Heroes for Sale
Director: William A. Wellman Run Time: 76 min. Format: 35mm Rating: NR Release Year: 1933
Starring: Richard Barthelmess, Aline MacMahon, Loretta Young
Hosted by Caroline Golum and Cristina Cacioppo. Followed by an afterparty in Trees Lounge with a DJ set of pre-code era tunes (and beyond) from Owen Kline plus our signature cocktail special “Blonde in Hell.”
Like so many other young men of his generation, Tom Holmes (Richard Barthelmess) limps back from WWI broke, friendless, and addicted to morphine. Year after year he struggles to find steady employment, hoping to catch the wave of prosperity that buoyed hucksters and capitalists during the Roaring Twenties. But when the Great Depression hits, Tom finds the resolve to do battle once more – not against the German army, but against the wheels of industry! Radicalized by his hardship, he joins America’s growing labor movement to fight, at long last, for a truly just cause. Spitfire director William A. Wellman’s swift rage against the machine has it all: solidarity, showmanship, empathy and economic justice. And he gets it done in just over 70 minutes!