Today We Live (1933)

Tomorrow we die! Starring Troy McClure, who you may remember from such films as Gladys, the Groovy Mule.

I had to put that out there, it's been rattling in my brain since I saw the title of this movie.

So, set in WWI, Gary Cooper plays an American who buys a big English manor house owned by Joan Crawford's father. The day Cooper arrives to look over the house is the day Crawford receives word her father died in The Somme. Crawford does still have her brother and their childhood friend Claude (played by Robert Young, who looked so much like a taller Joseph Gordon-Levitt to me in this film I was convinced they're related.)

Young plays Claude as obviously infatuated with Crawford, but she and Cooper fall for each other. Off-screen, because all we see outside of the awkward conversation when Cooper arrives is a couple of brief conversation where they're each riding their bikes somewhere. The latter of which, Cooper announces he's going to join up to fight, because being in England's given him a different perspective on the war than he had in the States.

Then he's listed as killed in a training accident. Crawford sees no reason to turn down Young's offer of marriage, even though the strain of being on torpedo boat missions is steadily breaking Young down into a drunk mess. Meaning when Cooper turns out not to be dead, he's not real impressed with the man he perceives Crawford as having thrown him over for.

The film actually spends more time on Crawford and Young together up to the point of Cooper's return. Almost always with Crawford's brother making a trio, but you at least see how easily they get along and superficially understand each other. It's also where most of the humor - what there is - takes place, with Young and Crawford trying to catch a cockroach to use in underground cockroach wrestling tournaments.

Still, a large chunk of the movie is spent on Cooper, I don't know if he's trying to prove Young's a loser, or make Young prove he's not. He convinces a very drunk Young to come on a bombing mission as their lead gunner. After Young passes with flying colors, Crawford's brother invites Cooper (who has a severe misconception of what their job is like) along on one of their mission.

Amid all the machismo, Crawford is left fretting over her continued attraction to Cooper and her concern for Young. There's not really a point where it feels as though she has much control over the situation, whether that's true or not. I guess she doesn't want to break anyone's heart, so she can't send either guy off once and for all. Which leaves it up to machismo to settle the matter.