brandon 1Man on Fire (1957)
March 11th 2008 08:37
‘When you’re in love, you’re a man on fire, and a man on fire is a man to behold’ the lyrics to the opening song of Man on Fire (1957) state. Bing Crosby plays the ‘man on fire’ in this dated and cringe worthy tale about a man trying to gain custody of his son after his ex remarries. Bing, however, is not a man to behold. The character Bing portrays, factory manager, Earl Carlton, is a dull, uncharismatic and bitter man. When his ex-wife (Mary Fickett) and her new smooth-talking lawyer husband ask for full custody of Carlton’s annoying son, Carlton does everything he can to keep full custody of him.
Man on Fire treats the subject of divorce and child custody as if it’s a taboo. Perhaps the subject matter would have been more controversial and interesting to 1950s audiences, but in 2008, Man on Fire plays like a boring and old fashioned instruction film about the dangers of divorce. I wouldn’t be surprised if this film was the first film to deal with the subject of child custody and divorced parents.
The romance between research assistant, Nina Wylie (Inger Stevens) and Carlton is confusing simply because it is unbelievable that Nina would fall for the unlikeable, Carlton. It is because Carlton and his son are so hard to sympathize with that I really did not care about his custody battle. His attachment to his son is, quite frankly, a little overbearing and creepy.
After everything that Carlton goes through, does he learn a lesson? Who cares. I didn’t.
½ out of 5
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Comment by Harry
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Comment by JohnDoe
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I agree this film has lost it's power over the years, but not necessarily its relevance.
I find the movie a fun postcard to a repressed society...it has dated certainly but thats the novelty of the piece.....breaking the status quo of a more conservative era.