Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

smatysia I did not think that this was a very good movie. It bored me. It was largely a propaganda film, with John Wayne spouting clichés and inspirational fluff, presumably to uplift the morale of the nation as war rages in Europe and Asia. It also carried an anti-Nazi propaganda portion, (which is fine by me) but I sort of thought that Hollywood was OK with Germany in 1940, since they were allied with the Soviet Union at that time. Wayne, of course was a noted conservative and anti-communist, but I'm not sure how much power he wielded at the studio in 1940. The whole film just came across as preachy and fake. I don't really recommend it to anyone, not even John Wayne fans.

XweAponX This film mirrors what is happening in the United States at this time of August 2009. It is almost as if the filmmaker had seen this present-day situation and created a film prophesying the events.Doctor Charles Coburn and daughter Sigrid Gurie are refugess from Nazi Germany and are asked by farmer John Wayne to come to a North Dakota dustbowl town as the community doctor.Initially daughter Leni (Gurie) despises the dust and even their host John Phillips (Wayne) - But father Dr Braun (Coburn) sees that the community needs help, and as they stay, their attitudes change and they begin to love the community which has adopted them.But they are forced to move as the dustbowl conditions get worse, and are promised land in Oregon by the Government. The only trouble, getting a community of over 200 men women and children safe to Oregon.In the meantime, Leni had fallen in love with Wayne, but when she finds out that her former fiancé who was thought dead is in San Fransisco, out of loyalty she decides she must go see him, so Dr Braun and Leni go off to San Fransisco to see him: But when they get there they find out that the Nazi party had sent him there as a spy, so they return to the caravan going to Oregon.During the trip, one loudmouthed Limbaugh type - A man whose son Dr Braun had saved an appendix burting- starts barking loudly about California instead, and influences a number of the men to go to California with him- Reneging on their agreement to go to Oregon -and his rabble rousing even gets Wayne to give up and drive off.Finally it is a confrontation between Wayne and this man, and it is all about accomplishing what they had set off to originally do.The whole film speaks of honor and trust in a leader, and as it turns out Wayne is that reluctant leader, and when the people finally get to Oregon they see that he was right all the time.It is very rare to find a John Wayne film like this, but in the end, John Wayne stood for the principles that this film expounds on.

emdragon An old fashion moral tale with sweetness. John Wayne gives a great performance, and Sigurd Gurie shines as the daughter of a Viennese Surgeon (Charles Coburn). The historical significance of this picture is accurate and compelling, though rather melo-dramatic. Ms Gurie gives a kind and sensitive performance in one of the finest roles of her brief career. The Oklahoma dust bowl is the setting for this early 20th century tale that keeps an eye on several moral issues. It tells the brave tale of poor farmers who were strongly bonded with "good honest sweat", and who face a decision to stick together and head west. Spencer Charters, playing the town veterinarian/comedian gives a fine performance as do many of the players in this one. Well worth a watch.

King_man Mild spoilers below.The prospect of war was clearly on the horizon when TFW was filmed. From the opening scene of European refugees to the final prediction that Naziism will be the death of millions of Germans, this movie is as much a propaganda film as the films made after Pearl Harbor. There isn't a lot of entertainment value here though the footage of the dust bowl is interesting to those of us who aren't old enough to remember it. The rest of the plot is pretty forgettable with the Herr Docktor Coburn - with a pretty bad accent - and daughter assimilating into America with Wayne's help. Other than the dust bowl scenes, the only memorable aspect of the movie is one best viewed with hindsight. Coburn's speech comparing Naziism to a malignancy worse than cancer and describing the (then current) successes as a momentary outburst of energy from a patient right before death were eerily accurate and Varno's Dr. Scherer played accurately to post war newsreel footage of unrepentant Nazis justifying their actions.When viewed from a historical perspective, some aspects of TFW are interesting. If you look at it for entertainment outside of the WWII perspective, you'd have to say this is one of Wayne's less successful efforts.