What is really interesting about this movie, is the "race" issues it addresses and for the time in which it was made, that is rather remarkable.
The Nevins character is a good old boy from the South and openly expresses his racism. The first time is when he's on the plane headed back to the states and a black soldier sits next to to him. They're both from Florida start talking. Nevins asks him if he knows the country club and the guys says he served tables at it. Nevins now realizes the guy is black and immediately calls over a nurse to sit by him.
The next time is in the rehabilitation hospital. Nevins accidentally walks into a black soldier, also blind. All Nevins recognizes is the man's southern accent and offers to buy him a drink. They become "friends" and hang out together. Then one day, the other blind soldiers mention there are some new patients coming into their ward and Nevins pops off, "Yeah, and I heard 3 of them are (uses the "N" word)". The black guys just stops in his tracks now realizing how his new friend really thinks and feels.
The other blind white soldiers already knew the guy was black and remarked "Maybe he thought you were colored too".
Later on Nevins goes home and is with his parents, who are equally racist. Nevins starts to "see" the errors of his ways/thinking. There is a bit of justification from the father that that was how they were brought up, etc., but for 1951 it is amazing they were even addressing such things let alone using the "N" word.
The Nevins character is a good old boy from the South and openly expresses his racism. The first time is when he's on the plane headed back to the states and a black soldier sits next to to him. They're both from Florida start talking. Nevins asks him if he knows the country club and the guys says he served tables at it. Nevins now realizes the guy is black and immediately calls over a nurse to sit by him.
The next time is in the rehabilitation hospital. Nevins accidentally walks into a black soldier, also blind. All Nevins recognizes is the man's southern accent and offers to buy him a drink. They become "friends" and hang out together. Then one day, the other blind soldiers mention there are some new patients coming into their ward and Nevins pops off, "Yeah, and I heard 3 of them are (uses the "N" word)". The black guys just stops in his tracks now realizing how his new friend really thinks and feels.
The other blind white soldiers already knew the guy was black and remarked "Maybe he thought you were colored too".
Later on Nevins goes home and is with his parents, who are equally racist. Nevins starts to "see" the errors of his ways/thinking. There is a bit of justification from the father that that was how they were brought up, etc., but for 1951 it is amazing they were even addressing such things let alone using the "N" word.
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