Slim (1937) User Reviews

Buddy / Road Movie

[grabberlime · 5/10 · 21 January 2006]

One of Fonda's earlier efforts and certainly one of his lesser known films. Fonda portrays a somewhat naive, yet over confident young man from a farming background, who longs to become a linesman. O'brien plays the seasoned veteran who takes him under his wing and together, they embark on a journey from one job to another. Reasonably predictable buddy road movie type plot line, although interesting from the perspective of attempting to glamorize the profession in the tradition of" the mail must get through" theme. There is the predictable romance angle, the jealous worker and the inevitable coming of age for Fonda. All in all, nothing terribly special other than seeing two of the screens best actors paired in this family picture.

A Lineman For The Nation

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 24 August 2008]

Slim is another of those products from the working man's studio of Warner Brothers and extols the heroism of the various lineman putting up towers and wires to electrify the nation. This was one of the finest achievements of the New Deal, the Rural Electrification Agency and the work you see Pat O'Brien and Henry Fonda do, they are doing in conjunction with that agency. Most of rural America was without any kind of power before then because the cost to private industry wasn't worth the profit they got back.

If Pat O'Brien wasn't working with James Cagney, he'd be making this kind of film with Dick Powell or John Payne. None of those quite have the rural demeanor for the title role, so Warner Brothers got Henry Fonda who was then under contract to producer Walter Wanger.

Fonda is in the title role of Slim, a country kid who sees the linemen bringing power to the nation and figures he can travel, see places and do things, in a necessary occupation. It's also why a lot of kids from rural areas enlist in the armed services. Pat O'Brien takes a liking to him, takes him under his wing so to speak and even accepts when his girl Margaret Lindsay prefers Fonda to him. For O'Brien he realizes he's far from ready to settle down.

I've always felt that O'Brien together with James Cagney were the real founders of the male buddy film. Given the nature of the role, Fonda more than fills Cagney's shoes. Jimmy Cagney would never be believable as a kid off the farm.

Look for J. Farrell McDonald to give a nice performance as the foreman of the crew Fonda and O'Brien work for. And Stu Erwin gives a nice performance, imitating Bob 'Bazooka' Burns who was at the height of his popularity as a regular on Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall. Erwin gives out with the same homespun rural humor that Burns was so popular for.

With the nation mostly electrified and the Rural Electrification Agency now the Rural Maintenance Agency as of 1994, the film is somewhat dated. But it is still a good piece of entertainment and a tribute to the men who literally electrified a country.

Punchy and taut blue collar tale

[lorenellroy · 7/10 · 22 February 2008]

Warner Brothers did this kind of taut,tart blue collar movie better than any other studio and while Slim is not the studio at its absolute peak of performance it is a pretty good piece of lean and crisp movie making .

Slim -played with conviction by Henry Fonda -is a farm boy who yearns to work as a lineman on the big electrical projects then going ahead , under the auspices of the New Deal ,The opening sequence indeed is a quasi-documentary complete with solemn and sententious narrative that is a virtual commercial for Mr Roosevelt's public works agenda and which loudly hymns the role of the electrical industry in modern life He badgers Pop Travers (J Farrell MacDonald)to give him a trial and he is taken under the wing of the most respected of the lineman ,Red(Pat O'Brien).They become friends as well as mentor and protégé ,a factor cemented when Slim comes to Red's rescue as he is being fleeced by a crooked card sharp.They become partners and Red introduces Slim to his girlfriend ,a nurse Cathy (Margaret Lindsay)who is despairing of Red's nomadic lifestyle and longs to see him settle down to domesticity..Gradually a relationship develops between Slim and Cathy .The movie builds to a climax on a job site during a major blizzard .

The movie is well acted and Ray Enright brings forthright energy to its direction .Special mention to Stewrat Erwin as the garrulous Stumpy -a veteran ground worker on the sites and to Jane Wyman making an early appearance as his girlfriend This is efficient and unpretentious studio film making at very n ear its best

A little gem of a film

[pae-sk · 21 September 2001]

Running a mere 80 minutes, this little treasure packs in more action and character development than you're likely to find in some of Sly's and Arnold's big-budget blockbusters. A personal favorite of Fonda's, it's the story of a farmer's young son (he even plows the family's 40 acres behind a mule!) who leaves the farm to join a gang of linemen doing the grand task of electrifying rural America during the Great Depression. It's hard to believe, but historical fact, that prior to WWII, 75% of all Americans lived on the farm without electric power. Taken under the wing of mentor Red Blayde (Pat O'Brien), the boy Slim (Fonda) learns about life and love, honor and betrayal, and most of all, the nobility of a man's work, in the days when work itself was regarded as a higher value than just the pay check it brought in. Little moments stand out: Slim lighting up his first nickel cheroot; writing his Mom a letter home and including a $5 bill; leaning back in the passenger seat of Red's convertible as they ride down Chicago's Michigan Avenue, looking up in awe and sheer joy at his first glimpse of a big city. "Take a good look," says Red, "there's only two other cities like it in the country!" Rounding out the cast are Stu Erwin as Stumpy, the lazy and comical ground worker; Joe Sawyer, the "lyin' goldbrikkuh;" a glamorous Jane Wyman as Red's girl; always cheerful Margaret Lyndsey as the nurse who takes a shine to Slim; and stalwart John Littel as the company boss. From a top-notch novel (1934) by William Wister Haines, author of "High Tension," "Command Decision," "The Hon. Rocky Slade," and many others. Ten out of ten.

Pretty good but certainly not a "masterpiece"

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 5 October 2007]

This film bears a lot of similarity to another Warner Brothers film made just four years later (MANPOWER). Both are about two friends who work building and repairing power lines and both emphasize what a dangerous job this is. Despite these many similarities (as well as a somewhat similar ending), MANPOWER wasn't exactly a re-make--just awfully reminiscent of SLIM.

The movie begins with Henry Fonda begging the foreman of a power crew for a job working on the power lines. Why he's so intent on this job is uncertain, but once hired "Slim" makes good and becomes fast friends with "Red". Oddly, no one in this film seems to have a real name but a nickname--such as Slim, Red, Pop or Stumpy!! But no matter, as the film is reasonably entertaining and worth a look to see what happens to the guys. However, I really beg to differ with one of the reviews that refers to this film as a "masterpiece" as well as "Fonda's finest film". This just isn't true and makes no logical sense--there are probably thousands of better films and Fonda made quite a few superior films that are light years better than SLIM (such as THE OX-BOW INCIDENT, JEZEBEL, DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, MR. ROBERTS, 12 ANGRY MEN and THE LADY EVE). I can only assume this other reviewer never saw any of these great films.

It's still pretty good and the only serious negatives in this agreeable little film is that at times the film is a bit predictable and you wonder what makes Slim tick--he just seems amazingly stupid towards the end of the film--turning down marriage to sweet Margaret Lindsay as well as a cushy job in order to risk his life. But no matter, the film is entertaining and worth a look at a young Henry Fonda.

True to life

[junior850 · 10/10 · 11 November 2009]

I'm not a film critic, but I am a lineman. This film was an excellent example of the lifestyle lived by linemen, even in today's times. In regards to the comments made by "planktonrules", there is no explanation as to why Slim wants to be a lineman, it's a matter of heart. You have it or you don't. Henry Fonda managed to convey this quite well. I do admit the character of Slim is a bit too innocent, but seems appropriate for the background. And yes, for the record, rarely does anyone use true names, mostly nicknames given to you by those who have been there before you. This is a brotherhood, which is well expressed in this film. We wish there were more films like this about linemen.

Not a good movie

[marthawilcox1831 · 2/10 · 2 July 2014]

This is a poorly written, directed and acted film, although there are some good camera shots when the characters are climbing up the electrical pole. It has shades of 'Manpower' with Edward G. Robinson about it, but neither film provides any engaging characters or compelling storyline. The film is pedestrian and just plods along at a snail's pace throughout. We don't care about the characters or the situations they are in. I don't know how this got made, but it is a poor excuse for a film that only adds to Henry Fonda's credits. I don't believe him as a tough man, although you do see scars on his face when he gets into a brawl. He is youthful looking and naive, but there is nothing else to commend this film.

A young Henry Fonda in a great family action film

[ozarksailor · 8/10 · 7 October 2000]

Seasoned veteran Pat O'Brien and soon-to-be-great Henry Fonda make this fast moving action drama fun for the entire family to watch together. The story of linemen's dangerous work on the tall towers and hot electric lines takes place back in the 1930's, long before OSHA instituted safety procedures on such undertakings. It's a shame this film has never been made available for home rental.

A friendship made them like brothers...then a woman came along.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 26 November 2020]

First seen as "Tiger Shark" then remade every couple of years with different professions, the electrical profession was utilized several more times up until the 1950's, first as "Manpower" and later as "The Cruel Tower" (made at Allied Artists, not Warner Brothers like the other films), and each of these films is different enough to wear they can be barely qualified to be called remakes. This film replaces the fishing industry with electric towers, and has veteran steeplejack Pat O'Brien taking farmer Henry Fonda under his wing after foreman J. Farrell MacDonald turns him down for a job for being too young.

Fonda's enthusiasm has him going from working on the ground to climbing these huge towers, and eventually, the two men set out on their own to work in Chicago where O'Brien's girlfriend, nurse Margaret Lindsay, works. It's obvious that she falls in love with Fonda at first sight, and when they return to MacDonald's camp, she follows them which results in her feelings being revealed when Fonda has an accident.

Lacking In the heat of the 1932 and 1941 versions (both of which starred Edward G. Robinson), it puts the romantic intrigue on the back burner for a look at what steeplejacks do. That crisp Warner Brothers sound and music department detail is fantastic, and the tension really rises in a big snowstorm where they must repair one of the towers that has been damaged.

Stuart Erwin is good as one of the groundworkers who goes along singing the same song over and over, and Jane Wyman, long before she became a big star and the first Mrs Ronald Reagan, appears briefly as his girlfriend. While this was obviously given the A budget treatment, it is obvious that the B unit at Warner Brothers could make something different out of it, and they did just that with an early 1940's version, "King of the Lumberjacks" which came out the year before the more successful "Manpower". Watching the late night lineup on TCM reveals a lot of remakes of different budgets from the various major studios in the 1930's and 40's, often where the story writer of the previous versions wasn't even credited..

A 1937 Masterpiece - Henry Fonda's Finest Movie!

[tdemos · 10/10 · 6 June 2006]

It's easy to see why this was one of Henry Fonda's favorite roles. I personally think there is more action and entertainment packed into this one short film than the award winning "Grapes of Wrath", filmed with Fonda just a few years later.

Fine acting performances all around take the viewer into the waning years of the Great Depression with an authenticity of characters, time, and place. The cinematography and the period details are simply fantastic.

Add to all of this the pure poetry of the dialog exchanges between many of the characters. It's as lyrical as anything written by Shakespeare. The character "Stumpy" for instance begins almost every sentence with either a variation on a song "Mother said to Mabel"... or his own unique way of expressing himself. "You think that old Stump boy would...".

Even the often quoted phrase of Slim "That's what's the matter." rings true as heroic in every sense for our protagonist.

Also, it is of great interest to see how people were treated in the workplace back in this era. Can you imagine your boss literally kicking you in your rear end when he thought you were slacking off or distracted? This was a time when men were desperate for jobs and there was no OSHA, EEOC, or sympathetic human resources director. After seeing this nostalgic view, one is almost tempted to wonder what it would like to give your contemporary office co-workers a sharp kick in the rear when they slump off during the a project or show up for work late.

Accurately depicted in the movie... During the 1930's if you messed up at work because you were drunk the night before, you were simply fired. That's it, pick up your last check and hit the road! If a man was killed or injured in an industrial accident, he was simply replaced with minimal fuss and ceremony. It may sound cruel by today's standards, but it served a purpose back then.

So fine is this movie that I must further elaborate on the cinematography and the set decoration. Where else do you get actual 150 foot steel electrical towers under construction filmed with racing steam engine trains in the background highballing along the right-of-way? Under the expert direction of Ray Enright, the viewer actually imagines the feeling of the bone-chilling cold depicted outside the boarding house where the linemen crew is housed. One can almost taste Stumpy's "eating potatoes" on the table. If you are old enough, you remember that there once were women who behaved exactly like the lady who plays the boarding house manager. A masterful performance.

The hotwire substation at 88000 volts is the scariest set since Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory. Don't miss it. A must see!

Memories of the Past

[jawbone24 · 10/10 · 23 July 2008]

Because I was a youngster and raised during the depression years,the movie "SLIM" has remained with me all my life. It was the first movie I had ever seen with Fonda and as far as I am concerned, every time I watch it now, it brings back all those childhood memories of the Great depression. It took me many years to finally watch it again and because I was able to make a copy of it, I now watch it quite frequently. I can only wonder why it is not presented more often or why it is never mentioned whenever his list of great films are mentioned. At this time I am 85 years young and I still consider Slim one of the real great films of Henry Fonda.

A very good story from the Great Depression, and birds-eye view of pole climbers

[SimonJack · 8/10 · 8 March 2021]

"Slim" is a gritty film that depicts superbly the profession of a linemen. As far as I know, there's no other film that looks at this trade any more than passing. For that reason, it has some cultural and historical value. The movie itself is a drama based on a 1934 novel of the same title by William Haines. It is also a romance, but that clearly is secondary to the film's depiction of the profession of the linemen.

The title also describes very well the character that Henry Fonda plays in this movie. The lanky Fonda was just 32 years old and in the kind of physical shape yet that it would take to be playing a lineman. In this case, it's specifically about the pole climbers. These are men (and perhaps an occasional woman in modern times) who have worked to erect and keep wires up since the advent of telegraphy and electricity.

Linemen work in three different fields of business. The most prominent are those for electric utilities, as in this film. But others work for railroads and telephone companies. I worked one year as a lineman on a railroad signal crew and climbed poles to string and replace electric wires that connected and operated the train signals on the tracks. I later worked 20 years for one of the largest electric generation and transmission firms in the U. S., but not as a lineman. And, I never had any of the harrowing experiences or rough conditions the men in this movie experience. As to nicknames, it must truly be a tradition among linemen wherever they are. It was a long time ago for me, but I still remember some of the guys on the two signal crews I worked with. I also had a "Red" for a foreman, but I can't remember his real name. Another foreman was Wally, and a couple of the guys were Kansas and Speed (he had a souped up sports car).

Most utility poles through the mid-20th century were wood, coming from one of three species of trees. But the larger, high-voltage transmission lines (115-kilovolt and higher) were made of steel from early in the 20th century. Most of the poles in neighborhoods and telephone and signal lines along railroads and roadways are 40-foot to 60-foot in length, and still made of wood from very straight trees. The shorter poles are buried six feet, and the taller ones eight feet in the ground. Most of the poles that I climbed were in this range, although I did work on one project that required climbing 80-foot poles, which were buried 10 feet deep.

Any men who have worked on electric utility line crews, for the telephone companies of the old days, or as linemen in the signal department of a railroad, know the rigors of climbing and working at the top of poles. As shown in this film, the linemen used belts and climbing hooks. The latter are strapped to the legs and boots and dig into the wood. The belt enables the lineman to use his hands for work at the top of the pole, instead of having to hold onto the pole. For extra safety, some linemen will use their belt while climbing, sliding it up the pole with each step that they take up. It keeps one from falling backward if he should lose his grip climbing the pole. But, if a hook isn't set well - jabbed into the pole, and it slips out as he lifts himself up another notch, a lineman "rides" the pole down. That can result in broken legs and other injuries, and it's sure to include splinters from the pole.

In this film, Pat O'Brien plays Red Blayd, the "pro" lineman who takes Slim under his wing. The two become friends but also become two-thirds of a love triangle. Red's girlfriend, Cally (Margaret Lindsay) and Slim fall for each other. One might guess how this part of the plot will play out. But, it's something of a surprise to see how the story ends. This is a very good look at this small section of the working world. It was a sort of romantic way for a young man to work and help the country make progress and recover from the Great Depression. It makes a good setting for a drama with some excitement

All of the cast are very good. Among other supporting actors who may be recognized are Stuart Erin as Stumpy, Jane Wyman as Stumpy's Girl, Joe Sawyer as Wilcox and John Litel as Wyatt Ranstead.

Danger and tumbleweed lives

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 15 March 2024]

There's a line in this Warner Brothers drama where Margaret Lindsay's character laments the fact that boyfriend Pat O'Brien and his pal Henry Fonda prefer danger and tumbleweed lives over a more respectable way of living. They earn their keep as traveling linemen who go from region to region in search of jobs where they climb tall poles and metal scaffolds to do electrical work.

Fonda plays the title character, so nicknamed because he's skinnier than everyone else. His character is an early version of Tom Joad three years before THE GRAPES OF WRATH, an aw-shucks farm boy who is not interested in milking cows on his uncle's farm. Instead, he'd rather seek employment alongside O'Brien for a man affectionately known as Pop (J. Farrell MacDonald).

At first MacDonald won't hire Fonda, thinking he doesn't have what it takes. But when another man falls from the scaffold and is badly injured, there's a job opening and Fonda pesters him into getting a chance to prove his worth. From here there are some excellent bonding scenes between O'Brien and Fonda, as Fonda is assigned grunt work under O'Brien. Soon Fonda is promoted and scaling the heights with his new mentor.

This is a buddy film in its most basic sense. Some of the male bonding scenes are offset by the inclusion of Lindsay who plays a nurse that O'Brien looks up every time he's in Chicago. A recent visit has Fonda tagging along, which sets the stage for a romantic triangle.

During the second half of the story, viewers may wonder which guy Lindsay will wind up with. She has more history with O'Brien, but he has a phobia of commitment. In her scenes with Fonda, there are some sparks, but Fonda is too loyal and too faithful to cut in on O'Brien's action. However, we know that Lindsay wouldn't be in the film if she didn't get one of the men to settle down with her. Since both men are fairly likable, meaning neither one is a villain, one is going to have to die doing some dangerous work. This will make the decision easier for Lindsay and the survivor to hook up.

Some lines of dialogue are rather fatalistic in the film. At one point O'Brien tells Fonda they need to live it up between jobs because they are only here (in Chicago and on earth) for a short time. A subsequent scene has O'Brien making a toast before drinking in a bar, by saying 'may you live long and hard, then check out real fast.' I guess with dialogue like this it's pretty obvious O'Brien will die at the end and Fonda won't. But this is still an engaging motion picture with some very sincere performances and nail-biting stunt work to recommend it.