KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

JohnHowardReid Despite its intriguing title, this is a very talkie and very dated stage play that is calculated to bore most audiences stiff. And the complete absence of women doesn't help matters at all! With the exceptions of Clark Gable and Walter Pidgeon, the actors walk through their parts without much conviction. In fact, although Pidgeon has to carry the main burden of the circular dialogue, he bears up well. We must also draw attention to John McIntire. In addition to his role as Major Belding Davis, he also provides the off-camera voice of Congressman Malcolm, played and spoken (on camera) by Edward Arnold. The direction by the usually very capable Sam Wood is astonishingly stiff. He died on September 22, 1949, yet is also credited with "The Stratton Stor"y (released June, 1949) and "Ambush" (January 1950). Production values are generally first class, and there are some skillful special effects, but they do little to relieve the overall tedium.

robert-mulqueen I watched "Command Decision" last night on TCM. It's the first time I've seen this film in over twenty years...perhaps longer. What struck me throughout this movie is the script. Some have complained that "Command Decision" was "too much like a stage play". Yes, it was adapted on Broadway from the stage play adaptation of a novel. The Broadway production ran for a year. Nonetheless, this film's attraction is both good work by the cast of A list Hollywood actors and, equally, a well written script which was intelligent and believable. In at least two instances, there are lengthy monologues -- one by Walter Pidgeon and one by Clark Gable -- which were book ended by rapid fire questions, responses, or comments. The script is outstanding.

sadsit Regardless of this movie's flaws, there cannot be too much tribute heaped upon the conduct of the men of United States Army 8th Air Force in World War II. This movie does an excellent job of depicting the personal cost of following one's personal convictions in a very harrowing time. Gable does an excellent job a commander under tremendous pressure. In 1943, the 8th was still without long range fighter escort capability, and the danger on deep penetration strikes was horrific. The mission life expectancy of air crew was measured in single digits. It was a shame "Memphis Belle" was turned into a Hollywood-O-Rama version, because the real version of the first bomber crew to survive 25 missions unscathed is sufficient. The losses incurred in trying to knock out the German ball bearing industry over Schweinfurt in October, 1943 very nearly ended daylight bombardment. The fact that even in the face of such opposition, no 8th Air Force mission was ever turned back by enemy action, is an amazing chapter in the annals of war. To me the movie's finest moment comes when Donlevy as General Garnett, who has relieved Gable as the Division Commander, orders the same strike that Gable was going to, against Fendelhorst. Just before he gave that order, Gable gave Donlevy perhaps the finest advice ever found in a war movie. In reference to his men, when he tells him to make sure not one of their lives is wasted.

eclectic I found an old tape of Command Decision which I must have made 20 years ago. I concur with all those who have said that it is one of the best WW2 films ever made, but what struck me most forcefully was the fact that this highly intelligent, gripping and thoughtful film was made with a large crew of established filmstars by a completely commercial film studio. It brought home to me forcibly what was lost when the old studio system broke up and the sheer craftsmanship which it embodied was dispersed. The sheer childishness of most current films becomes even more evident.Writing as one who lived through the bombing of Britain, the historical perspective on the Allied wartime bombing campaign was fascinating. One small complaint--all film coverage of the American campaign in WW2 seems to focus on the Flying Fortress. Actually, most of the bombs were dropped by the Consolidated Liberator squadrons--less photogenic but more effective!