Kings Go Forth *** (1958, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood) – Classic Movie Review 8922

‘One Gave Her Everything a Woman Could Want… One Took Everything a Woman Could Give!’

Director Delmer Daves’s 1958 black and white World War Two romance action drama, Kings Go Forth is based on the novel by Joe David Brown, and stars Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood. Although it is in part a race drama, the film is content to use the regulation war movie storyline of two soldiers in love with the same woman.

In a well-meaning, if now dated, awkward romantic and racial wartime drama, GI buddies First Lieutenant Sam Loggins (Sinatra) and Corporal Britt Harris (Curtis) fall for Monique Blair (Wood), who is part French and, it turns out, has an African American father. Kings Go Forth is decently and delicately written, and very competently handled by Daves and his cast, with Curtis coming off best of the stars.

Overcoming his initial prejudice, Loggins (Sinatra) really loves her, but Harris (Curtis), who has pretended to want to marry her to sleep with her, dumps her because she is half-black.  The men go ballistic but have to tackle the Nazis first.

Curtis recalled: ‘Frank Sinatra was the star and narrator of the film, which was about the mop-up operations in France at the end of World War Two, the so-called champagne campaign around the Riviera. He was Sam the tough sergeant and I was one of the replacements in his unit, the rich kid with something to prove. Natalie of course didn’t look remotely black but in those days a black girl could not have played that part.’

Well, strangely enough, the Monique character was written with Dorothy Dandridge in mind.

It premiered at Monaco before Princess Grace and Prince Ranier as a benefit for the UN refugee fund.

Also in the cast are Leora Dana, Karl Swenson, Ann Codee, Eddie Ryder, Jacques Berthe, Cyril Delevanti, Pete Candoli, Red Norvo and Marie Isnard.

Kings Go Forth is directed by Delmer Daves, 109 minutes, is made by Frank Ross-Eton Productions, is released by United Artists, is written by Merle Miller, based on the novel by Joe David Brown, is shot in black and white by Daniel L Fapp, is produced by Frank Ross, is scored by Elmer Bernstein and is designed by Fernando Carrere.

Sinatra is 25 years older than Natalie Wood, whom he romances, and eight years older than Leora Dana, who plays her mother.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8922

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