Make Fredericksville Georgia great again.
Colonel Effingham’s Raid (1946): 5 out of 10: A retired Army colonel returns home and starts a fight to save the Confederate War Monument and the historic courthouse from the local corrupt politicians and an apathetic populace.
The Good
The Good: I usually hate movie reviews that view a historical piece through a modern lens and put our values unto the values of the time of the art. But good Lord almighty, this is truly a litmus test of the times. Charles Coburn’s colonel is bound to remind people of a certain President the way he wants to drain the swamp and bullies all those around him. In addition, we have the defense of a Confederate memorial against those one-party carpetbaggers looking to profit off a disinterested populace who has forgotten their roots.
The movie is an interesting piece, partially because it is such a dated piece of propaganda and partially because its message of paying attention to your local community and getting involved is kind of timeless.
The Bad
The Bad: The ending feels unsatisfying and a bit truncated. It is as if they realized the movie was running too long and added a conclusion that simply isn’t earned by what comes before.
The movie is also racist. This isn’t as much a criticism as a statement of fact. Between the Confederate love fest and the horrible way black characters are treated, the movie wears its overt racism on its sleeve.
The Ugly
The Ugly: While the racism at least fits the theme and plot of the film, the bizarre sexism does not. Mainly in the form of an artificial wolf-whistle, every time the Colonel’s nephew (William Eythe) looks at the society reporter’s (Joan Bennett’s) legs. It is distracting, strange, and is out of place in this otherwise somewhat grounded movie. Honestly, it would be out of place in a Benny Hill sketch, it is so over the top and juvenile.
In Conclusion
In Conclusion: There is an interesting story buried under all the problematic racism and sexism and underdeveloped side characters. It is, after all, based on the very real problem of local government corruption that can happen anywhere with any political party. The movie simply commits too many sins (did I mention the random narration that pops up from William Eythe) and, with a truncated tepid conclusion, it leaves one unsatisfied.
Screenshots.
The film quality on the Amazon prime version is not the best and this can be a dark film from a cinematography point of view. Here are some somewhat fuzzy screenshots.
