The Man Who Was Afraid

Summary

In a nation feverish with martial drums, Benton Clune—an emblem of stifled virility—trudges beneath the suffocating cape of maternal dread; the President’s trumpet blares, yet a matriarch’s clammy grip crushes her son’s spine into origami compliance, birthing public contempt. Guard buddies spit the word “slacker” like shrapnel, while sweetheart Rose’s eyes glaze with frost. Still, the film’s bloodstream quickens once Benton’s dormant selfhood ruptures its chrysalis: he sprints toward cannonade, volunteers for a suicide-dash through enemy meshes, and threads peril after peril until dawn’s blush crowns him redeemed and beloved.

Synopsis

Young Benton Clune is not a coward at heart. He is a victim of over-zealous mother love which has grown to exert too great an influence over him. When the President's call to arms comes, Clune's regiment of National Guard prepares. Mrs. Clune is terror-stricken. She induces Benton to resign from the unit. His comrades brand him a "slacker," and the girl he loves spurns him. The regiment moves off to war. Lacerated by the taunts which greet him on all sides, Clune's manhood finally asserts itself and he hastens to the front. He finds his regiment in a desperate plight. The enemy, in overwhelming numbers, is threatening to annihilate it. The colonel calls for a volunteer to make a perilous trip for reinforcements. Those who had jeered at Clune held back from what seemed inevitable death. The man they had called "slacker," steps forth. His trip through the enemy lines forms a series of hairbreadth escapes but proves successful in the end. Thus Benton redeems his honor and wins the girl he loves.