Romancefest 2013: Kings Go Forth

KINGS GO FORTH is a surprisingly effective war drama, centering on a love triangle between Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis and Natalie Wood.

Set in France at the tail end of World War II, Sinatra stars as a blue-collar officer who finds himself at odds with a new soldier, a handsome rich kid played by Tony Curtis. Although Curtis displays bravery in action, he is somewhat reckless and seems to embody a lot of what Sinatra distrusts in a man.

On leave in the French Riviera, Sinatra meets a young girl played by Natalie Wood and enters into a romance with her. There’s a sort of strange plot twist when Wood reveals that her father was black, which is why she’s holding Sinatra at arm’s length, figuring no American soldier would want to hook up with a mixed-race girl. This twist doesn’t really end up amounting to much, so it seems a little out of place.

The real conflict comes when Curtis also meets Wood, and Wood seems to prefer him to Sinatra. After all, he’s more handsome, charismatic and exciting than Sinatra is. So, now there’s a woman between the two of them, and they find themselves at each others’ throats entering into a particularly dangerous mission.

I’d never heard of this film before, and I’m a little surprised because it was nicely understated and well made. The posters and ads make it look like an overblown epic, but it’s really a fairly intimate story and is well told. It is easy to see why the guys would fall for Wood, and why Wood would fall for the guys, and also easy to see how Curtis is at once likable and detestable.

The only sticking point is the race thing – it’s as if this was inserted into the story to make it more “culturally relevant” but then no one knew what to do with it. Wood is made up to look a little dark and exotic, but not much. Although she is as beautiful as always, she is not convincing as the daughter of a black man.

Still, the film worked as a romance and an adventure film, and even sticks the ending.