Home of the Brave (1949) (Blu-ray Review)
Director
Mark RobsonRelease Date(s)
1949 (August 26, 2026)Studio(s)
Stanley Kramer Productions/United Artists (Imprint Films/Via Vision Entertainment)- Film/Program Grade: A
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B
Review
[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free Australian Blu-ray import.]
Hollywood movies that show racial prejudice often feature that theme in major story lines, as does Home of there Brave. The drama, based on an original play by Arthur Laurents, is set on a Japanese-held Pacific island during World War II and centers on a small group of American soldiers tasked with an important and dangerous reconnaissance mission.
Major Robinson (Douglas Dick) calls together three men from his company whom he believes have the skills and courage for the assignment. He’s also assigned an expert from another company—Moss (James Edwards), a Negro surveying specialist in the Corps of Engineers. Moss, broken in body and spirit as a result of the mission is being treated by a sympathetic psychiatrist (Jeff Corey) for a sudden, physically unexplainable inability to walk. The bulk of the story is told in flashbacks as Moss reveals his youth and war traumas and the doctor has the rest of the team recount their memories of the mission.
The team consists of five men—the Major, Sgt. Mingo (Frank Lovejoy), Cpl. T.J. Everett (Steve Brodie) and Pat. Finch (Lloyd Bridges). Only Finch its happy to see Moss. They were on the same high school basketball team and became good friends. Initially, the prejudices of the white team members other than Finch are painfully clear. As the mission gets accomplished, their distrust mostly gives way to respect. Tensions arise when T.J. makes offhanded comments about Blacks, using racial slurs and stereotypical references. Moss endures these comments, keeping the success of their mission in focus.
Director Mark Robson opens up the story from the barracks to the jungle setting of the mission. Though dependent largely on dialogue, the film creates escalating suspense with vigilance against the unseen Japanese and conflict within the team as T.J. casually insults Blacks. Mingo and the Major tell him to tone it down, but his biases are so ingrained that they emerge from his mouth unfiltered. Finch balances the equation. He detests how T.J. treats Moss and makes that very clear. The Major has the job of keeping his men functioning as a cohesive unit.
As Moss, James Edwards has a difficult role, both in the barracks and on the island suffering hurtful words or in rehabilitation when, with the doctor’s help, he tries to get himself together physically and mentally. In his early scenes, Edwards is shown in close-up reacting silently to comments he’s heard his entire life. The pressure of the mission along with a constant barrage of these insults reaches its limit, but instead of talking his anger out on T.J., he internalizes it until it messes up his mind and culminates in a psychosomatic inability to walk. Edwards has an expressive face. We can see the suffering, the hurt, the resentment, the sadness, and the powerful self-restraint. He handles emotionally charged dialogue without melodrama. We believe his pain and can practically feel it.
The other actors form a supportive ensemble and their characters are developed well. Too often, stereotypes are convenient replacements for characters we can believe. Major Robinson is only 26 but is well qualified and laser-focused on the mission he leads. T.J. is a bigot, but he’s also friends with Mingo and Finch, not a one-dimensional villain. He pulls his weight during the mission and, as the Major says early on, he’s one of the best men for the job. Mingo is college-educated and enlightened in his outlook. He accepts Moss as a man whose skills are essential to the team’s success. The natural conversational style of the actors establishes their characters’ camaraderie.
The screenplay by Carl Foreman exposes prejudice and how it can break a person’s soul. The script is sympathetic to Moss without being preachy. The message is woven through the main story of five men assigned to complete a mission that will gather crucial information for a planned American invasion. Foreman’s adaptation of Laurents’ play makes a serious change. In the play, the central character is not Black. He’s a young Jewish-American soldier and the play explores anti-Semitism.
To avoid industry backlash and segregationist interference, Home of the Brave was filmed in near total secrecy over 30 days using indoor sets and local California beaches. It was one of many mid-century pictures that addressed racial bias. Others include Pinky (1949), Intruder in the Dust (1949), Lost Boundaries (1949), and No Way Out (1950).
In addition to racial prejudice, Home of the Brave also deals with the effects of trauma on combat veterans. The reaction to the film was largely positive and it’s considered a groundbreaking milestone in confronting racial prejudice in post-World War II America.
Home of the Brave was shot by director of photography Robert de Grasse on black & white 35mm film with spherical lenses and presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.37:1. De Grasse employs deeply shadowed jungle sets to create an eerie atmosphere. We never see an enemy soldier. De Grasse uses tracking shots through dense foliage to heighten suspense. The stock footage at the beginning of the film lacks the sharpness and clarity of the studio-filmed scenes. Tight shots are used in especially dramatic exchanges. Director Mark Robson opens up the action with shots of the PT boat sailing to the island jungle to drop off and pick up the men, scenes of Moss and Finch at their high school playing basketball, and Moss on a college campus.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 mono LPCM. English SDH subtitles are available. Dialogue is clear. The musical score by Dimitri Tiomkin is heard under the title credits and enhances excitement during the scene when the men leave the island. For the rest of the film, music is hardly heard. This allows us to pay full attention to the dialogue. Sound effects include foliage being brushed aside, machine gun and heavy artillery fire, a PT boat’s engine, and men crawling stealthily through underbrush.
Bonus materials on the Region-Free Blu-ray release from Imprint Films include the following:
- Audio Commentary by Steve Mitchell
- Best Plays: Home of the Brave (59:55)
Audio Commentary – Filmmaker and historian Steve Mitchell says that despite its wartime setting, Home of the Brave is not an action film; it’s a “psychological drama wearing a combat helmet." After opening stock footage, we never see anything of such scale for the rest of the film. California doubled for the Pacific. Post-World War II was a difficult time for returning vets who were seeking a normal life while coping with the nightmare of war. Movies started to grow up after the war. Audiences were interested in realistic stories. Film noir came into favor and Westerns glorified an earlier time where good and bad guys were clearly defined. Television was becoming more popular. Stanley Kramer was known for message movies, but always embedded the message in an entertaining plot. His films were deep and dealt with substantial issues. He felt the subject matter was a film’s most important element and sought projects that said something that hadn’t been said before. He knew controversy would attract audiences. Kramer obtained the rights to the play, but kept the film “on the down low,” shooting it in secrecy. Solid preparation and extensive rehearsals allowed for fewer shooting days. The budget was $525,000 and the actors were each paid $750 a week. The dialogue is so good, it distracts from the studio sets. At the time, it was uncommon to have a Black man as a major character. Director Mark Robson learned tricks working at the Val Lewton unit at RKO as to how to make a low-budget film look richer. There’s a lot of emotion but no overacting. Home of the Brave was James Edwards’ second film. A cultivated actor with stage experience, he was a pioneer, opening the door for other Black actors to get significant roles in movies. Brief overviews are provided for each of the principal actors. The film addressed PTSD before there was a name for it (it was called battle fatigue).The script also shows that healing is complicated and hopeful about the characters’ lives going forward.
Best Plays: Home of the Brave – This 1952 NBC radio program, introduced by The Daily News drama critic John Chapman, stars Donald Buka, Joseph Julian and Russell Hardy in an adaptation of the film.
Home of the Brave is a look at how racial prejudice can diminish a person’s confidence and self-image and poison his outlook on life. A small group of men who must work together on an important mission in a confined location as they hide under constant threat in the jungle makes it difficult for them to conceal prejudices. James Edwards’ excellent performance as the conflicted Moss, a solid supporting cast, and Mark Robson’s direction create believable ensemble acting. With simple staging, emphasis is always on the men. Though we hear gunfire, we never see a Japanese soldier. The film, unprecedented in 1949 for its bold statement against prejudice and segregation, still holds up as riveting drama.
- Dennis Seuling