The Real Glory

Last updated
The Real Glory
The Real Glory 1939 Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Screenplay by Jo Swerling
Robert Presnell, Sr.
Based onBased on The Real Glory by Charles L. Clifford
Produced by Samuel Goldwyn
Starring Gary Cooper
David Niven
Andrea Leeds
Reginald Owen
Broderick Crawford
Cinematography Rudolph Maté
Edited by Daniel Mandell
Music by Alfred Newman
Production
company
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • September 29, 1939 (1939-09-29)(U.S.)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million [1]

The Real Glory is a 1939 Samuel Goldwyn Productions adventure film starring Gary Cooper, David Niven, Andrea Leeds and Broderick Crawford released by United Artists in the weeks immediately following Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Based on a 1937 novel of the same name by Charles L. Clifford and directed by Henry Hathaway, the film is set against the backdrop of the Moro Rebellion during the American occupation of the Philippines at the beginning of the 20th century. [2] According to The World news broadcast on Aug 18, 2017, the US War Department withdrew the film in 1942. The Moros were US allies in World War II, and the film had inflammatory scenes including threatening a Muslim prisoner with burial wrapped in a pig skin.

Contents

Plot

In 1906, Alipang and his Muslim Moro guerrillas are terrorizing the people of the Philippine island of Mindanao, raiding villages, killing the men, and carrying off the women and children for slaves. Instead of maintaining garrisons indefinitely to protect the Filipinos, the U.S. army tests out a new tactic at Fort Mysang. The army detachment is replaced by a handful of officers – Colonel Hatch, Captains Manning and Hartley, and Lieutenants McCool and Larsen – who are to train the native Philippine Constabulary to take over the burden. Army doctor Lieutenant Canavan is sent along to keep them healthy. They are welcomed by a skeptical Padre Rafael.

Alipang starts sending fanatical juramentados to assassinate the officers and goad them into attacking before the natives are fully trained. Hatch is the first victim, leaving Manning to take command. Manning's wife and Hartley's daughter Linda arrive for a visit at the worst possible time; a horrified Mrs. Manning witnesses her husband's murder. Hartley takes charge, but Canavan disagrees with his by-the-book, overcautious approach. Disobeying orders, Canavan sets out for Alipang's camp guided by Miguel, a young Moro boy he has befriended. "Mike" (as Canavan calls him) infiltrates the camp and learns that Alipang has sent another assassin, this time for Hartley. Canavan and Mike intercept the man and take him back a prisoner.

Linda and Canavan fall in love, much to the disappointment of McCool and Larsen. When Hartley insists she leave Mysang with Mrs. Manning, she refuses and helps out at the hospital.

Alipang then dams the river on which the villagers depend. Hartley refuses to send a detachment into the jungle to blow it up (he is concealing the fact that he is slowly going blind from an old head wound). The people have to rely on an old well, but the contaminated water causes a cholera epidemic. Finally, Hartley has no choice but to send Larsen and some men to destroy the dam. They do not return.

The Datu, a supposedly friendly Moro leader, offers to guide Hartley and his men to the dam, but he is actually leading them into an ambush. Canavan learns of the Datu's treachery from Mike, the sole survivor of Larsen's detachment, and races to warn Hartley. Canavan forces the Datu to take him to the dam. The Datu is killed in a booby trap, but Canavan manages to dynamite the dam anyway. Then, he and the men raft back to the village, which is under attack by Alipang's men.

McCool is killed leading the defense, but Canavan and the rest return in time to turn the tide. Alipang is killed by Filipino Lieutenant Yabo, who declines to use a gun and kills Alipang in hand-to-hand combat.Their mission accomplished, the Hartleys and Canavan depart, leaving the village in Yabo's care.

Cast

Production

Sam Goldwyn bought the screen rights to Charles Clifford's story on 28 October 1936. It was unsure who the star would be – possibilities included Joel McCrea and Gary Cooper, who both had deals with Goldwyn – but Walter Brennan was announced as the second lead. [3] Goldwyn sought a meeting with Philippines President Quezon to get his government's co operation to make the film. [4] Goldwyn wanted to make the film in color. [5]

In June 1938 Goldwyn signed a contract with Paramount to borrow director Henry Hathaway for three films, the first of which was to be The Real Glory. Goldwyn assigned Gary Cooper to star as he and Hathaway had successfully made Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) together. The film was also known as The Last Frontier. [6] Cooper was placed under exclusive contract to Goldwyn. [7]

Filming took place in April 1939. There were considerable troubles finding and managing the Filipino extras. [8] [9] Reginald Owen replaced Donald Crisp.

The Philippine government reportedly requested changes to the film, due to the depiction of Philippine soldiers as cowards, which were denied. However the government later said they made no such suggestions. [1] [10]

Burial in a pig skin

In one scene Padre Rafael tells Dr. Canavan that the Moros are afraid of burial in a pig skin. In a later scene Dr. Canavan threatens a Moro prisoner with this, and a pig skin is laid on the ground in front of the prisoner. [11] This episode echoes a report in General Pershing's memoir My Life Before the World War that a Muslim fighter had been "publicly buried in the same grave with a dead pig". There is a related, but widely discredited, claim that Pershing had threatened to execute Muslim Moro prisoners with bullets dipped in pigs' blood. The historian Brian M. Linn wrote that it was unlikely that Pershing was involved in or had ordered others to commit religiously insulting acts, and that the episode in The Real Glory had probably fuelled the myth. This claim concerning bullets dipped in pigs' blood was referred to by Donald Trump in a presidential campaign speech in February 2016 and in a tweet following the terrorist attacks in Barcelona on August 17, 2017. [12] On the other hand, evidence from Rear Admiral Danial P. Maddox, 3rd, supports the claim of the Americans burying Moros in pigskins. [13]

Notes and references

Notes

  1. 1 2 DRAMA: 'I Married an Angel' for MacDonald, Eddy 'What Ho!' for Cooper Ballerina's 'Ballerina' 'Angel' Musical Bought Wayne Morris Afloat Goldwyn Vetoes Cuts Schallert, Edwin. Los Angeles Times 19 Aug 1939: A7.
  2. The Real Glory at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. News From Hollywood Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES.. New York Times 29 Oct 1936: 31.
  4. Who Will Do Scarlett O'Hara? Latest Says Norma Shearer: Scene in Hollywood By a Staff Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor 14 Apr 1937: 7.
  5. NEWS OF THE SCREEN: Goldwyn to Produce Entire 1937-38 Program in Technicolor, Hailing It as New Cinema Medium Of Local Origin New York Times 17 May 1937: 23.
  6. Paramount Casts Star Trio in New Picture: Hathaway Directs Gary Arthur in Warner Deal Los Angeles Times 10 June 1938: 17.
  7. SCREEN NEWS HERE AND IN HOLLYWOOD: Delay in 'The Dictator' Seen as Paulette Goddard Takes Role in Another Film TWO NEW ARRIVALS TODAY 'Stagecoach' and the Latest 'Huckleberry Finn' Version Will Have Premieres Of Local Origin Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES.. New York Times 2 Mar 1939: 19
  8. Mr. Goldwyn Battles Acute Filipino Crisis: 'The Real Glory' Brings Consternation To All Concerned By Frederick C. Othman. United Press Hollywood Correspondent. The Washington Post (9 May 1939: 20.
  9. THE FILIPINO CRISIS IN HOLLYWOOD: Territorial Disunity Frays the Nerves of Mr. Goldwyn By DOUGLAS W. CHURCHILL. New York Times 16 Apr 1939: X5.
  10. HOLLYWOOD AND A ROOSEVELT HOAX By DOUGLAS W. CHURCHILL. New York Times 27 Aug 1939: X3.
  11. "The Real Glory (1939)". The Vernon Johns Society. Archived from the original on March 30, 2004. Retrieved 6 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)[ self-published source ]
  12. Horton, Alex (August 18, 2017). "Trump said to study General Pershing. Here's what the president got wrong". The Washington Post . Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  13. This comes from the memoirs of Rear Admiral Danial P. Maddox, 3rd. The_Old_Navy, Chapter 8

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Cooper</span> American actor (1901–1961)

Gary Cooper was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, as well as an Academy Honorary Award in 1961 for his career achievements. He was one of the top-10 film personalities for 23 consecutive years and one of the top money-making stars for 18 years. The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked Cooper at number 11 on its list of the 25 greatest male stars of classic Hollywood cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Niven</span> British actor, memoirist and novelist (1910–1983)

James David Graham Niven was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. Niven was known as a handsome and debonair leading man in Classic Hollywood films. He received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

<i>The Lives of a Bengal Lancer</i> (film) 1935 film by Henry Hathaway

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer is a 1935 American adventure film starring Gary Cooper, directed by Henry Hathaway, and written by Grover Jones, William Slavens McNutt, Waldemar Young, John L. Balderston, and Achmed Abdullah. The setting and title come from the 1930 autobiography of the British soldier Francis Yeats-Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Brennan</span> American actor (1894–1974)

Walter Andrew Brennan was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938) and The Westerner (1940), making him one of only three male actors to win three Academy Awards, and the only male or female actor to win three awards in the supporting actor category. Brennan was also nominated for his performance in Sergeant York (1941). Other noteworthy performances were in To Have and Have Not (1944), My Darling Clementine (1946), Red River (1948) and Rio Bravo (1959). On television, he starred in the sitcom The Real McCoys (1957-1963).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moro Rebellion</span> 1899–1913 uprising during the Philippine-American War

The Moro Rebellion (1899–1913) was an armed conflict between the Moro people and the United States military during the Philippine–American War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Hathaway</span> American film director and producer

Henry Hathaway was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moro people</span> Muslim ethnic groups of the southern Philippines and neighbouring regions

The Moro people or Bangsamoro people are the 13 Muslim-majority ethnolinguistic Austronesian groups of Mindanao, Sulu, and Palawan, native to the region known as the Bangsamoro. As Muslim-majority ethnic groups, they form the largest non-Christian population in the Philippines, and comprise about 5% of the country's total population, or 5 million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bud Bagsak</span> Part of the Philippine-American War (June 1913)

The Battle of Bud Bagsak took place during the Moro Rebellion phase of the Philippine–American War fought between June 11 and 15, 1913. The defending Moro fighters were fortified at the top of Mount Bagsak on the island of Jolo, Sulu. The attacking Americans were led by General John 'Black Jack' Pershing. The Moros were entirely annihilated, including their leader, Datu Amil.

Juramentado, in Philippine history, refers to a male Moro swordsman who attacked and killed targeted occupying and invading police and soldiers, expecting to be killed himself, the martyrdom undertaken as a form of jihad, considered a form of suicide attack. Unlike an amok, who commits acts of random violence against Muslims and non-Muslims alike, a juramentado was a dedicated, premeditated, and sometimes highly skilled killer who prepared himself through a ritual of binding, shaving, and prayer in order to accomplish brazen attacks armed only with edged weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Battle of Bud Dajo</span> 1906 massacre of the Moro Rebellion

The First Battle of Bud Dajo, also known as the Moro Crater Massacre, was a counterinsurgency action fought by the United States Army against the Moro people in March 1906, during the Moro Rebellion in the southwestern Philippines. Whether the occupants of Bud Dajo were hostile to U.S. forces is disputed, as inhabitants of Jolo Island had previously used the crater, which they considered sacred, as a place of refuge during Spanish assaults. Major Hugh Scott, the district governor of Sulu Province, where the incident occurred, recounted that those who fled to the crater "declared they had no intention of fighting, - ran up there only in fright, [and] had some crops planted and desired to cultivate them."

<i>Souls at Sea</i> 1937 film by Henry Hathaway

Souls at Sea is a 1937 American historical adventure film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Gary Cooper and George Raft. Based on a story by Ted Lesser, the film is about a first mate on a slave ship who frees the slaves on the ship after a mutiny overthrows the ship's captain. The title of this film was spoofed in the Laurel and Hardy comedy film Saps at Sea (1940). The supporting cast features Frances Dee, Harry Carey, Joseph Schildkraut, Robert Cummings, George Zucco, Tully Marshall, Monte Blue, and an uncredited Alan Ladd and Edward Van Sloan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John J. Pershing</span> Commanding general of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I

General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing, nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior American United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I from 1917 to 1920. In addition to leading the AEF to victory in World War I, Pershing notably served as a mentor to many in the generation of generals who led the United States Army during World War II, including George C. Marshall, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Lesley J. McNair, George S. Patton, and Douglas MacArthur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudy Robles</span> Filipino actor

Rudy Robles was a Filipino film and television actor. He was one of the first Filipino actors to appear in Hollywood movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish–Moro conflict</span> Series of battles in the Philippines 1565–1898

The Spanish–Moro conflict was a series of battles in the Philippines lasting several centuries. It began during the Spanish Philippines and lasted until the Spanish–American War, when Spain finally began to subjugate the Moro people after centuries of attempts to do so. Spain ultimately conquered portions of the Mindanao and Jolo islands and turned the Sultanate of Sulu into a protectorate, establishing geographic dominance over the region until the Spanish-American War. Moro resistance continued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine resistance against Japan</span> Organized guerilla group in World War II

During the Japanese occupation of the islands in World War II, there was an extensive Philippine resistance movement, which opposed the Japanese and their collaborators with active underground and guerrilla activity that increased over the years. Fighting the guerrillas – apart from the Japanese regular forces – were a Japanese-formed Bureau of Constabulary, the Kenpeitai, and the Makapili. Postwar studies estimate that around 260,000 people were organized under guerrilla groups and that members of anti-Japanese underground organizations were more numerous. Such was their effectiveness that by the end of World War II, Japan controlled only twelve of the forty-eight provinces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saidamen Pangarungan</span> Filipino businessman, lawyer, and politician

Saidamen Balt Pangarungan is a Filipino businessman, lawyer and politician who previously served as the ad interim Chairman of the Commission on Elections from March–June 2022. He previously served as the secretary of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos in the Duterte administration, and was the governor of Lanao del Sur from 1988 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Bayang</span>

The Battle of Bayang was the first major engagement of the Moro Rebellion. It was a punitive expedition led by Colonel Frank D. Baldwin in retaliation for murders committed by Moros in Malabang and Parang on the island of Mindanao. Col. Baldwin led seven companies of the 27th Infantry and the 25th Battery Light Artillery against the Moros on the south shore of Lake Lanao, the village of Bayang in particular. The Americans took Fort Pandapatan and the fort of Datu of Binadayan, killing the Sultan of Bayang in the process.

The Tausug Moros lived in the Sulu archipelago, which was traditionally ruled by the Sulu Sultanate. The Maguindanaon Moros lived on Mindanao, which was traditionally ruled by the Maguindanao Sultanate. The Maranao Moros lived around Lake Lanao, which was traditionally ruled by the Confederation of Sultanates in Lanao. They were invaded by the Americans during the Moro Rebellion and annexed into the Philippines. Among the anti-Japanese resistance the Tausug leader was Sulu Sultan Jainal Abirin II and the Chinese-Maguindanaon leader Datu Gumbay Pia. A few of the Maranao leaders were Datu Busran Kalaw, Salipada Pendatun, Sultan Alonto, and Sultan Dimaporo. Salipada Pendatun's brother-in-law, Major Datu Udtug, also fought against the Japanese, and in Cotabato, the focal area of the anti-Japanese resistance was Papalungan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Datu Ali</span> Rajah of Buayan

Datu Ali was the Rajahmuda of Tinungkup within the Sultanate of Buayan before succeeding his cousin, Datu Uto, as Rajah of Buayan formally from Uto's death in 1902 until his death in 1905. He was the cousin of Datu Uto of Buayan and brother of Datu Djimbangan and Sultan Tambilawan of Kudarangan, and as a rising leader, Datu Ali overpowered his brothers to rule over Kudarangan.

Princess Tarhata Kiram was a Moro leader. She was the niece and adopted daughter of Jaramul Kiram II, Sultan of Sulu. After being educated in Manila and the United States, she returned to Jolo and married a Moro chieftain, Datu Tahil. In 1927, they staged a brief, failed rebellion against the corruption and excessive land taxation of American-supported Filipino governmental authorities. Kiram worked throughout her life to protect the economic and political rights of Muslim Filipinos.

References