''Professional Soldier'' is a 1935 adventure film based on a 1931 story by

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To N ...

, "Gentlemen, the King!" It stars

Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made sev ...

and

Freddie Bartholomew Frederick Cecil Bartholomew (March 28, 1924 – January 23, 1992), known for his acting work as Freddie Bartholomew, was an English-American child actor. One of the most famous child actors of all time, he became very popular in 1930s Hollywoo ...

. The film was directed by

Tay Garnett William Taylor "Tay" Garnett (June 13, 1894 – October 3, 1977) was an American film director and writer. Biography Early life Born in Los Angeles, Garnett attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served as a naval aviator in Wo ...

, and produced by

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

. A soldier of fortune is hired to kidnap a king, only to find the abductee is a young boy.

Plot

Colonel Michael Donovan (McLaglen), a soldier of fortune and former

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

captain, is fed up with his latest job: keeping spoiled playboy George Foster (Michael Whalen) out of trouble from women and liquor in Paris. Thus, he is eager to accept when revolutionaries Valdis (

Lumsden Hare Francis Lumsden Hare (17 October 1874 – 28 August 1964) was an Irish-born film and theatre actor. He was also a theatre director and theatrical producer. Early years Hare studied at St. Dunstan's College in London. Career Hare appeare ...

) and Ledgard (

Walter Kingsford Walter Kingsford (born Walter Pearce; 20 September 1882 – 7 February 1958) was an English stage, film and television actor. Early years Kingsford was born in Redhill, Surrey, England. Career Kingsford began his acting career on the Lo ...

) want to hire him to kidnap King Peter II, ruler of a country somewhere in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. When a drunken Foster wakes up and interrupts their meeting, Donovan calls him his aide. Donovan and Foster reconnoiter at a masquerade ball held at the king's palace, but King Peter II does not make an appearance. Foster quickly falls in love with a woman there named Sonia (

Gloria Stuart Gloria Frances Stuart (born Gloria Stewart; July 4, 1910 September 26, 2010) was an American actress, visual artist, and activist. She was known for her roles in Pre-Code films, and garnered renewed fame late in life for her portrayal of Rose ...

). When the two men sneak back into the palace later that night, they are surprised to discover that King Peter II (Freddie Bartholomew) is just a boy. Donovan is too disgusted to want to abduct him, though Peter is thrilled at the idea of an adventure, thinking Donovan and Foster are Chicago gangsters, as were the protagonists in Damon Runyan's original story. However, when Countess Sonia stumbles upon the scene and raises the alarm, Donovan has no choice. Peter helpfully shows him a secret escape passage; a bound and gagged Sonia reluctantly goes with them to take care of the lad. As prearranged, the kidnappers take Peter to Lady Augusta (

Constance Collier Constance Collier (born Laura Constance Hardie; 22 January 1878 – 25 April 1955) was an English stage and film actress and acting coach. She wrote hit plays and films with Ivor Novello and she was the first person to be treated with insul ...

), who turns out to be Peter's former nurse. Donovan's employers succeed in overthrowing Gino ( C. Henry Gordon) and installing their own reform government under the leadership of Stefan Bernaldo ( Pedro de Cordoba). As time goes on, Donovan becomes very fond of Peter and vice versa. Donovan teaches Peter to play baseball and shoot

craps Craps is a dice game in which players bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, "street ...

, and entertains Peter with tall tales of his wartime exploits. At the same time Foster convinces Sonia he really does love her. However, that does not sway her from what she sees as her duty; she manages to send a message from a gypsy camp to Gino revealing where the king is being held. Peter and Donovan initially evade Gino's men, but are recaptured within sight of the palace. Peter orders Gino to release Donovan unharmed, but Gino secretly has him imprisoned. Gino tells supporter Prince Edric (

Lester Matthews Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...

) to start rumors that the new regime has killed the very popular king. Edric is aghast, grasping the implication that Gino intends to murder Peter. Sonia also realizes her mistake, and frees Donovan and Foster. With Foster's help, Donovan defeats the enemy by hand holding a

M1917 Browning machine gun The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; it has also been used by other nations. It was a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cooled ma ...

where he kills or captures all 250 of Gino's men just in time to save Peter from a firing squad. When Gino resists, Donovan shoots him. Later, a grateful Peter bestows a decoration on Donovan before they tearfully part.

Cast

as Michael Donovan *

as King Peter *

as Countess Sonia *

as Lady Augusta * Michael Whalen as George Foster * C. Henry Gordon as Gino * Pedro de Cordoba as Stefan Bernaldo *

as Paul Valdis *

as Christian Ledgard *

as Prince Edric *

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

as Gypsy dancer (uncredited)

Reception

In ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'',

Frank Nugent Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...

wrote "''Professional Soldier'' is incongruous, it is loud and, intermittently, it is funny. ... Although there are long moments when nothing happens, the picture is rousingly comic in the scenes devoted to Colonel Mike's battles, and it has some claim to fame in presenting the most amazing co-starring team in screen history – Victor McLaglen and little Freddie Bartholomew." Writing for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' in 1936,

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

gave the film a poor review, summarizing it as one that "should be carefully avoided", and said Freddie Bartholomew "recites his words by rote". The 2015

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

review of the film calls it "an enjoyable – if often sketchy – big screen adventure", adding that "To its credit, you don't really care that ''Professional Soldier'' bounces nonsensically around ... because the dialogue is light and amusing ... while the players, particularly McLaglen and Bartholomew, are charming together."

Notes

External links

* *
''Professional Soldier''
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

''Professional Soldier''
at TCM
Synopsis (news article)''New York Times'' review
{{Darryl F. Zanuck 1935 films 1930s adventure drama films American adventure drama films American black-and-white films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Tay Garnett 20th Century Fox films Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck Films set in Europe Films about mercenaries 1935 drama films Films about coups d'état 1930s American films