What Price Glory?

Synopsis

United States Marines Sergeant Flagg and Sergeant Quirt have been stationed together at bases around the world. Wherever they are, the handsomer and more persuasive Quirt continually gets Flagg's goat, especially in their relationships with women.

In Peking China where the Marines are stationed as legation guards, Flagg quickly strikes up a friendship with Shanghai Mabel, the new girl in town. When Quirt arrives at Mabel's room, she switches her attention to him. Flagg objects, and they insult each other loudly. They get into a fight, throwing furniture and wrestling on the floor. When the Marine police arrive, Mabel has Flagg removed; Quirt stays.

In the Philippines, the Marines are patrolling a United States outpost. Flagg has a girl and a rented carriage. He goes into a shop to buy sandwiches for a picnic. While Flagg is inside the shop, Quirt arrives, makes eyes at the girl, and takes her for the ride.

In France 1917, Flagg, now a Captain, arrives with his command in an advanced village. Flagg is billeted at the inn owned by Cognac Pete. In the public room of the Inn, Flagg smiles broadly as he watches the innkeeper's pretty daughter, Charmaine, rolling a barrel of wine. The Marines settle in the village. Flagg flirts with Charmaine; he gives her a pair of garters and enjoys the view as she puts them on.

The sound of the trumpet brings the soldiers running. Flagg calls them into order, and they march out to join the attack on German soldiers holding a nearby village. Flagg leads his command in their attack on German machine gun positions. After a hard fight, the Germans are overwhelmed, and the village is taken. The soldiers return to their bivouac.

Flagg gets 10 days leave and goes to the village of Bar-le-Duc where he enjoys the wine and the women. While he is away, the casualties in his command are replaced with new, mostly untested, recruits. A new top sergeant also arrives, Quirt. Quirt is expected to ready the soldiers for the fighting to come. The soldiers receive mail from home, One handsome, homesick soldier, a "mother's boy" (Norton), receives a letter from his mother.

Flagg, returning, has looked forward to seeing Charmaine, He finds that Quirt has already made himself very popular with the young woman.

Charmaine's father wants to know the identity of the soldier who "wrecked" his daughter. He scolds Flagg and demands $500 and Flagg's marriage to Charmaine. Flagg, disconcerted, says he will give $300 to Pete. Quirt, laughing at Flagg, tells him to "Think Fast".

Quirt takes off his coat, and Flagg sees that the garters are now on Quirt's arms. Flagg demands that Quirt marry Charmaine. Charmaine's father agrees to the marriage and demands payment of the $300. The mayor is summoned to carry out the ceremony, but Charmaine vehemently refuses; she will not sell her heart. Quirt laughs.

Suddenly, the trumpet sounds and the soldiers grab their gear and rush into line. Both Quirt and Flagg promise to return to Charmaine. The "mother's boy" rushes up to Charmaine and asks her to look for letters from his mother. Charmaine waves as the soldiers march away.

The Marines are waging an intense fight. They advance through woods and through ditches into German machine gun fire. Rocket fire and cannons light up the night. Quirt is wounded in the knee. The "mother's boy" is shot and collapses. Quirt orders the men to fix bayonets. With Flagg leading, the soldiers storm out of trenches and attack. Amid bursting shells, the German soldiers retreat with the Marines in pursuit. Many Germans surrender.

At a dressing station, Quirt limps in. The "mother's boy", badly wounded, comes in and calls on Flagg to stop the blood. Flagg carries the boy to a cot. The boy dies. Flagg kisses him and wipes his face. A hysterical officer complains to Flagg about the conditions in the field. He cries about the blood shed by the troops and asks "What Price Glory" now.

After the battle, the soldiers are cleaning up. Flagg proclaims his pride in them. Untested, they marched through blood to bravely face the foe.

Charmaine visits the boy's grave in the "Field of Glory" cemetery. Knelling, she buries the boy's final letter from his mother.

Flagg and Quirt return to Charmaine. She serves them, and as they eat, they trade insults. Charmaine says that she loves Quirt. Flagg accepts her choice and says he needs sleep. Flagg starts upstairs to bed.

The trumpet announces that the outfit is returning to the battlefield. Flagg leaves to go with them. Charmaine salutes him. Quirt, wearing his nightshirt under a heavy coat, comes in limping. Charmaine embraces him. He hears the trumpet. He says that he loves her but must go too. He runs after Flagg, calling out "wait for baby," Charmaine watches after them, and expresses her premonition that they will not return a third time. "They are so strong and beautiful. They are too young—-to die."

Flagg and Quirt shake hands. Flagg supports the limping Quirt as the men pass his gear to him. Flagg, Quirt and the troop march away toward the battle.

Discussion

The theatrical version of What Price Glory opened in New York in September 1924. The play was a dramatic sensation and created a furore on Broadway. The audience is thrust into the life of the Marines and especially the enmity between Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt between whom the language is profane and filled with expletives. Even as these men argue and fight over the innkeeper's daughter, Charmaine, the war is close by and threatens to end their personal affairs with bloody death.

Winfield Sheehan, Vice President and General Manager of the Fox Film Corporation, saw the play and quickly purchased the screen rights from Arthur Hopkins, the theatrical producer. Production of the film required more than seven months, a long production period for a silent feature. The film version was released in November 1926.

Neither play nor film have a regular plot structure. Early scenes in the film establish the enmity between Flagg and Quirt. In France, the enmity between the men continues against the background of bloody warfare. Life in the advanced village is periodically interrupted by excursions to the battlefield where they fight the enemy and hope to survive.

Stark Young, the theatrical critic of the New York Times, summarized the fundamental quality of the theatrical presentation of What Price Glory as "irony." "Irony about life and about the war. The chaos, the irrelevance, the crass and foolish and disjointed relation of these men's lives and affairs to the war shows everywhere, and the relation of the war to their real interests and affairs."

"The irony culminates in the creation of Captain Flagg. He is the true labor of war, the rough surface of the deep and bitter in human nature. He is intelligent, tender, brutal and right. He deserves much and wins little either from the world without or from within himself."

The silent film version superficially suggests the deeper themes present in the play. Neither the film director, nor the performers, "attempted to cram this incontrovertible iron down throats" as critic Young put it. Without spoken words, the deep irony about life and about war is expressed by the triteness of Charmaine's visit to the grave of the "mother's boy", the sentimentalism of her final words, and the camaraderie of Flagg and Quirt as they march away.