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So Proudly We Hail! Movie Review

So Proudly We Hail! is a 1943 war film directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Claudette Colbert, Paulette Goddard and Veronica Lake. It’s a very forgettable war picture.

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“High heels. The things we do to trap men“

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A group of nurses returning from the war in the Philippines recall their experiences in combat and in love. This film pretty much represented another case of the American war effort where they tried to influence the public to support the ongoing world war. The only unique aspect here is that it focuses on female fighters, the nurses to be exact. This element made the flick at least somewhat authentic and admirably feminist in approach.

However, the storyline remains very boring and forgettable. The flashback structure is been there, done that for the forties, and it certainly had been done much better many times before and also after. The romantic elements felt shoehorned in while the dramatic elements fared better, though the movie is so long that it led to a very tedious viewing experience.

As for its three ladies, one is leading and that is Claudette Colbert. She is excellent as she always was and it was great seeing her in such a proactive, feminist role. Veronica Lake is definitely the weakest link here. She is much more suited for noir pictures and in this instance she was fine, but when she was asked to do more emotional speeches, she did not deliver unfortunately.

Paulette Goddard is the standout of the three and it’s easy to see why she received the most praise, even garnering an Academy Award nomination for her work in this picture. She deserved it as she was the most powerful and empathetic part of the cast.

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So Proudly We Hail! is technically polished, very well shot and edited, but the directing from Mark Sandrich is inferior and the pacing is totally off. The movie’s script is quite uninteresting and the movie’s tonally uneven with all the romantic elements offsetting the more serious war stuff. I appreciated the feminist angle, but otherwise this was a rather thin affair.

So Proudly We Hail! is a 40s war drama that was admirably feminist for its time. Claudette Colbert was reliably excellent here while Paulette Goddard stole the show in one of her best roles. Technically speaking, the movie’s well shot and competently made. However, the directing is weak, the pacing is bad and the overall script was totally uninspired, leading to a forgettable affair.

My Rating – 3