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Hearts in Bondage

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Hearts in Bondage (1936)

May. 26,1936
|
5.6
|
NR
| Drama History
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Best friends Kenneth Reynolds and Raymond Jordan are U.S. Navy officers, and Kenneth is engaged to Raymond's sister. But the eruption of the Civil War divides them, as Raymond stands by his native Virginia while Kenneth remains on duty as a Northern officer. Kenneth's uncle, John Ericsson, designs a new kind of ship, an ironclad he calls the Monitor. Eventually the war pits Kenneth, on board the Monitor, against his friend Raymond, serving aboard the South's own ironclad, the Merrimac (as it is called here). A naval battle ensues, one that will go down in history.

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Reviews

BroadcastChic
1936/05/26

Excellent, a Must See

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CrawlerChunky
1936/05/27

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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Sameer Callahan
1936/05/28

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

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Ella-May O'Brien
1936/05/29

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

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JohnHowardReid
1936/05/30

The story synopsis of Republic's 1936 "Hearts in Bondage" certainly reads like a vintage noir: A career U.S. Navy man is forced to shoot down his best friend (and the brother of his fiancée) when the friend rather stupidly leads a no-chance-of-success assault against "The Monitor" during the Civil War. To add further appeal to this offering, it was actually directed by America's most famous anti-war protester, Lew Ayres. In point of fact, it is the first of only three films (the others were documentaries) the prolific actor directed. But what a disappointment the movie actually turns out to be. The direction is mostly static and perfunctory, the hearty "acting" of eager-beaver boy scout, James Dunn (who propels himself into almost every scene) is simply painful to watch and hear, and even the action climax is to some extent subordinated to a heap of cheap laughs while George Hayes does his infamous "Gabby" impersonation. The Alpha DVD is not a great transferand rates 7 out of ten at the most.

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hwg1957-102-265704
1936/05/31

Presumably the hearts in bondage are the friends Kenneth Reynolds and Raymond Jordan who are in the Navy but due to the forthcoming Civil War have to separate for what they perceive to be a higher cause. One staying in the North and one fighting for the South. They eventually meet in battle, not in the ordinary way but in two new ironclad battleships, the Merrimac and the Monitor. One of the friends will survive the militarily historic encounter.This is the only film directed by Lew Ayres and it isn't bad. There are some fine dolly shots, the model work for the ships is good and the battle at the end is excitingly staged. Unfortunately the print I saw was not in good shape so the good cinematography did not receive full justice.It would have been better for Lew Ayres to have played Kenneth Reynolds. James Dunn is adequate but Ayres would have added more intensity. Fritz Leiber as the irascible John Ericsson is very good. The always luminous Mae Clarke has a role that doesn't stretch her talents. The rest of the cast are OK. Frank McGlynn Sr. is spookily like Abraham Lincoln.A good story plainly told with a well filmed battle scene to finish.

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zardoz-13
1936/06/01

This historic battle of Hampton Roads in Virginia in 1862 forever changed naval warfare, and Lew Ayres' first and only film as a director "Hearts in Bondage" would be the only movie for fifty-five years about this landmark encounter. Altogether, despite some of its fictional aspects, primarily in the lead characters, this Republic Pictures' movie remains remarkably faithful to the events. You'll be hard pressed to find historical inaccuracies, and those that exist are minimal. Ayres and scenarists Bernard Schubert of "Mark of the Vampire" and Olive Cooper of "Streamline Express" appropriated "One in A Million" writer Karl Brown's adaptation of Wallace MacDonald's original story and show what prompted this American Civil War episode. On the eve of the warfare, the Union Army orders Lieutenant Kenneth Reynolds (James Dunn) to scuttle the USS Merrimac because the Confederacy is poised to take possession of the Gosport Navy Yard. Reynolds refuses to follow orders since he has received nothing in writing. His actions prompt a court-marshal and he is stripped of his rank. Eventually, he meets his uncle John Ericcson (Fritz Lieber) and they create an ironclad to fight the Merrimac that the Confederates has armor-plated. One of the others aboard the CSS Merrimac (actually it was christened the Virginia) is Raymond Jordan (David Manners of "Dracula") who was one of Reynolds' best friend. Furthermore, Reynolds was courting Jordan's sister Constance (Mae Clarke) when the war broke out. Jordan resigns his rank in the Union Army and goes to fight for Virginia. Eventually, after about 53 minutes of carefully laid exposition, the two ironclads clash with each other, but not before the Merrimac has inflicted destruction on three ships. Ultimately, the Hampton Roads battle was fought to a standstill. Reynolds kills his best friend with cannon fire when Jordan tries to lead a boarding party to capture the Monitor. The miniatures look terrific. Although Reynolds is a fictional protagonist, he paints himself into a dramatic corner for his defiance to carry out orders. Several actual historic figures, such as Abraham Lincoln--turn up in this nimble 72-minute epic. Civil War fanatics should enjoy this one.

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mark.waltz
1936/06/02

Sometimes a barking mutt can prove to be a thoroughbred, and in the case of this Civil War era tale of brothers in spirit split because of a conflict beyond their control, that thoroughbred wins the race. James Dunn and David Manners end up on opposite sides of the split and face various conflicts as they fight for a cause they don't always understand. The storyline is a bit thin but so well presented that the short-comings are easy to overlook. Dunn, a versatile actor best known for comedy and equally adept at drama, is the focus of the majority of the story, involved with the lovely Mae Clarke who just happens to the Manner's sister. Charlotte Henry is the girl whom Manners loves. There is a lot of glowering of the old South with its gracious manners overshadowing the evils of slavery and even a brief appearance by Abraham Lincoln himself. Sea battles are intense and well done, so if this lacks in exploration of the war's issues, it makes up for that with great detail in other ways.

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