Street tough Jerry Plunkett never ducks a fight until the shooting starts & in the trenches in France is responsible for the deaths of several of his comrades (by foolishly setting off a flare that draws enemy fire), including the brothers of Sgt. "Big Mike" Wynn (Alan Hale) & Joyce Kilmer (Jeffrey Lynn). CO "Wild Bill" Donovan (George Brent) has Plunkett court-martialed, & he is due to be executed.
During intense shelling of the bivouac, Father Duffy (Pat O'Brien) releases Plunkett from confinement & counsels him about the two roads he can take: escape or back into the fray. Plunkett rescues Fr. Duffy from beneath some fallen timbers & takes off for the front, where he hooks up with a wounded Big Mike.
Cagney's Plunkett is fictional, but there are several real-life 69th soldiers represented: Fr. Duffy, Joyce Kilmer, & Maj. Donovan. Lotsa big screen stars of the day: Brent, Hale, John Litel, Frank McHugh, Dennis Morgan, O'Brien. Movie also features off-screen friends Frank Wilcox (Mr. Brewster in the early episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies) & future "Superman" George Reeves.
During intense shelling of the bivouac, Father Duffy (Pat O'Brien) releases Plunkett from confinement & counsels him about the two roads he can take: escape or back into the fray. Plunkett rescues Fr. Duffy from beneath some fallen timbers & takes off for the front, where he hooks up with a wounded Big Mike.
Cagney's Plunkett is fictional, but there are several real-life 69th soldiers represented: Fr. Duffy, Joyce Kilmer, & Maj. Donovan. Lotsa big screen stars of the day: Brent, Hale, John Litel, Frank McHugh, Dennis Morgan, O'Brien. Movie also features off-screen friends Frank Wilcox (Mr. Brewster in the early episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies) & future "Superman" George Reeves.