is a comedy but I found myself only laughing a bit. Mostly, I found myself wanting to throttle Martha...and fortunately my wife also was watching the movie and agreed with me. She didn't seem to love Ben during most of the movie...just what he could buy for her. Because of this, the film has a very dark undertone and is quite the morality tale about the post-war acquisitiveness that infected many in the States. Now this is NOT a complaint...I actually like that the film was less comedy and more morality tale. It gave the film some depth you rarely see in a Skelton picture.