Released in 1943/1944, "Tender Comrade" gets its title from a poem called "My Wife", by Robert Louis Stevenson, which glowingly lists the wonderful traits of his wife. The first line of the third stanza reads: "Teacher, tender, comrade, wife". Note the comma that separates the words "tender" and "comrade". He was not describing a comrade who is tender, but a comrade who also tends.The film starts with written lines from the poem, then graphically extracts the two words of the title. Were they trying to honor Stevenson with their attribution? Or were they trying to make it clear that the word "comrade" was not an overt effort to allude to the common communistic sobriquet? Regardless, given the overreaching sophistry of those who found communist tendencies everywhere, it is a wonder someone didn't find guilt by association, given Stevenson's atheism and his socialist leanings.The film is written by Dalton Trumbo--one of the best screenwriters of all time. Author of the great anti-war novel, "Johnny Got His Gun", Trumbo also authored the screenplays for "Exodus", "Spartacus", and "Roman Holiday". He was awarded two Oscars.Trumbo joined the Communist Party in 1943. It was not illegal to do so and at the time, Russia was an ally of the U.S. in WWII. Clearly, Trumbo was anti-fascist. Was he anti-American in any way? An examination of the film may clarify his views.The story of the film, like most of its time, is clearly aligned with war efforts on the homefront and includes much of the patriotic propaganda that was prevalent. As you might guess, with a title that refers to wives, "Tender Comrade" focuses on the wartime lives of wives whose husbands are serving in the military.Four women who work in the Douglas aircraft plant a la Rosie the Riveter, decide to combine their meager paychecks so that they can afford a larger home and achieve greater purchasing power. They hire a German housekeeper, whose husband is also serving in the U.S. armed forces. The entire film is written from their perspectives, but especially from the perspective of the main character, Jo Jones (Ginger Rogers). Throughout the film, via Jo's flashbacks, we are taken back to moments in her life with her husband, Chris (Robert Ryan).Interestingly, the moments Jo reflects on are not all moments of great joy. In fact, they show that the relationship of the young couple, though loving, was full of disharmony and arguments, even when he proposed to her. Nevertheless, Jo is dedicated to the homefront support of her husband and all the troops. She, more than any of the other wives, mouths the patriotic slogans that were so common at the time, supporting rationing, conservation, and every manner of emotional and active support. The men were making their sacrifices for democracy, so those back home needed to do their part.The term "democracy" is loosely thrown around during the film, which is not unusual, since it had become nearly synonymous with the American way of life since WWI. Early on, the women say they will run their joint household like a democracy, voting to make decisions. They decide to use only one car and "share and share alike". Later, when one woman receives a medal in the mail from her husband, they say it is a medal for all of them to "share and share alike". For them it is a symbol of their joint efforts and sharing is a part of their fight for democracy. A few years after the film, Dalton Trumbo would be called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. He would be part of the Hollywood Ten, who refused to give the names of Communists in the film industry. He would be blacklisted and have to work in secrecy, unable to claim his Oscars until many years later. Among the flimsy evidence used against him was the word "Comrade" in the title of this film and the communal living style of the five women. But anyone who watches the film can see that Trumbo's screenplay "does its part" for America, pushing every emotional button in service to the nation's massive and comprehensive effort to win the war.The truth is that wartime America is not the freewheeling, freedom-loving America of peacetime. The choices made by the five women reflect the extreme efforts made by American society in general. Many freedoms were (temporarily) sacrificed by all. Basically, martial law prevailed over the nation, demanding that all citizens live for a greater good--an effort that might be described as communal.While filming "Tender Comrade", Ginger Rogers realized that some aspects of the film, in her opinion, had a "Communistic turn", including some of her lines. In particular, the line she objected to was "share and share alike" and she had the producer give that line to other actors, she said. However, if you pay attention, you will hear her say that line when discussing the car, so her memory is somewhat suspect.During the making of this film, Ginger's husband, Jack Briggs, was serving in the military and awaiting orders, so she was very in-tune with the feelings of concern and self-sacrifice experienced by Jo and the other character wives.But this film is not one of Trumbo's best. It suffers from slow moments and a disjointed storyline. The acting in the film is uneven. Ms. Rogers' performance alternates between very solid and noticeably weak. In all, the this is a vey interesting film, but not exceptional in any way.

The plot of this propagandistic tearjerker has more than a passing resemblance to LITTLE WOMEN, even down to the central character's name, Jo Jones (Ginger Rogers). Four women whose spouses are fighting abroad during World War II set up home together and learn how to survive. One of them, Barbara Thomas (Ruth Hussey), loses her husband during the Battle of Midway, while another, Doris Dumbrowski (Kim Hunter) has the pleasure of an unexpected visit from her newly-married spouse Mike (Richard Martin). Meanwhile Jo remembers about her courtship and early married life with Chris (Robert Ryan) in a series of extended flashback sequences. Manya Lodge, their newly-engaged housekeeper (Mady Christians) looks back on her early life in Nazi Germany and contrasts it with the happier existence she enjoys in the United States. Inevitably the film has a sad ending. As might be expected from Dalton Trumbo, who later in the decade was to experience several dealings with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), the script preaches an egalitarian message, of everyone pulling together in order to defeat the perceived threat of Nazism. While family bereavements are inevitable, individuals should realize that this is a consequence of war, and should therefore be spurred on to fight harder. This is as important on the Home Front as it was on the battlefields: in one climactic scene, Jo berates Barbara, who displays a regrettable tendency towards xenophobia, for putting self-interest above community concerns. At the end Jo realizes the importance of practicing what she preaches, so as to ensure a better world for her newly-born child once the war has ended. Despite the undoubted seriousness of its message, the action of TENDER COMRADE tends to drag a little; there are certain sequences (especially the flashbacks to Jo and Chris' early life) that become so treacly that the plot tends to get lost. Rogers gives a creditable account of herself, although it's noticeable that she manages to go through the film without one strand of her impeccably coiffed hairdo falling out of place, in spite of her responsibilities both inside and outside the home.

While it's true that this film isn't nearly the drama that SINCE YOU WENT AWAY was, it is still an exceptional view of the impact of WWII on the families at home. Despite a very minor problem (which I'll talk about later), the film has great emotional impact even today and I dare you to watch it all the way through and keep a dry eye! The main character of the film is Ginger Rogers and is about her dealing with life without her husband, Robert Ryan, who is at war. While he does appear in the first 15 minutes or so of the film, he is primarily seen through a series of flashbacks interspersed through the movie. These all give background as to the life this couple shared before the war. As for Ryan, he came off very well in these vignettes, though Rogers' character seemed a bit too petulant to be believable and I was half expecting Ryan to slap her upside the head to shut her up (folks, I am NOT encouraging spousal abuse--relax)! Later in the film she had mellowed quite a bit and was indeed a very sympathetic and good character.Ginger and her co-workers begin talking after Ryan goes back to the war and they mutually decide to rent a house together and share expenses. At this point, the story involved the the lives of these four other women--their motivations, back story and character. This is all told in a very effective manner and you really begin to care for the ladies.The purpose of this tearjerker was to solidify the resolve for the war with the people left behind in the States and in this light, this was a super-effective film. Generally excellent writing, direction and acting make this a film that is easy to connect to and like. It also makes the movie a tough one to watch, as you tend to go through an emotional roller-coaster because of all the ladies' trials and tribulations. A wonderful time capsule of the era and a film well worth seeing.Oddly, in later years, many of those responsible for this film were labeled "Communists" and the film was cited as an example of these left-leaning sympathies. Other than the fact the ladies live together and share their money, I really can't see how any sane person could construe this as Communism--and what's the matter with sharing a home and expenses anyway? I did that a while back and I don't THINK I'm a Communist!!

This romantic and exciting movie may have been made as early as 1942, the year after Pearl Harbor. The outcome of the war was no where near certain. The Germans were in complete control of Europe and parts of Africa. The Germans were bombing London daily. The Japanese controlled all of Southeast Asia, from Korea and Manchuria in the north to the Philippines in the south Pacific. The third member of the Axis, Italy had the largest air force in the world at the outbreak of world war 2. Our Pacific fleet was reeling from the losses at Pearl Harbor and from our losses at the victory at Midway. The French fleet was about to surrender.It is essentially the story of five women in the United States. Ginger Rogers as Jo Jones, Ruth Hussey as Barbara Thomas, Patricia Collinge as Helen Stacey, Kim Hunter as Doris Dumbrowski, the young very recently(war time romance)married young lady and Mady Christians as Manya Lodge. Four of them work together in a defense plant and the fifth (Manya) is a German-American who cannot be hired (there was a great deal of prejudice and wariness of both Germans and Japanese). The story has an emphasis on the Chris Jones family (Ginger Rogers and her husband High School sweetheart Robert Ryan). They are a non religious, Midwestern family, who act very normal for the 1940s. Ginger Rogers (who neither smoked, nor drank) is shown lighting up a cigarette and joyfully partaking in an alcoholic beverage. This was the way of the Hollywood world of the 1940s.All five ladies are married and have husbands serving in the armed forces. One of the ladies has a bad marriage and is hurting and seeking affirmation in the world. She thinks nothing of an extra pound of bacon or a little cheating on your rations or a date with an older man. (Yes, they rationed certain foods and fuels in WW2). Ginger Rogers and Manya, the German American whose husband is also in the US Army are very upset at the slightest cheating on the rationing system, as they reason that if 20 million women are cheating, only a pound of this or that a day, then the Army will be shorted their full supplies.Jo Jones(Ginger Rogers) who was visited by her husband just before he left for overseas, has a baby. The woman who is upset at her naval husband and about to go out on the town with an older man (late 40s) hears the news that her husband's ship has been sunk in the battle for Midway. Watch this movie, as this true representation of what was happening on the home front of World War Two is played out. Does the woman whose husband is on the lost ship, do the right thing? How does the young woman whose husband left after their marriage, but before they could have any type of a honeymoon, fare compared to those ladies who were married for sometime? How does the baby turn out? Do all the husbands survive or are some lost to make this world a better and safer place for their wives and families? This is an historically accurate movie. The parts are well played, the story (stories) ring true. You will enjoy this movie, but I must warn even the most macho men, that you may find your eyes misting over on a couple of occasions, including at the very heart touching ending.