Secret Command (1944)

Fresh and Exciting

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Secret agent Pat O'Brien poses as a dock worker at a navy ship building factory as a method of tracking down a band of saboteurs, pretty much right under his nose in this World War II bit of propaganda. On the way, he finds a "wife" (Carole Landis) to give him cover and keep fifth columnists from finding out that he was once a foreign correspondent. Landis is his wife in cover only, but ex girlfriend Ruth Warrick suspects that the marriage is a sham. As the clock ticks down, accidents happen on the ship building site, particularly a nasty one to Obrien's estranged brother (Chester Morris) who had great reluctance in hiring O'Brien in the first place.Filled with action and plenty of thrills in a relatively short running time, this is typical war propaganda with one dimensional villains and tough talking but completely patriotic factory workers. Barton Maclane is particularly memorable as the aging bully who goes out of his way to fight with O'Brien but ends up a loyal drinking buddy after their dukes are put up. Fans of "All My Children" will be delighted to see Phoebe Tyler Wallingford in a nice role. There are a few surprising twists in this, but they don't necessarily involve the war intrigue, but the equally important romantic subplot.

TCM gave this four stars. It's a 2-1/2 stars film, in my opinion.Pat O'Brien is Sam Gallagher, a U.S. government agent, a step up from his old job as a foreign correspondent. His brother Jeff (Chester Morris) offers him a job working in a shipyard as a pileback. Piles are poles, driven into the soil by a mechanical device to give a foundation to a structure Sam's purpose is to ferret out a group of Nazi spies trying to sabotage the shipyards. To give him a background, Jill McCann (Carole Landis), who is an FBI agent, poses as his wife, and two small war orphans are brought in as his children.Jeff is surprised by all this - okay, he hasn't seen his brother in seven years, but something isn't right. He tells Lea Damoran (Ruth Warrick, his girlfriend who used to be Sam's girlfriend) his thoughts.Sam is able to find out that the yard is going to be blown up the yard while an aircraft carrier is docked. And he begins to learn who the Nazis are in the yard. One problem: His brother's suspicions are drawing too much attention to Sam.Pat O'Brien for me has never made it as a leading man, yet for some reason, every once in a while he was given a lead role. This is a role for Joel McCrea, John Wayne, that ilk: masculine, solid, and, frankly, kind of a chick magnet. I mean, on one side there's gorgeous Carole Landis, and on the other, his old girlfriend who still has feelings for him.The story is only so-so, but the final scenes are quite good. The subplot concerning the war orphans is sweet and probably unnecessary.Carole Landis would be dead only four years later, at the age of 29. I suspect the affair with Harrison was probably the last straw. She was done in Hollywood: she was nearing 30, the cutoff age for actresses back then, there were no more big films thanks to her relationship with Darryl Zanuck ending, she couldn't have children, and at the age of 29, she had already had four husbands. A sad end for a beautiful woman who learned that in Hollywood, you're disposable.

Lightweight Propaganda that is Family Friendly Fodder and Heavy on the Irish-are-Americans Theme, as well as the Need to Include those Cute Kids as a Reminder of what We are Fighting for. Speaking of Fighting, those Irish will Fight at Any Opportunity. They will Fight and Argue with Family Members, Friends, Co-Workers and even the Nazis.In the Middle of the Movie it Stops Dead to Include a Scene where the Shipbuilders Remove their Welder's Helmets so the Audience can See Everyone is Doing their Part...Negroes...Women...and an Oriental (had to be Chinese because the Japanese were in Internment Camps).Pat O'Brien is Miscast Again Playing a Hunk that Every Woman on Screen Pines. Ridiculous. The Frumpy, Overweight, Hardly Handsome "Star", should have Traded Places with Chester Morris and it would have Worked a Whole Lot Better.Carol Landis is a Sleek Beauty and some of the Cinematography is Above Average. Overall it is a Watchable Piece of Propaganda Fluff that is Neither that Suspenseful or Intriguing. In the Prolog it is Mentioned that America is Building Sturdy Ships, Honest Ships. What Exactly is an Honest Ship?

"Secret Command" wastes what must have been a fairly large budget and high-power cast on a predictable story with little suspense or drama.Pat O'Brien is miscast in the leading man role, failing to convey the quiet masculine strength and sexuality called for here.The home-life scenes, with the European orphans, designed to tug at our heart strings, don't quite work either, and detract from the drama of the hunt for Nazis in the shipyard. And our hero is never really put in any danger.I have a fondness for the World War II propaganda flicks, but even I didn't warm to this one. What I generally like about the propaganda films is that they have some edge to them, since they are dealing with life and death stuff. "Secret Command" seems to go light on these elements.A posted comment questioned "Secret Command" winning a special effects Oscar, and I found myself wondering about that as well. I concluded that the underwater shots, and the (apparent) location shots on the crane were considered "special" effects in the 1940s. (Today we assume special effects relates to only fabricated shots or images.)