Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

JohnHowardReid The story synopsis of Republic's 1936 "Hearts in Bondage" certainly reads like a vintage noir: A career U.S. Navy man is forced to shoot down his best friend (and the brother of his fiancée) when the friend rather stupidly leads a no-chance-of-success assault against "The Monitor" during the Civil War. To add further appeal to this offering, it was actually directed by America's most famous anti-war protester, Lew Ayres. In point of fact, it is the first of only three films (the others were documentaries) the prolific actor directed. But what a disappointment the movie actually turns out to be. The direction is mostly static and perfunctory, the hearty "acting" of eager-beaver boy scout, James Dunn (who propels himself into almost every scene) is simply painful to watch and hear, and even the action climax is to some extent subordinated to a heap of cheap laughs while George Hayes does his infamous "Gabby" impersonation. The Alpha DVD is not a great transferand rates 7 out of ten at the most.

johndunbar-580-920543 What those who trash this film fail to point out is that the film was one of the earliest attempt to make a movie about an historical event. As such, it can be forgiven minor inaccuracies but overall it was an accurate and informative movie. For those movie goers that didn't read history books, this was their first introduction to the topic and they couldn't help but learn something about that event in history.The film makers did a pretty good job of touching upon all the important issues (such as the confusion about what to do about the encroachment of threatening secessionists against the Gosport Naval Yard) that affected the eventual clash of ironclads. And generally, despite the aesthetic flaws that reviewers point out, it was in important movie in the history of film.Worth a look.

mark.waltz Sometimes a barking mutt can prove to be a thoroughbred, and in the case of this Civil War era tale of brothers in spirit split because of a conflict beyond their control, that thoroughbred wins the race. James Dunn and David Manners end up on opposite sides of the split and face various conflicts as they fight for a cause they don't always understand. The storyline is a bit thin but so well presented that the short-comings are easy to overlook. Dunn, a versatile actor best known for comedy and equally adept at drama, is the focus of the majority of the story, involved with the lovely Mae Clarke who just happens to the Manner's sister. Charlotte Henry is the girl whom Manners loves. There is a lot of glowering of the old South with its gracious manners overshadowing the evils of slavery and even a brief appearance by Abraham Lincoln himself. Sea battles are intense and well done, so if this lacks in exploration of the war's issues, it makes up for that with great detail in other ways.

bkoganbing Lew Ayres directed Hearts In Bondage and with a title like that you would think it was some tender romantic story. Romance there is in this film about a pair of naval officers, best friends who go their separate ways when the Civil War starts. It was like that in many families at the time. But all this is set against the backdrop of a fairly accurate retelling of the Monitor and Merrimac engagement in Chesapeake Bay, the great battle of the ironclads.James Dunn and David Manners are the two officers in question. Dunn in fact is engaged to Mae Clarke who is the sister of Manners. And Manners is pledged to Charlotte Henry who is the daughter of Henry B. Walthall who resigns his naval commission when Virginia secedes and goes with the Confederacy.Dunn is also the nephew of the real John Ericson who designed the Monitor. Navy Secretary Gideon Welles is played by Irving Pichel and Frank McGlyn does his obligatory Abraham Lincoln portrayal.The romance is touching and doesn't get in the way of the action. For 1936 and for the fact that the studio was a B one, Republic Pictures did not do a bad job with the action scenes with miniatures.Ayres gets fine performances out of his ensemble cast which includes as Monitor crew members Ed Gargan, Gabby Hayes, and J.M.Kerrigan.This film was a real find.