The Real Glory (1939) on Netflix
In 1906 on Mindanao, Alipang's Moro guerrillas raid villages. At Fort Mysang, officers train the Philippine Constabulary to take on the island's defense, while Doctor Canavan keeps them healthy.
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Trailer
Plot summary
In 1906, Alipang's Muslim Moro guerrillas raid villages on the Philippine island of Mindanao, killing the men and carrying women and children off as slaves. Rather than keep garrisons there indefinitely, the United States Army tries another approach at Fort Mysang, sending a few officers in place of a full detachment to train the local Philippine Constabulary to protect the island itself. Army doctor Lieutenant Canavan travels with them to keep the men healthy, and Padre Rafael meets the party with doubt. Alipang answers with juramentados, fanatics sent to kill the officers and provoke a fight before the constabulary is ready. Mrs. Manning and Hartley's daughter Linda reach the fort for a visit, and Canavan disagrees with Hartley's cautious command.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Real Glory (1939)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The US War Department withdrew The Real Glory in 1942, once the Moros had become US allies in World War II; the film contained inflammatory scenes, including one where a Muslim prisoner is threatened with burial wrapped in a pig skin.
- Historian Brian McAllister Linn wrote that the pig-skin episode in The Real Glory probably fueled the discredited myth that General John J. Pershing threatened to execute Moro prisoners with bullets dipped in pigs' blood, a claim Donald Trump repeated in 2016 and 2017.
- The Philippine government reportedly requested changes to The Real Glory because it depicted Philippine soldiers as cowards; the request was denied, and the government later said it had made no such suggestions.
- Samuel Goldwyn did not know who would star in The Real Glory: Joel McCrea and Gary Cooper, both under deals with him, were possibilities for the lead, while Walter Brennan was announced as the second lead.
