The Road Back (1937) DVD-R
Starring John 'Dusty' King, Richard Cromwell, Slim Summerville, Andy Devine, Barbara
Read, Louise Fazenda, Noah Beery Jr.
Directed by James Whale
Print: black/white
Runtime: 97 min.
Genre: drama
Print Quality: B
A handful of German soldiers readjust to civilian life in the bitter wake of World War I in this
follow-up to the classic All Quiet On The Western Front, which like the first film was based
on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque. After the signing of the armistice, Capt. Von Hagen
(John Emery) dismisses what is left of his troops, who march home to an uncertain future.
Tjaden (Slim Summerville) finds himself helping to fend off rioters demanding food from a
shop owned by the town's mayor (Etienne Girardot); the grateful mayor in turn offers Tjaden
his daughter's hand in marriage. Weil (Larry Blake) becomes a political activist and finds
himself acting as a spokesman for another group of citizens demanding precious food; this
time, Weil is shot by troops led by his former commander, Capt. Von Hagen. Willy (Andy
Devine) visits his former schoolteacher, who presents him with an ironic gift — a toy gun he
took away from Willy when he was a boy. And Albert (Maurice Murphy) comes home to
discover his fiancée has wed another man, a man who avoided the war but found ways to
profit from it at home. In a fit of rage, Albert kills the man, and finds himself on trial for his
life. Combining a strong anti-war message with prescient warnings about the dangers of
the rising Nazi regime, The Road Back was intended to be a powerful and controversial
picture, and Universal entrusted it to their finest director, James Whale. However, by the
time shooting was completed, new management had taken over the studio, and Nazi
officials began applying pressure to Universal (as well as members of the film's cast) to
delete the material critical of the Nazis, threatening to scuttle European distribution of future
Universal product if their demands were not met. Universal bowed to their wishes, and the
film was partially reshot with another director, and the remainder extensively re-edited,
leaving the final product a pale shadow of what Whale had originally intended.
Starring John 'Dusty' King, Richard Cromwell, Slim Summerville, Andy Devine, Barbara
Read, Louise Fazenda, Noah Beery Jr.
Directed by James Whale
Print: black/white
Runtime: 97 min.
Genre: drama
Print Quality: B
A handful of German soldiers readjust to civilian life in the bitter wake of World War I in this
follow-up to the classic All Quiet On The Western Front, which like the first film was based
on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque. After the signing of the armistice, Capt. Von Hagen
(John Emery) dismisses what is left of his troops, who march home to an uncertain future.
Tjaden (Slim Summerville) finds himself helping to fend off rioters demanding food from a
shop owned by the town's mayor (Etienne Girardot); the grateful mayor in turn offers Tjaden
his daughter's hand in marriage. Weil (Larry Blake) becomes a political activist and finds
himself acting as a spokesman for another group of citizens demanding precious food; this
time, Weil is shot by troops led by his former commander, Capt. Von Hagen. Willy (Andy
Devine) visits his former schoolteacher, who presents him with an ironic gift — a toy gun he
took away from Willy when he was a boy. And Albert (Maurice Murphy) comes home to
discover his fiancée has wed another man, a man who avoided the war but found ways to
profit from it at home. In a fit of rage, Albert kills the man, and finds himself on trial for his
life. Combining a strong anti-war message with prescient warnings about the dangers of
the rising Nazi regime, The Road Back was intended to be a powerful and controversial
picture, and Universal entrusted it to their finest director, James Whale. However, by the
time shooting was completed, new management had taken over the studio, and Nazi
officials began applying pressure to Universal (as well as members of the film's cast) to
delete the material critical of the Nazis, threatening to scuttle European distribution of future
Universal product if their demands were not met. Universal bowed to their wishes, and the
film was partially reshot with another director, and the remainder extensively re-edited,
leaving the final product a pale shadow of what Whale had originally intended.
| Product Name | The Road Back (1937) DVD-R |
|---|---|
| This item is returnable | No |
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