16 Feb The Fallen Sparrow
The Fallen Sparrow, WWII Movie starring John Garfield
(1943) A veteran of the Spanish Civil War returns home to New York City after spending two years being tortured in a Fascist POW camp. The Fallen Sparrow was based on a 1942 novel by Dorothy B. Hughes.
The story was a little far-fetched I thought. Let’s see, an Irishman (John “Kit” McKittrick) from New York volunteers to fight against the Nazis in Spain and lands in a prison camp. After he had been tortured for two years to reveal a secret, a childhood friend who was a member of the New York police department goes to Spain and rescues him. We never see any of this. It’s just the backdrop of everything that happens.
Then when “Kit” comes back to New York he is suffering from the trauma of the torture. In fact, torture is what the movie is all about. By now the U.S. must have been at war with Germany or close to it. I don’t remember that was ever mentioned, but the Nazis were everywhere. You never knew who was a spy.
John Garfield carried the movie. I am such a fan and he didn’t disappoint. When WWII broke out, Garfield was unable to join the army because of a heart condition so he teamed up with Bette Davis to open the Hollywood Canteen.
Garfield was blacklisted for refusing to testify for the House Committee on Un-American activities. This was a real tortuous trauma, and he died of his heart condition in 1952, at the age of 39.
What a loss.
The Fallen Sparrow at amazon.com
No Comments