MartinHafer It seems rather strange that with the American Revolution being so important that very few films have been made about it...even by Hollywood. In fact, during the 1930s, Hollywood made tons of films about the British Empire and how magnificent it was...which is rather strange as well! While "The Scarlet Coat" is not one of the best of them, it is one of the few American Revolution films you can find.The story purports to be true and while I know nothing about Major Boulton (Cornel Wilde), the other events in the movie are based on the true story of Benedict Arnold and his becoming a traitor to the United States' cause. Boulton is a spy who pretends to be working for the Brits and the film consists of him working hard to determine WHO the British are contacting within the Continental Army. There is nothing wrong with this movie other than the fact that it is a bit talky AND there's a female relationship in the film that seems unnecessary. Wilde is fine, though not one of the best actors of the day. All in all, adequate is the best way to describe this movie.

LeonLouisRicci Another Movie Directed by the Overrated John Sturgess, this is Another Example of the Stiff, Pedestrian, and Wooden Style that Permeated His Pictures. Some of His Films were Popular but were Mostly Driven by "Star Status", like the Great Escape (1963) and The Magnificent Seven (1960). Both those Films are Above Average but Hardly Deserve their Elevated Status as "Classics".This has One Stodgy Scene after Another, the Movie Barely Moves and the Highlights are the Technicolor Cinemascope Postcard Images and some Good, Interesting Dialog. Anne Francis is a Stunning Beauty but doesn't do much, Cornel Wilde is a Dashing Swordsman but is Robotic if Interested most of the time, but the Standout Performance is Michael Wilding as the Central Character of the Piece Maj. John Andre.The Benedict Arnold Hook is Background and this may have the most Unexciting Action Sequences in a War Film Ever. George Sanders is a Slimy, Sharp-Tongued Heavy and is the Second most Interesting Character on Screen. Overall, Worth a Watch but the Film is so Boring it does No Justice to Any of the People, Time, or Place.

drjgardner Although Cornel Wilde gets top billing as an American double agent, the true star of this film is Major John Andre (Michael Wilding), the British officer who was captured as a spy and hanged for his plot with Benedict Arnold to betray West Point. Unfortunately the acting is wooden by almost everyone, so a good story and some interesting moral dilemmas are hard to hit home.My one and only favorite American Revolution film is John Ford's classic "Drums Along the Mohawk" (1939). "The Crossing" (2000) runs a distant second. Most of the rest, like "The Devil's Disciple" (1959), "The Howards of Virginia" (1940), and "John Paul Jones" (1959) are merely OK and some, like The Patriot" (2000) and "Revolution" (1985) are just plain silly. The Disney "Ben and Me" (1953) is entertaining and historically accurate (forgetting the mouse). The TV mini-series "The Adams Chronicles" (1976). "The Revolution" (2006), and "John Adams" (2008) are probably one of the best sources about the period. If you like Pre Revolution 18th Century American history, Michael Mann's breath-taking "Last of the Mohicans" (1992) is a great film from this period, as is King Vidor's "Northwest Passage" (1940).

MARIO GAUCI Somehow, despite numerous screenings on TCM U.K. over the years, I never bothered with this one; then, when it seemed to drop off their schedule, I acquired THE SCARLET COAT – along with a few other genuinely rare Cornel Wilde efforts – on DVD-R (culled, ironically, from one such TV broadcast) through a friend! Anyway, I now begrudge all the more the fact of having overlooked the film for so long since I enjoyed it a good deal; incidentally, for some odd reason, I have never been particularly enthused of pictures set during the American War of Independence – so that may well be the reason why I did not actively pursue this one. Still, after the initial disappointment of it being a pan-and-scan presentation of a Cinemascope title, I found myself drawn into the proceedings – especially in view of the unusual espionage element (which never fails to grip me) but also, equally unexpected, a literate script (Karl Tunberg would subsequently receive sole credit for William Wyler's mammoth BEN-HUR [1959]); accordingly, characterization is well above-average for this sort of thing. Another obvious draw, then, were the principal actors: Wilde as the patriot ordered to defect (by his superior, John McIntire) to the British ranks in order to unearth the mole who is passing them information about the enemy's movements (which turns out to be a prominent military figure, Benedict Arnold, played by Robert Douglas – though, that, in itself was a bit of a giveaway even to viewers unfamiliar with American history!); co-star Michael Wilding is the English officer who takes Wilde under his wing (against the better judgment of doctor comrade George Sanders, amusing in characteristic cynical mode) and suffers the consequences of this blind faith – albeit yielding mutual respect (which not even the woman, Anne Francis, who comes between them can negate!) – with his life. For the record, I almost gave this a *** rating but decided against this given the fact that the film loses some momentum in its last lap – due to the (necessarily) involved plotting, an unfortunate lapse into cliché (Wilde is thrown into prison by his own side at the proverbial eleventh-hour, thus allowing the traitor Arnold to flee and Wilding to be intercepted and face the music all alone!) and over length (even if a fade-out clinch between Wilde and Francis should not have been amiss, to counterpoint the ensuing glumness concerning Wilding's fate). All in all, an interesting, enjoyable and good-looking historical piece encompassing suspense, romance, action (the highlights are perhaps the surprising swashbuckling bouts) and tragedy, the whole being efficiently handled by reliable craftsman Sturges.