| Tender Comrade | |
|---|---|
) Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Edward Dmytryk |
| Produced by | David Hempstead |
| Written by | Dalton Trumbo |
| Starring | Ginger Rogers Robert Ryan Ruth Hussey Kim Hunter Patricia Collinge Mady Christians |
| Music by | Leigh Harline |
| Cinematography | Russell Metty |
| Edited by | Roland Gross |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes (copyright print) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Tender Comrade is a 1943 black-and-white film released by RKO Radio Pictures, showing women on the home front living communally while their husbands are away at war. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Robert Ryan, Ruth Hussey, and Kim Hunter and was directed by Edward Dmytryk.[2] The film was later used by the HUAC as evidence of Dalton Trumbo spreading communist propaganda. Trumbo was subsequently blacklisted. The film's title comes from a line in Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "My Wife" first published in Songs of Travel and Other Verses (1896).[3]
Plot
Jo Jones (Ginger Rogers) works in an airplane factory and longs for the day when she will see her husband (Robert Ryan) again. The couple have a heart wrenching farewell at the train station before he leaves for overseas duty in the war. With their husbands off fighting in World War II, Jo and her co-workers struggle to pay living expenses. Dissatisfied with their living arrangements, they decide to pool their money and rent a house together, soon after which they hire a German immigrant housekeeper, Manya (Mady Christians). Jo discovers she is pregnant and ends up having a son whom she names Chris after his father. The women are overjoyed when Doris's (Kim Hunter) husband comes home, but the same day Jo receives a telegram informing her that her husband has been killed. She hides her grief and as the film ends descends the stairs in order to rejoin the homecoming celebration.
Cast
- Ginger Rogers as Jo Jones
- Robert Ryan as Chris Jones
- Ruth Hussey as Barbara Thomas
- Patricia Collinge as Helen Stacey
- Mady Christians as Manya Lodge
- Kim Hunter as Doris Dumbrowski
- Jane Darwell as Mrs. Henderson
- Richard Martin as Mike Dumbrowski
Reception
The film made a profit of $843,000.[4]
References
- ^ "Tender Comrade: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
- ^ "Tender Comrade". NY Times. Retrieved 2011-05-05.
- ^ Hanson, Peter (2007). Dalton Trumbo, Hollywood Rebel. McFarland. pp. 70–1. ISBN 0786432462.
- ^ Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p190
External links
- Tender Comrade at AllMovie
- Tender Comrade at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Tender Comrade at IMDb
- Tender Comrade at the TCM Movie Database