The Civil War was a popular subject for silent films, possibly because there were still plenty of surviving veterans to watch them. By the 1930s, however, when "talkies" were in their infancy, lighthearted melodramas and romantic comedies became the entertainment of choice in a nation on the cusp of the Great Depression. Only the Brave tries to bridge the two eras, borrowing elements of both genres. Gary Cooper plays Union Captain James Braydon, who becomes so desperate to see his sweetheart that he goes AWOL. Finding her in the arms of another man, he returns to camp only to learn that his absence has been discovered. In true melodrama form, he seeks to redeem himself by volunteering for a suicide mission behind Southern lines, disguised as a Confederate officer. His goal is to be captured, so the falsified documents he is carrying will mislead the enemy.
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