Beyond Victory
Beyond Victory is a 1931 American pre-Code war film starring Bill Boyd, James Gleason, Lew Cody, and ZaSu Pitts. While John Robertson received directing credit, Edward H. Griffith supposedly took extensive re-takes after production ended and the film was deemed not audience ready. Two actresses with major roles in the original version were completely cut from the final release, Helen Twelvetrees and June Collyer. The original screenplay was written by Horace Jackson and James Gleason. While the film might not have made a profit at the box office, it was well received by critics.
Plot
On the Western Front during World War I, an American battalion advances to the French town of Nevremont, where it is outflanked. Sergeant Bill Thatcher is left in charge of a small rear guard of four men to cover the battalion's retreat before it is cut off. During heavy shelling, Bill tries to comfort his men after each is wounded. The first, "Bud", relates his story of how he joined the military, leaving the family farm to enlist, despite his mother's pleas for him not to become involved in foreign conflicts. As he finishes his story, he dies.The second doughboy, Lew Cavanaugh, is a New York playboy who used enlistment as a way to have a final night of pleasure with one of his conquests, never realizing that he would die on a French battlefield. The third American, the unsoldierly Jim Mobley, is not as badly wounded as the other two soldiers and tells his story of his wife's displeasure after he announces his intention to enlist and his own consternation at his inability explain to her why. Thatcher then relates his own story, where he was engaged to a German immigrant back in the United States but did not wed her due to their differences over the "Great War".
Shortly after, the Germans attack again, during which Bill and Jim defend their position and blow up a bridge to cover the retreat of their battalion, but are badly wounded. A German soldier tries to bayonet the unconscious Bill but is stopped by another soldier. Both are captured and sent to a German hospital, where Bill is discovered by his erstwhile fiancé, Katherine. She saves his life by persuading the German doctor to allow Bill, slowly bleeding to death but not allowed a transfusion because too many German patients are in need of one, to be transfused with her blood. After the Armistice of [11 November 1918|armistice], with Bill recovered and decorated along with Jim for the defense of Nevremont, they celebrate the end of the fighting with Katherine.
Cast
- Bill Boyd as Sergeant Bill Thatcher
- James Gleason as Private Jim Mobley
- Lew Cody as Lew Cavanaugh
- ZaSu Pitts as Mademoiselle Fritzi
- Marion Shilling as Ina
- Russell Gleason as Russell
- Lissi Arna as Katherine
- Mary Carr as Mother
- Fred Scott as Fred
- Theodore Von Eltz as Major Sparks
Production
In early June, Robert Armstrong was replaced by Lew Cody. Armstrong was delayed on the production of Railroad Man. By June 15, 1930, the cast had grown to include William Boyd, Fred Scott, James Gleason, Russell Gleason, June Collyer, Helen Twelvetrees, Zasu Pitts, Purnell Pratt, and Bert Roach. The following week, Richard Tucker was added to the cast. Production on the film was almost complete by the end of June. On June 26, the final cast list was reported. Additions to the cast were: William Holden, E.H. Calvert, Fred Walton, Wade Boteler, Rockliffe Fellowes, Helen Baxter, George Stone, Elinor Millard, Ed Deering, Bert Sprotte, Conrad Seidemann, Paul Weigle, and Charles Giblyn. Millard was a stage actress, and this movie was her film debut. In addition to the unusual script development strategy used by Pathé, they also employed a U.S. Army Colonel, Frank S. Long, as a technical advisor on the film. A new type of silencer for the camera was employed on the picture, allowing a close-up of Boyd's hand signing a document to pick up the pen's scratching noise on the paper. The film included actual war footage from Pathé's film library, which at the time had one of the most extensive collections of World War I footage. While the film's main cinematography was done by Norbert Brodine, William Dietz was hired to do some special trick photography.
By July 11, 1930, production on the film was completed. By the end of the month, the picture was in the editing room. However, on July 23 it was announced that the film was being shelved for the time being, with portions to be re-shot. By August 21, the film was being advertised in major industry journals. In the released version of the film, scenes with Helen Twelvetrees and June Collyer were completely cut. In October it was announced that the film was scheduled for release on November 30, with the film undergoing some large re-shoots under the direction of E.H. Griffith. However, the film went back into the editing room in early December. The film's release date was eventually pushed back to be included in the 1931 release schedule. Pathé cut its planned 20 films for the 1930–31 schedule to 9, with Beyond Victory scheduled as the last of the nine. The reason cited was Pathé's acquisition by RKO Pictures. Beyond Victory was one of three Pathé films which were purchased outright by RKO.