The Fighting 69th (1940) on Netflix
Tough-talking New Yorker Jerry Plunkett joins the 69th Regiment when the United States enters World War I, aiming to win medals on his own. Chaplain Father Francis P. Duffy believes in him.
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- Netflix3.4/5
- IMDb6.6/102,248 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes71%
Trailer
Plot summary
The 69th Infantry Regiment of New York, known as the Fighting 69th, trains at Camp Mills after the United States enters World War I. Among the recruits is Jerry Plunkett, a tough-talking New Yorker who joined up in the patriotic fervor of the moment, and whose bravado and disregard for officers set him apart from the men around him and from his commanders, among them Major Wild Bill Donovan. Father Francis P. Duffy, the regiment's chaplain, is certain that Plunkett will prove himself, though the rest of the unit is harder to convince. Lieutenant Oliver Ames and Sergeant Joyce Kilmer, the poet, are among the regiment's officers and men.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Fighting 69th (1940)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The Fighting 69th draws on the real 69th Infantry Regiment of New York City in World War I, and several real members appear as characters: chaplain Father Francis P. Duffy, battalion commander and future OSS leader "Wild Bill" Donovan, Lt. Oliver Ames and Sgt. Joyce Kilmer, the poet killed in battle on July 30, 1918.
- Priscilla Lane was originally cast as one of the soldiers' girls back home, but the part was cut before production began, leaving the finished film with no female characters at all.
- Most of the film was shot at Warner Bros.' Calabasas Ranch, which stood in for Camp Mills, the 69th's training base, French villages and the battlefields of France.
- The regiment's nickname in the title dates to the American Civil War, when the 69th fought against General Robert E. Lee; the film's plot follows the regiment's real exploits in World War I.
