Tender Comrade, from 1943, is a mildly sentimental wartime romantic drama starring Ginger Rogers, with Robert Ryan, Ruth Hussey, Kim Hunter, Mady Christians, and Patricia Collinge in supporting roles. This film is very much a morale-boosting, flag-waving film, and it's also a mild tearjerker (at least for me). It's the story of five women, four of whom work together at an aircraft plant, who share a house during the war.
First, there's Jo Jones (Ginger Rogers), whose husband, Chris (Robert Ryan), is in the Army.
As the film begins, before the women have moved out of their tiny apartments and into the house they share, Chris, who will be shipping out the next morning for overseas duty, makes a surprise 8-hour visit to his wife. The movie is liberally dotted with flashbacks of Jo and Chris's courtship and early married life.
There's Barbara (Ruth Hussey), whose husband Pete is in the Navy. Convinced that Pete has a girl in every port, Barbara is ready to begin seeing other men. She's weary of rationing and sacrificing.
Helen (Patricia Collinge), who has both husband and son in the Service, is rather the matriarch of the working girls.
Doris (Kim Hunter) and her husband, Mike, were married only minutes before he was shipped off.
Finally, there's Manya (Mady Christians), a German woman who responds to the girls' ad for a housekeeper. Not an American citizen, Manya is unable to work in the war plant; however, she still longs to help in the war effort, and by helping those that are working there, she feels she is doing her part.
While I originally discovered this film because of my husband's love for Ginger, I enjoy it even more because of my own love for Robert Ryan. While I totally love Ryan in his usual "heavy" roles, I really enjoy the opportunity to see him in a romantic role...and I think he took to the role beautifully. He definitely could have been a romantic leading man!
Tender Comrade is totally Ginger's movie, and her story is the one most touched upon. The other girls' stories are only a tiny portion of the film. Ginger fans will undoubtedly want to see this.
Also, Robert Ryan fans (such as myself!) will enjoy seeing him in this kind of role (especially looking SO incredibly handsome!).
Finally, those that enjoy films about the World War II homefront will probably want to see this. However, just a warning, the film is heavy into what has been called the "propaganda speech," so if that bothers you, you probably will really dislike this movie. It doesn't bother me at all; in fact, I quite enjoy these morale-boosting films. But those who are really bothered by those kinds of speeches will probably want to skip this.
I don't think this film is out on DVD or on VHS...at least I've never seen it in either format. It might be available on YouTube or other online sources, but I haven't been able to locate it. However, TCM airs it periodically...that's where I caught it a couple years ago...so you might be able to catch it there.
Happy viewing!!
