How others will see it. Hollywood goes to the war well once again. But instead of Sgt. York (in the guise of Gary Cooper) capturing the entire German army, we have Cagney turning yellow. The shameful exhibition of Private Slacker may not go over well with his fan club, even if he (inevitably) redeems himself in the final scenes.
How I felt about it. Otherwise, The Fighting 69th is quite traditional. There are the heroic deaths, the men suffering the privations of war while cracking wise about army rations and marching on bravely, and the sergeant yelling at his raw troops. And, there are racist epithets toward the largely unseen Germans, although they don't much get past Krauts.
World War I is stereotyped as a French barbed wire no man's land at night. Leave your bunker, and you're a dead man, machine gunned down before you've had time to take more than a few steps. The question is, how would you react if you were there. Would you turn yellow, or blend in with other soldiers, or would you lead the charge? Would you carry an injured soldier on your back? We all believe we would be brave. But the decision is real only when death becomes a probability, and not a possibility.
The Red Badge of Courage (1951) developed these themes better. Still, it's unusual how far The Fighting 69th takes them. Cagney's sorry behavior continues until after he is court martialed, and faces a firing squad. Cagney played ruthless gangsters in several films. In fact, it's where he made his reputation. But he was never so unlikable as in this film.
Placing The Fighting 69th within the proper context, the world was at war again in 1940. The U.S. was out of it, but only temporarily. Hollywood helped prepare the U.S. for what was coming, with films that rehashed the last U.S. and German war, or heroically portrayed our future allies (e.g. Mrs. Miniver). Other films, such as Casablanca, To Be Or Not To Be, and The Great Dictator portrayed the Nazis as an evil force well before Pearl Harbor reeled the Yankees in.
Every film contributed its bit of propaganda, effectively preparing the U.S. spiritually for war. The Fighting 69th has the message "Don't let your buddy down," and in addition, gives the Lord's blessing to the Alled cause. the last bit is also part of the similar Sergeant York, which has the pacifist Quaker at last realizing which side God is on. Ours, of course.