The Fighting 69th (Warner Bros.) (1940)

| Stars, Action, Thrills—‘The Fighting 69th’ This layout may be used as is or separately, cutting away the Y col. star photos. Order as follows: 3 col. Mat 302—45c; % col. Mat 101—15c for all six. Photomontage of the high spots of ‘The Fighting 69th,” the thrill-packed story of the fighting Irish regiment, opening at the Strand Theatre Friday. Heading the cast are (left, reading down) James Cagney, Pat O’Brien, and George Brent, and (right) Jeffrey Lynn, Alan Hale, Frank McHugh. <4+-O=-F0CN The Fighting 69th To those millions of men who served and fought in the fighting forces of the United States in the war... To the Rainbow Division, which most nearly represented in its ranks all of our States and Territories ... To the Sixty-Ninth New York Regiment, (165th Infantry, A.E.F.) which was the average, yet the epitome, of our National courage .. . To the memory of Father Francis P. Duffy, a beloved Chaplain, and a truly great humanitarian . . . Warner Bros. dedicates this film. * * * * * New Cagney Film, ‘Fighting 69th’ Coming to Strand James Cagney’s newest starring picture “The Fighting 69th”, will be the next attraction at the Strand Theatre, where it will begin its local engagement on Friday. In “The Fighting 69th,” he shares starring honors with Pat O’Brien and George Brent, with a featured cast including Jeffrey Lynn, Alan Hale, Frank McHugh and dozens of others. Cagney’s name on the star list usually guarantees a good rousing action story, and “The Fighting 69th” is no exception. Cagney is a cocky young buck private in the famed New York regiment and his cafeer in the military training camp is one long series of clashes with authority, as he tries to buck the whole code of military discipline. The burly top sergeant, played by Alan Hale, is his natural enemy, and the encounters between the two of them are in the rough and tumble tradition of “The Cock-Eyed World”. United in their attempts to reform the young private are Father Duffy, beloved chaplain of the “Shamrock Regiment”, played by Pat O’Brien, and “Wild Bill” Donovan, the colonel, played by George Brent. Both these latter characters are factual, while the roles played by Cagney and Hale are fictional although they undoubtedly had their prototypes in many regiments. Previewed in Hollywood, “The Fighting 69th” has _ received raves as the most excitementpacked film entertainment of the year, and many insist that it is Cagney’s best role to date, even over-shadowing his performance in “The Roaring Twenties”. Says Film Daily: “It is an outstanding, distinctive picture, taking rank with the best in screen history.” Besides those mentioned, the cast also includes Dick Foran Dennis Morgan, Tom Kennedy, William Lundigan and Henry O’Neill. Based on the screen play by Norman Reilly Raine, Fred Niblo, Jr. and Dean Franklin, the film was directed by William Keighley. Laughs, Excitement Get BigPlayin Fighting 69th’ Brent, Star In Coming Strand Film Has He-Man Cast Headed by Cagney, O’Brien and Brent “The Fighting 69th,” a new Warner film starring James Cagney, George Brent and Pat O’Brien, will be the next feature attraction at the Strand Theatre. The hilarious, excitement-crammed film will open there Friday. Headed by the three stars, the cast includes a long roster of well-known players such as Alan Hale, Jeffrey Lynn, Frank McHugh, Dennis Morgan, Dick Foran, William Lundigan, and Guinn “Big Boy” Williams. The original story by Norman Reilly Raine, Fred Niblo, Jr. and Dean Franklin is based partly on the exploits of the famous 165th New York infantry, better known as the Fighting 69th, the Irish Brigade, of which the late Father Francis Patrick Duffy was regimental chaplain. This is the role played by Pat O’Brien, whose priest role in “Angels With Dirty Faces” will long be remembered. Cagney is cast as a rebellious buck private, and George Brent as “Wild Bill” Donovan, colonel of the 69th. Alan Hale is the crusty top sergeant, and Jeffrey Lynn portrays the wartime poet, Joyce Kilmer. The ups and downs of train Bros. ing camp life are vividly depicted in the film—the human interest drama of the adjustment of raw recruits from every walk of life to the discipline of life in the army. Cagney, as the tough guy who stubbornly resists falling into line with the military rules and regulations, provides the main thread of the story. In spite of the efforts of O’Brien, as the kindly and humane priest, and Brent, as the hard-bitten, but understanding colonel, he refuses to conform until events place him in a position where there is a true test of his mettle, and he comes through with flying colors. Critics who previewed the film in Hollywood have sent through advance reports, hailing it as the most exciting human _ interest entertainment in years, a good, rousing action drama with a leavening of broad comedy in the tradition of such films as “The Cock-Eyed World.” Cagney and Alan Hale carry much of the comedy with a typical feud between a cocky private and a bullying top sergeant, which climaxes, incidentally, in one of the most rough and tumble fist bouts ever filmed. William Keighley directed the production. AMERICAN LEGION NATIONAL COMMANDER PRAISES ‘THE FIGHTING 69TH’ FILM Raymond J. Kelly, national commander of the American Legion, witnessed a _ private preview showing of ‘The Fighting 69th”’ which is scheduled to open on Friday at the Strand Theatre, and praised it as “the greatest war film that will ever be released to the American public.” “Every man, woman and child in the United States should see it,’”’ said Commander Kelly, who served overseas during -the World War. “While it is a preachment against war and the needless sacrifice of youth, it also car ries a story of real Americanism, intermingled with a message of religious tolerance. The American public is under obligation to Warner Bros. for having the enterprise to make such a timely film, taken from the actual experiences of members of the A.E.F. in France, under General John J. Pershing.” James Cagney, George Brent and Pat O’Brien play leading roles in “The Fighting 69th,” with O’Brien portraying the late Father Francis P. Duffy, chaplain of the famous New York regiment. [12] Cagney, O’Brien, New Strand Film The Strand Theatre’s next attraction, “The Fighting 69th,” which will open Friday, features a cast of he-men actors who have had lots of experience in the “service.” The action-packed story of the fightingest regiment this country has ever had, its characters are all portrayed by the veterans of many service films. Look at George Brent. He’s, an army officer now, but he served as an officer in the navy in “Wings of the Navy” and as a submarine commander in “Submarine D-1.” Then there’s Cagney. James Cagney, of course. He was in “Here Comes the Navy” and “Devil Dogs of the Air;” now he’s a private again in the “69th”. Pat O’Brien is an old service man, too. “Here Comes. the Navy,” “Devil Dogs of the Air” and “Submarine D-1” enlisted him, but now he changes his position to become an army chaplain, the famed Father Duffy of the “69th.” Frank McHugh—yes, he was a sailor in “Here Comes the Navy.” He was also on the crew of “Submarine D-1.” He’s in the army now. Guinn Williams was in uniform for “Here Comes the Navy” and Sam Cohen can claim service in one of the most famous screen troops of all time in “What Price Glory.” Quite a record for the cast, so maybe that’s why the survivors of the real “69th” didn’t offer any objections. Any studio that makes a picture about the services must submit a script to the proper departments. If cooperation is sought, the navy and army like to pass on the casting too. Always on the qui vive for the honor of the services, the army and navy prefer not to see an actor in the role of an officer if he has appeared on the screen as a gangster. Warner Bres., who have produced more “service” pictures than any other studio, have discovered from officers and men in the services that George Brent is their favorite “officer,” and maybe that is why he has never been cast in a gangster role in other pictures.