utgard14 Top-notch World War II short designed to draw the attentions of Americans to the plight of children in other countries devastated by the war. It stars Jimmy Cagney as an air raid warden who is grateful his young daughter (Margaret O'Brien) is safe from the bombings people in other countries at the time were enduring. He imagines what it would be like for her in some of these other countries and we see the adorable little Miss O'Brien act out those scenes. This is an entertaining and thought-provoking short with three great on screen talents (Cagney, O'Brien, and Ann Sothern) giving their best. O'Brien is a real treat. She was really a shining star among child actors. With nice direction from Mervyn LeRoy and expert narration from Carey Wilson. Really good.

Michael_Elliott You, John Jones! (1943) **** (out of 4) A WW2 Civil Engineer (James Cagney) is called away from his home by an air raid alarm just as his daughter (Margaret O'Brien) is saying the Gettysburg Address for a school project. While the man is watching his post he begins to imagine what it would be like living in another country that is constantly under air raids and what impact this might have on his young daughter. Countless WW2 shorts were produced while the war was going on but I have no problem saying this here is the best of the bunch and in its own way a real masterpiece. The message of the film is quite clear but, given this was a WW2 film, the producer's went pretty far in passing that message off. We see countless scenes with Cagney's young daughter suffering in other countries and this scenes are very realistic and I'm sure hit a very strong nerve with people back in 1943. Cagney is excellent in his role as you can tell he's giving it all his got. The real star here is the young O'Brien who really steals the film with her powerful performance saying the famous speech.

MartinHafer Given the context for when and why this short film was made, it is a masterpiece. The film debuted during WWII and was intended to mobilize Americans in favor of the war effort--and as such, it was brilliant and incredibly successful.The short stars three major stars--all borrowed from their home studios to make this free film that was distributed to theaters across the country. The lead is played by James Cagney and he is amazingly normal and restrained in his role as an "everyman". His wife is played by Ann Sothern and his daughter is played by Margaret O'Brien. Choosing the adorable O'Brien was a brilliant move, as once John Jones (Cagney) begins wondering what life would be life for his family had they lived in war-ravaged portions of the world, the cute kid is tossed into some horrific situations that are bound to make a strong impact on the viewer. Imagine the impact when the cute co-star of such schmaltzy family fare such as MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS and OUR VINES HAVE TENDER GRAPES is shown in various scenes either being killed, starving and even with a leg blown off! For the 1940s, this was akin to having Shirley Temple (circa 1934) going through the same torments. The audiences must have been sobbing as they saw these very realistic scenes.Now the only part that seemed a bit too heavy-handed was O'Brien reciting the Gettysburg Address through the film. This was great for 1943, though viewers today might feel this was a bit too much and detracted from the central message of the film. But, for its day, this film just can't be beat.

bkoganbing Though the film is dated because of it's obvious World War II origin, You John Jones still has a somewhat relevant message for today. I qualify that with a somewhat because surely 9/11 shattered quite a few illusions about that.Still we are a wealthy and prosperous country and still relatively safe as opposed to a lot of areas on this globe. May it ever be so as James Cagney realized while doing his thankless job as an air raid warden in World War II America.Of course these war time shorts brought together folks from different studios for the war effort. Cagney got to work with Ann Sothern and Margaret O'Brien and never did so again.Wouldn't it be interesting today though if this short film was updated and say Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and their little bambino did something similar? As an example of course.