Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Jakoba True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

jimbo-53-186511 The first thing that you need to be aware of when watching The Men is that it is NOT a war film. There are no explosions and outside of the first couple of minutes there are no guns being fired etc. If that's the sort of film that you're looking for then you should look elsewhere.The Men focuses on the after effects of paralysis on a group of war veterans. The main focus is on Ken (Marlon Brando). Ken struggles to accept his paralysis and seemingly shuns help from anyone - at the start of the film he's effectively a martyr. He even refuses to allow his fiancé to visit him - this may seem cold, but in some ways it's understandable when we learn that he was a very active person, he was a football player, a war hero. I suppose he wants her to remember him like that and he doesn't want her to pity him. However, his fiancé Ellen (Teresa Wright)still loves him even though he's paralysed and that's because she sees that he's still the same person that she fell for before he went to war.The thing I really liked about this film is the screenplay; it actually challenges the viewers thoughts and pre-conceptions. Ellen loves Ken in spite of his paralysis, but her parents and Ken's doctor try to talk her out of marrying him. The doctor reasons are more rational and relate to the practical cost and time involved in looking after someone with paralysis. However, her parents basically don't want Ellen to be with Ken because they no longer deem him to be the perfect son now that he's paralysed. Ellen defies her parents' wishes which wouldn't seem like much now, but was probably quite brave in 1950. It really was wonderful to see Ellen stick by Ken.Ken's character was also well-written in the sense that he's never made likable in such a way that we pity him (which is good because I don't think that was the effect that the writers were striving for). However, he's also never so repulsive that we end up hating him. The balance was just about right with his character.Another strong factor working in the film's favour is the wonderful chemistry between Ken and Ellen. They both put in terrific, heart felt performances which only helped to increase the appreciation that I have for this film.If you're a fan of moving dramas then this is definitely worth checking out.

Michael Neumann Several paraplegics in a veteran's hospital learn to cope with the physical and emotional scars of war, but if one of them wasn't a young Marlon Brando the film wouldn't be half as interesting. His typically vital performance greatly improves what would otherwise be just another earnest but melodramatic civics lesson, presented in the manner of an Armed Forces instructional movie: How To Treat Our Homecoming Heroes. To its credit the film was considered quite daring when first released, for its forthright depiction of an unpleasant (and thus generally ignored) reality. And with a running time of only eighty odd minutes it fairly zips along at an unflagging pace. The film was produced (you might have guessed) by a young Stanley Kramer.

cribyn44 Have only caught up with this film for a few (significant) moments on television, especially the two scenes in which Marlon Brando is driving himself and his friend back to the hospital after being out in a bar (and when they also crash), and the final scene where he drives himself back to his home with Teresa Wright, I spotted one glaring mistake in particular.Acknowledging the fact that when the film was made, there was much less knowledge and awareness of all the issues associated with various forms of disablement. But the thing which immediately struck me about these two scenes was that Brando, as a supposed paraplegic, was up there on screen driving a heavy American car of the 1950s, without a single driving aid to be seen on the screen - such as a remote gear change device or even knobs on the steering wheel to assist with the steering of cars for such people.

Jem Odewahn Best known today as Marlon Brando's film debut, this is a decent, solid film dealing with the touchy subject of paralysed WW2 veterans and their attempts to recover, both physically and emotionally. Brando is one of these veterans and he pushes his fiancé Ellen (Teresa Wright) away, thinking she only pities his situation, and does not truly love and care for him. Brando's debut is strong; it's no "Streetcar" or "Waterfront", but it is a good performance. Fred Zinnemann directed this film, which means the visual style is very flat and uninteresting. His direction is just boring. The more I see of Zinnemman, the more I dislike. I love "From Here To Eternity", but that's because the performances are excellent and the Pearl Harbour plot (taken from the novel) is an example of how to do soapy melodrama well. But I hated "High Noon". Teresa Wright also turns in decent work as Brando's loyal fiancé, although she already looks mousy. Jack Webb is also fine in support but Everett Sloane's performance as the doctor is pushy and overdone. I liked the film best in it's quieter, less "dramatic" moments, where the screeching score didn't take over.