''They Gave Him a Gun'' is a 1937 American

crime drama film In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...

directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

Gladys George Gladys George (born Gladys Clare Evans; September 13, 1904 – December 8, 1954) was an American actress of stage and screen. Though nominated for an Academy Award for her leading role in '' Valiant Is the Word for Carrie'' (1936), she spent most ...

, and

Franchot Tone Stanislaus Pascal Franchot Tone (February 27, 1905 – September 18, 1968) was an American actor, producer, and director of stage, film and television. He was a leading man in the 1930s and early 1940s, and at the height of his career was known ...

. The picture bears a resemblance to later films noir in its dark theme regarding the struggles and failures of a man trying to take a criminal shortcut to the American dream. The screenplay was written by

Cyril Hume Cyril Hume (March 16, 1900 – March 26, 1966) was an American novelist and screenwriter. Hume was a graduate of Yale University, where he edited campus humor magazine ''The Yale Record''. He was an editor of the collection ''The Yale Record ...

Richard Maibaum Richard Maibaum (May 26, 1909 – January 4, 1991) was an American film producer, playwright and screenwriter best known for his screenplay adaptations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. Among his works are the first anti-lynching play on Bro ...

, and

Maurice Rapf Maurice Harry Rapf (May 19, 1914 – April 15, 2003) was an American screenwriter and professor of film studies. His work includes the screenplays for early Disney live-action features ''Song of the South'' (1946) and '' So Dear to My Heart'' (19 ...

, based on the 1936 book of the same name by William J. Cowen.On March 20, 1937
director W.S. Van Dyke "announced Henry Mahan was cast in "They Gave Him A Gun", joining

Sam Levene Sam Levene (born Scholem Lewin; August 28, 1905 – December 28, 1980) was a Russian Empire-born American Broadway, film, radio, and television actor and director. In a career spanning over five decades, he appeared in over 50 comedy and dr ...

and Teddy Hart, the three swell comedians in the film version of '' Three Men on a Horse''", but none of these actors appear in the final cut.

Plot

The movie begins in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

when a young man named Jimmy (

) unexpectedly becomes a hero by killing all the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

in a

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...

nest. But he is then severely wounded and spends time in a hospital being cared for by a nurse, Rose (

), with whom he falls in love. But she is really in love with Jimmy's buddy, Fred (

), a carnival barker. However, when Fred doesn't return from the

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

field, the two think he's been killed (when he was merely captured) and so they make

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

plans. Then when Fred returns he decides to support Jimmy and Rose marrying, even though it breaks his heart. After the war Fred meets up with Jimmy again and discovers that Jimmy is a

racketeer Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and ...

who uses his battle skills to commit murder. So he tells Rose, who had no idea. She then reports her husband to the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

so he will go to

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

and be reformed. But Jimmy breaks out of prison and tries to take Rose on the lam with him. At this point Fred intervenes. Jimmy, feeling undeserving, commits

suicide by police Suicide by cop or suicide by police is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately behaves in a threatening manner, with intent to provoke a lethal response from a public safety or law enforcement officer. Overview There are ...

Cast

as Fred P. Willis *

as Rose Duffy *

as James "Jimmy" Davis *

Edgar Dearing Edgar Dearing (May 4, 1893 – August 17, 1974) was an American actor who became heavily type cast as a motorcycle cop in Hollywood films. Biography Born in 1893, Dearing started in silent comedy shorts for Hal Roach, including several with La ...

as Sgt. Meadowlark * Mary Lou Treen as Saxe *

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standar ...

as Laro *

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1915 and 1958. Biography Trowbridge was born in Veracruz, Mexico, where his father served in the ...

as Judge

Box office

According to MGM records the film earned $718,000 in the US and Canada and $595,000 elsewhere resulting in a profit of $253,000.

References

External links

* * * * 1937 films American crime drama films American black-and-white films 1937 crime drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by W. S. Van Dyke Films set in the 1910s American World War I films Films shot in California Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films with screenplays by Richard Maibaum Films produced by Harry Rapf 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-crime-drama-film-stub