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They Gave Him a Gun

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While serving in World War I, mild-mannered Jimmy (Franchot Tone) strikes up an unlikely friendship with outspoken Fred (Spencer Tracy), but an Army nurse named Rose (Gladys George) comes between them. While Fred ends up in a POW camp, Jimmy makes a courageous turn in battle, thus winning Rose's love. Unfortunately, after the war ends, Jimmy still yearns for the thrill of combat. Without an outlet, it isn't long before he willingly enters the seedy criminal underbelly of New York City.

Critics Reviews

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Meyer Levin (Patterson Murphy) Esquire Magazine 04/21/2020
Van Dyke's usual concise, hard-hitting direction. Go to Full Review Ann Ross Maclean's Magazine 10/03/2019
Fairly exciting, but it needs compression. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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07/03/2011 Interesting pacifist film made on the eve of World War II. See more 07/03/2011 Interesting pacifist film made on the eve of World War II. See more 02/16/2009 classic b/w gangster film. See more Read all reviews
They Gave Him a Gun

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Cast & Crew

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W. S. Van Dyke II

Director

Spencer Tracy

Fred P. Willis

Franchot Tone

James "Jimmy" Davis

Gladys George

Rose Duffy

Edgar Dearing

Sgt. Meadowlark

Mary Treen

Saxe
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They Gave Him a Gun

They Gave Him a Gun (1937) They Gave Him a Gun (1937) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis While serving in World War I, mild-mannered Jimmy (Franchot Tone) strikes up an unlikely friendship with outspoken Fred (Spencer Tracy), but an Army nurse named Rose (Gladys George) comes between them. While Fred ends up in a POW camp, Jimmy makes a courageous turn in battle, thus winning Rose's love. Unfortunately, after the war ends, Jimmy still yearns for the thrill of combat. Without an outlet, it isn't long before he willingly enters the seedy criminal underbelly of New York City.
Director
W. S. Van Dyke II
Producer
Harry Rapf
Production Co
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Feb 3, 2015
Runtime
1h 34m