one of my absolute favorites!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

" . . . a poem lovely as WWIII." This is the sort of doggerel verse by Sgt. Joyce Kilmer that bogged down America's efforts to win WWI, THE FIGHTING 69th documents. (Sgt. Kilmer was a member of that unit.) As if it weren't bad enough for future generations of American Youth to suffer through Kilmer's School of Emmeline Grangerford Rhyming* every "Arbor Day," Sgt. Kilmer demoralized his fellow Doughboys by muttering morbid verses on the march such as the one he (in the guise of actor Jeffrey Lynn) voices about 50 minutes into this flick. His company's most perceptive member, "Pvt. Jerry Plunkett" (James Cagney), is the first to realize that Kilmer's grotesque defeatism is distracting and demoralizing the entire Expeditionary Force, and that if this jaded gibberish gets translated into French and British, then surely the Allies will lose the War. Swallowing his pride, Jerry springs into action by brilliantly feigning cowardice to engineer Kilmer's battlefield demise. With no one else cursed by the warped sensibilities of Joyce Adverse, Sgt. Kilmer is laid low himself in a muddy ditch without a single stanza--not so much as a couplet. This frees up Jerry to lead his reviving comrades almost single-handedly, winning the War in short order.*Please see chapters 17 through 19 of Mark Twain's THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN.

Jerry Plunket is a street brawling, tough as boots rebel from Brooklyn, he has no time for the traditions of the all Irish 69th New York Regiment, and he has even less time for his army superiors. But as Jerry is about to find out, War has a knack of making or breaking a man......It's not hard to see why The Fighting 69th was a very popular movie back on its release, coming out as America was about to enter WWII, it's flag waving patriotism targeted its audience with gusto supreme and lashes of Irish sentiment, furthering the cause was in having James Cagney in the critical lead role of Plunkett. Yet oddly, Plunkett is the made up character here, for the story is based on actual characters that the film wishes to honour. Father Duffy {Pat O'Brien} & Wild Bill Donovan {George Brent} being two highly respected men from this actual {and highly acclaimed} fighting unit.The story follows a now well trodden path, brash cocky man learns lessons the hard way, is there to be redemption come the finale ?, respect, bravery and indeed salvation are all given the once over by the makers here, there are few surprises but the film gets in there, does it's job, and leaves without lingering either side of the good or bad fence. The direction from William Keighley is vigorous, and the supporting players are solid, if unspectacular {haven't we seen this O'Brien turn before?}, but all and everything is second fiddle to the perfectly cast Cagney, bullish and stoic, his turn as Plunkett lifts the film above average, because without him the film would be instantly forgettable.Enjoyable enough 6.5/10

Based on true facts. Of course Hollywood takes its liberties. Some scenes are a bit cornball; but still an interesting war flick. A loud mouth street tough Jerry Plunkett(James Cagney)joins the all-Irish 69th regiment, but seems to mock its military history. Plunkett barely makes it through training; alienating his superiors, but is befriended by Father Francis Duffy(Pat O'Brien). Frontline action in France causes the self-loving Plunkett to turn coward; but eventually redeems himself and dies a hero. Full of action with intermittent humor.This WWI war drama is loaded with stars featuring: Dennis Morgan, Alan Hale, George Brent, Frank McHugh, William Lundigan, Jeffrey Lynn and Dick Foran.

Recent American moviegoers who saw Martin Scorsese's great film, The Gangs of New York would probably think that the Civil War Draft Riots represented the unanimous Irish opinion on the American Civil War. Far from it and the regiment known as the 69th New York won honor and glory for itself in the Civil War.The Spanish American War was over before it saw any action, but that was certainly made up for in World War I. The Fighting 69th as this film was called did the stuff legends are made of and a few personal legends came out of that conflict.In the years 1938-1941 Hollywood turned out a whole load of patriotic type films. Either about past American wars or about military preparedness for the war to come, these flicks weren't deep or subtle. But they were great entertainment.The Fighting 69th is based on two real American heroes, William J. Donovan and Father Francis P. Duffy, played by George Brent and Pat O'Brien and a fictional one named Jerry Plunkett played by James Cagney. William J. Donovan (Will Bill as he was known)among other awards won the Congressional Medal of Honor. He had a distinguished career in the Harding-Coolidge Justice Department and also ran for Governor of New York in 1932, a bad year for Republicans which Donovan was. After this film was made, FDR appointed Donovan to head the Office of Strategic Services, our American intelligence service in World War II and the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency. His biography would be a great film, maybe someone will do it one day.When Father Francis P. Duffy died in 1932, he was one of New York's beloved figures by all faiths. He was the chaplain of the regiment, having been so since the Spanish American War. During World War II, he never stayed behind the lines, he traveled with a combat medical unit and went where the fighting was the thickest. The closest person we've had to him recently was Father Mychal Judge of the NYC Fire Department who accompanied the firemen into the burning World Trade Center on 9/11/01. A couple of Catholic priests who walked the walk were Duffy and Judge.After the war Duffy became pastor of the "Actor's church" on West 42nd Street in Hell's Kitchen, but near the theater district. When he passed on, a statue of him still there today was put in the triangle opposite Times Square. And that triangle was renamed Duffy Square.Both Donovan and Duffy figure prominently in Cagney's story in The Fighting 69th. For the first half Cagney is his usual streetwise, cocky urban self. The second half of the film as he's brought to the realities of war reveal a different Plunkett. It's also a great test of what a fabulous player James Cagney was, to show the change in Plunkett's character. The main story line is what happens to Cagney in the film and he's brilliant.If anyone is looking for a film about the causes of and how America got into World War I, this ain't the film. Some in current audiences will find it flag waving and super-patriotic and it sure is. But it's well acted flag waving.One of these days someone may do a film that concentrates solely on the careers of either Donovan or Duffy. Hopefully soon.