The Men [Battle Stripe], 1950

The Men (Battle Stripe), 1950, as Ken Wilozek
Cast: Teresa Wright, Everett Sloan, Jack Webb
Director: Fred Zinnemann

Rating

Factoid   
– Marlon Brando’s FIRST movie [duh!]
– Producer Stanley Kramer, known for his socially relevant dramas, had seen Brando play the anguised veteran in Truckline Cafe and felt he would be ideal as the embittered paraplegic vet.
– To play a man who is wheelchair bound for most of the movie, Brando moved into a Southern California veteran’s hospital for over a month to better understand his character’s condition.
– During the filming of this movie, Brando refused glamorous bachelor digs at the Beverly Hills Hotel in favor of his Aunt Betty’s small home in the blue-collar Los Angeles suburb of Eagle Rock.
– During the early years Brando had a pet raccoon named Russell. 
– When The Men opened in July 1950, the film was praised for its sincere intentions, but it was not a success. Stanley Kramer believes that the outbreak of the Korean War, just as the picture went into release, ruined its box office potential. A public being called for arms wasn’t interested in a story that was essentially antiwar.

Quotes

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Related Films:

A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951 Viva Zapata!, 1952 The Wild One, 1953 On The Waterfront, 1954 Desirée, 1954 Guys And Dolls, 1955 The Teahouse Of The August Moon, 1956 The Young Lions, 1958