The Men (1950)

Overview: Ken a WWII GI returns home after he's paralyzed in battle. Residing in the paraplegic ward of a veteran's hospital and embittered by his condition he refuses to see his fiancée and sinks into a solitary world of hatred and hostility. Head physician Dr. Brock cajoles the withdrawn Ken into the life of the ward where fellow patients Norm Leo and Angel begin to pull him out of his spiritual dilemma.

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Cast: Marlon Brando, Teresa Wright, Everett Sloane, Jack Webb, Richard Erdman

Original Language: EN

Original Title: The Men

Budget: N/A

Revenue: N/A

MPAA Rating: PG

Keywords: depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd), broken engagement, war veteran, bodily disabled person, rehabilitation, wheelchair, paralysis, v.a. hospital, military hospital, post war life, hospital visit, physical therapy, paraplegia

CinemaSerf (February 6, 2024)

"Ken" (Marlon Brando) is a paraplegic war veteran who has returned to the United States, and to an hospital, psychologically ill-equipped to cope with his new situation. His doctor "Brock" (Everett Sloane) tries to understand this increasingly violent and reactionary man whilst his wife "Ellen" (Teresa Wright) vacillates between the terrified and the loving. His behaviour slowly alienates all those around him - including his fellow soldiers and pretty soon he is looking at being kicked out of the place - or worse, being sent to jail. Brando is good here. Watching his performance here it's not hard to see why audiences fell in love with him. Not just because he looks great, but because here he exudes a degree of frustration and exasperation that is selfish, yes, but also explicable in an environment in which prosthetics weren't really an option and so life in a chair was all that was on offer. That prospect challenged his very masculinity and posed quite a problem for "Sloane" and his erstwhile loving wife. On that front, Wright delivers well too, if sparingly, as a woman just as frustrated as her husband - with no real prospect of a solution for her on the cards either. It packs quite a bit of punch for just under ninety minutes and sends a salutary message to an audience that might need to be made more aware of the limitations of the post traumatic treatment being offered to people who suffer life-changing injuries of both a physical and a mental nature, and though I didn't really love the conclusion, it's still well worth a watch.