The Men (1950)

	Directed by: Fred Zinnemann	COUNTRY USA GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Mennene RUNNING TIME 85 minutes
	Produced by: Stanley Kramer
	Written by: Carl Foreman

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Ken	Marlon Brando
Ellen	Teresa Wright	½
Dr. Block	Everett Sloane	½
Norm	Jack Webb
Leo	Richard Erdman	½
Angel	Arthur Jurado	½
Nurse Robbins	Virginia Farmer	½

Review

After having declined more than one standard seven-year studio contract offer from Hollywood, the hottest young theatre actor on Broadway, 25-year-old Marlon Brando, signed on with Fred Zinnemann and Stanley Kramer (Judgement at Nuremberg) to make his screen debut with this anti-war drama entitled The Men. And Zinnemann's unusual pursuit of authenticity, represented among other things by his use of 49 actual hospitalized war veterans, provided the perfect backdrop for the introduction of Brando's groundbreaking, later-dubbed method acting – an acting technique advocated and taught by Stella Adler, and already well-honed by Brando himself on stage.

What's so great about Brando in these early films, in addition to his unequalled acting technique and prowess, is his hunger and ambition – a trait which unfortunately waned during the course of his career. In The Men, he is full of youthful energy and a determination to show the world what he could do. And what he could do! His performance here is an augury of things to come the following year when he and Elia Kazan adapted Tennessee Williams' long-running play A Streetcar Named Desire. The performance in The Men is almost as good: so full of power and depth that his classicist co-star Teresa Wright, despite giving a fine performance, looks very dated next to him. In addition to Brando, The Men boasts a semi-pioneering human approach from director Fred Zinnemann. He's not at all political in his criticism or glamorising in his characterisations, but simply offers modern, probing human drama, which has enabled this film to stand the test of time remarkably well.