They Gave Him a Gun Reviews

During WW I, Tone, a shy and frightened clerk, and Tracy, a circus barker, become comrades. The two vie for the affections of George, but Tracy eventually steps aside. After Tracy is captured in battle by the Germans, Tone marries George. Tone also finally overcomes his fear of battle and becomes a decorated hero. After the war Tone finds it impossible to overcome the indoctrination and training that turned him into a killer and he becomes a gangster. He and Tracy encounter each other years later after George has found out the truth about her husband's occupation. She and Tracy, now the owner of his own circus, try to get Tone out of the rackets, but to no avail. Finally, in desperation, George turns her husband in to the police and Tone goes to jail. George is forced to take a job in Tracy's circus to make ends meet, and when Tone later breaks out of jail, he assumes she and Tracy are having an affair. He confronts Tracy with a gun and threatens to kill him, but Tracy takes the gun away from him and tells Tone that it's the only thing that gives him courage. Tone realizes what he has become and flees into the night, only to be cut down by police bullets. A little too melodramatic, especially in its convenient and neat ending. (Tone is killed by his old Army gunnery instructor, now turned cop.) The performances are mostly good, with Tracy doing his patented best.