Dangerously They Live (1941) Takes An Early Shot At The Axis
John Garfield may have been a most badly used of major Warner stars. Note his ID in the ad at left as "Bad Boy"
The war might have, in fact did, fix some of his problems.
Dangerously They Live plays not unlike a B, but upgraded by Robert Florey's expressive direction and support villainy by Raymond Massey, whose presence, according to some, was what pushed the show to top-of-bill level. The matter of German operatives moving in/out of hospitals, police headquarters, elsewhere to consummation of schemes, was flight of purest fantasy, but then again, how do we really know what inroads were dug by saboteurs on eve of war? Dangerously They Live was released in December 1941, and so got a first flush of business spun off declaration of hostility. Yes, figured viewers, here is what snakes were up to until finally we came to our senses and entered the fray. Initial war-themed films were happy recipients of money they'd not have scored otherwise. Dangerously They Live had a mere $293K in negative cost, and brought back a million in worldwide rentals. A new era of profit was on this war's horizon.
A Theatre Scene Dropped From Final Prints of Dangerously They Live |
Again note the ad at top. It would have appeared within months, maybe weeks, of the Declarations. Many are parallel with how Across The Pacific, arriving later in 1942, was sold. Bogart socks the enemy on poster art just as John Garfield "Bops" a 5th columnist in Dangerously They Live, both subbing for all of us hot to get even. "Watch them get the U-Boat fleet! It's a pleasure to see!" is reference to a climactic orgy of miniature subs sunk in loving detail (Germans scream and drown) by allied flyers. Such segments were let-off of steam for patronage in 1942, this war, now that we were in it, proving no cinch in the actual fighting. Movies were an only way to enjoy victories that year. There was escape at theatres, and much reassurance, star personas an equal to whole battalions, or seascape of subs, put forth by the Axis. Did motion pictures help win this war? A better question might be --- could we have won without them? Dangerously They Live plays TCM and is available from Warner Archive.