"Heroes for Sale" is about a man with the worst luck in the world, but he had honor and nobility in its stead. Ask me what I thought of his honor and nobility. I hate to say it but not much. I think some people can go too far in their selflessness and he was one such person.
Thomas 'Tom' Holmes (Richard Barthelmess) was a soldier in the Great War tasked with a near impossible mission. He and nine other soldiers were to capture a German enemy. Tom was able to do so even while his platoon-mate, Roger Winston (Gordon Westcott), turned yellow. Tom was shot and captured in the process while Roger returned to the barracks with Tom's prisoner in tow. That led to all kinds of medals, ribbons, and adulation for Roger. Meanwhile, Tom was being tended to in a German prison camp.
So went Tom's luck every step of the way. His only real break was meeting and marrying Ruth Loring (Loretta Young), but even that had a negative consequence.
Life isn't always fair, and I think "Heroes for Sale" made that abundantly clear. Still, when Tom had a chance to live somewhat comfortably, he eschewed it for a life of poverty and vagrancy in order to help out other unfortunate souls. While that can be looked upon as noble and generous, it can also be looked upon as irresponsible. What's the point in giving away all your wealth and becoming destitute to help people? You only join their ranks. Why not give away a portion of your wealth so that 1.) you can avoid the soup line and 2.) you can continue to earn more to donate? It seems like a smart and easy thing to do, but in this movie's efforts to make Tom a martyr and a saint they made him a gullible chump bent on making himself suffer.
Free on Internet Archive.
Thomas 'Tom' Holmes (Richard Barthelmess) was a soldier in the Great War tasked with a near impossible mission. He and nine other soldiers were to capture a German enemy. Tom was able to do so even while his platoon-mate, Roger Winston (Gordon Westcott), turned yellow. Tom was shot and captured in the process while Roger returned to the barracks with Tom's prisoner in tow. That led to all kinds of medals, ribbons, and adulation for Roger. Meanwhile, Tom was being tended to in a German prison camp.
So went Tom's luck every step of the way. His only real break was meeting and marrying Ruth Loring (Loretta Young), but even that had a negative consequence.
Life isn't always fair, and I think "Heroes for Sale" made that abundantly clear. Still, when Tom had a chance to live somewhat comfortably, he eschewed it for a life of poverty and vagrancy in order to help out other unfortunate souls. While that can be looked upon as noble and generous, it can also be looked upon as irresponsible. What's the point in giving away all your wealth and becoming destitute to help people? You only join their ranks. Why not give away a portion of your wealth so that 1.) you can avoid the soup line and 2.) you can continue to earn more to donate? It seems like a smart and easy thing to do, but in this movie's efforts to make Tom a martyr and a saint they made him a gullible chump bent on making himself suffer.
Free on Internet Archive.