The Good Fight

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

“THE GOOD FIGHT was produced and directed by Noel Bruckner, Mary Dore and Sam Sills. They’ve done an excellent job, not only in organizing their material but in eliciting that material in on-screen interviews, which are supported by newsreel footage and even in a clip from “Blockade,” a not-great movie that is notable chiefly as the only major Hollywood film to deal with the Spanish war.

“Not always remembered now is that the Spanish Civil War, in which Hitler and Mussolini supported the rebel forces of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, was not a popular cause in this country. The United States, along with Britain, France and the other Allied powers, vowed not to intervene on behalf of the elected Republican Government of Spain. Only the Soviet Union and Mexico offered support.

“What makes the testimony in THE GOOD FIGHT so effective is the veterans’ shared conviction, more than 40 years after the fact, that the war against Franco was, indeed, the good fight, though at that time it also seemed a lost one. Americans have always been keen on “good fights,” but the members of the Lincoln Brigade, unlike the young men who formed the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I, were motivated more by politics than by any sense of romance and adventure.

“Studs Terkel speaks the soundtrack narration. Colleen Dewhurst recites an English translation of the speech given by Dolores Ibarruri (the formidable Spanish Communist known as La Pasionara) to the members of the Lincoln Brigade the day they sailed home from Barcelona.

“THE GOOD FIGHT is both sorrowful and inspiring.” – Vincent Canby, The New York Times

  • Country United States
  • Language English
  • Rating NR
  • Year 1984
  • Running Time 98 minutes
  • Director Noel Buckner, Mary Dore & Sam Sills

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.