The ancient Greeks had a term called akrasia: knowing the right thing but doing the wrong thing. We might refer to this phenomenon as having a weak will or, even, copping out.
We believe we are moral and we feel confident about successfully meeting moral challenges. What causes a person, therefore, to cop out? Some classic American films provide moral parables about moral courage by showing folks who fail to follow their moral compass, revealing their motives and fears. From these films one can discover how potent the factors toward copping out are and marvel at the fact that some folks simply will not do this.
Here are 17 classic American films in which copping out is essential to the plot. Perhaps we can put ourselves in each of these situations and think about what we would have done.
On the Waterfront (1954) Elia Kazan
Yes, Terry, you could have had class. You could have been a contender. But even you admit that you’re a bum. Yeah, you could have taken Wilson apart. It wasn’t your night because you copped out and went along with your brother’s plan for the easy money instead of the lasting glory. Wilson later fought at a ballpark and you took a one-way trip to Palookaville. You could have said, “Charley, brother, it is my night. Change your bets! I’m not throwing this fight.” But you didn’t. Did I mention Palookaville?
The Caine Mutiny (1954) Edward Dmytryk
There’s something wrong with Captain Queeg. Remember the allegedly stolen strawberries? When the typhoon hit it was a matter of everyone’s survival to remove a floundering Queeg from command even though you now face a court martial. You have to rely on the big-city lawyer who got drafted into the Navy to save your keister…even though a rat like your alleged friend Keefer will cop out while giving his testimony and stick up for Queeg to save his own backside. As the lawyer said, folks of integrity often get slandered and ostracized, but the Keefers of the world will make a million bucks, marry big movie stars, and for the rest of their lives will live with their consciences, if they have any.
Night of the Living Dead (1968) George Romero
Well, it sounded as if a woman might have been screaming…Mr. Cooper couldn’t tell for sure. Furthermore, he’s a family man with a wife and a kid. Just what was he supposed to do? Mr. Cooper seems to be in a perpetual copping out stage during this film. His every move seems geared toward his own personal survival and every one of his excuses is meant to conceal this fact.
Mister Roberts (1955) John Ford
Ensign Pulver is fed up with Captain Morton and is going to tell him off big time – some day. When? He’s not sure. He’s waiting for the right time. Actually, he chronically cops out every time he has the chance to tell Morton off. Finally the loss of his best friend in the war motivates him to action. Was it too little, too late for Pulver? Jack Lemon won an Oscar for perfectly embodying the ambivalent Pulver.
Eight Men Out (1988) John Sayles
Does perceived mistreatment give license to deliberately copping out? The Chicago White Sox of 1919 thought so. They had a professional duty to play their best and they had a responsibility to their fans. But their sense of mistreatment and financial exploitation led them to deliberately throw important World Series games to cash in. They failed to meet a moral and professional standard to make a profit. That’s copping out.
High Noon (1952) Fred Zinnemann
Yes, this is a film full of moral failures. I would nominate Harvey Pell (Lloyd Bridges) as the top cop out. He was the deputy. It was his job to stand up to the Miller brothers with Kane. Pell was smarting, however, from being passed up for the Marshall’s job himself and just refused to help. Maybe you can’t blame the town that much. As the preacher said, they paid good money for law enforcement. When the chips were down, however, only Will Kane (Gary Cooper) was willing to fight.
Friendly Persuasion (1956) William Wyler
This is a film about a Quaker family during the Civil War. Jess Birdwell (Gary Cooper) and Josh Birdwell (Anthony Perkins) are challenged to decide whether they will take the Quaker hardline against violence and war or whether they will fight in a battle against the South to help realize one of their social goals – the equality of all people. After much debate, both guys fight and kill a bunch of rebel soldiers. Can they be considered moral cop outs? They did betray their moral principles. There are a few historians who even feel that Lincoln copped out by not exploring peaceful solutions to eliminating slavery. Furthermore, after the war former slaves became powerless and dirt poor share croppers. Maybe not fighting was the way to go. 600,000 men died in this war – half of the total number of all US soldiers who ever died in wars.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962) John Ford
So how can anyone call Ransom Stoddard (Jimmy Stewart) a cop out? He went out to face Liberty Valence believing he was going to die. Fine. Then why did Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) die penniless, buried in a cheap coffin with boots that were coming apart? Because Stoddard wouldn’t tell the truth. He got seduced by fame. He knew Doniphon pulled his fat out of the fire, but he kept his mouth shut and rode his fame all the way to the US Senate. And he got the girl.
The Wild Bunch (1969) Sam Peckinpah
So Generalissimo Mapache knows that Angel has taken a box of guns and ammo from the shipment that Mapache bought from the bunch. Those guns and ammo will be used by Angel’s village to protect themselves from Mapache the next time he tries to raid them. So when Angel and Dutch come by with the last batch of weapons in exchange for the last batch of gold, Mapache seizes Angel with the intent of torturing him to death. Angel had previously saved Dutch’s life, but Dutch does not utter one word of protest. Indeed, he leaves Angel with Mapache and calls Angel a thief. Angel is then horrifically tortured. The final sequence when the bunch comes back to re-claim Angel is too little, too late. Angel is a shadow of what he used to be and Mapache casually slits his throat before the final carnage ensues.
Ride the High Country (1962) Sam Peckinpah
Here’s another Peckinpah film because Peckinpah was obsessed with issues of morality and betrayal. Randolph Scott had made a career of playing kind men of integrity and humanity who could be tough when they needed to be. In this film Peckinpah brilliantly subverts the image that everyone brings to a Randolph Scott western. Scott plays Gil Westrum, a guy who had been honest his whole life and had nothing to show for it. So why not take the gold he and his friend Steve Judd (Joel McCrea) are transporting? Judd thinks otherwise and is deeply hurt and astounded when his trusted friend tries to double-cross him. Seeing Randolph Scott with his hands tied by a lawman is a tough sight to bear. Keep your integrity until they drop you in a hole.
Strawdogs (1971) Sam Peckinpah
David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) is an astrophysics genius. He has married the super-sexy Amy (Susan George). Sumner has copped out even before the film begins. The film is set toward the end of the 60s and Sumner just isn’t interested in civil rights, women’s rights, ending the war…he’s into math. He’s doing OK, got a good job, lots of respect in academia. So he picks up and leaves the USA to go to the English village where Amy grew up to avoid all the moral stuff that’s happening in the USA. Problem? The working class guys in Amy’s village peg him immediately. They taunt him, humiliate him and, ultimately, rape his wife. In the end, Sumner finds a moral issue to fight for, and kills the trash that harassed him, but Peckinpah seems to be asking whether this can cancel the effects of years of pusillanimous behavior or whether this sudden moral crusade will change Sumner’s behavior long term.
Planet of the Apes (1968) Franklin J. Schaffner
Watch the beginning of this film carefully and you’ll discover that Taylor (Chuck Heston) seems to be a weak character. Why has Taylor volunteered for this mission? He is fed up with the crime, the protests, all the unresolved mess that is happening on his planet. He wants to escape. Paradoxically, he winds up in a new society that evolved/devolved because of people like him who wanted to escape instead of dealing with issues head-on.
The Fighting 69th (1940) William Keighley
Jerry Plunkett (James Cagney) is a loud-mouthed, tough guy. What is Father Duffy (Pat O’Brien) going to do with him? While all the other guys who recently joined the army are scared about what combat will be like in WW1, Plunkett chides them and boasts of what his exploits will be. Of course, in his first battle Plunkett falls apart and acts like a coward. Later he seems to redeem himself, but there’s no doubt he spent too much time shooting his mouth off.
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Nicholas Ray
Frank Stark (Jim Backus) is a henpecked husband who never shows any sense of family leadership or even the capacity to stand up for himself to his badgering wife. The implication in the film is that Frank could have averted any teenage angst felt by his son Jim (James Dean) by, basically, being a stronger presence in the household.
Key Largo (1948) John Huston
So tough to see Bogie cop out. Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart) was a big war hero. He decides to visit the dad of a friend of his who was killed in the war. When he goes to the hotel run by his best friend’s dad, he runs into some type of mafia guy who is there for nefarious reasons. Although a war hero, he continually backs down to the mafia guy. At one point he can, apparently, kill Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), but doesn’t. Ultimately, he makes amends and helps bust the entire corrupt gang.
The Red Badge of Courage (1951) John Huston
Huston cast Audie Murphy in this film about redemption in the Civil War. Murphy was the greatest American hero of World War II. The guy won every possible medal for bravery. He got shot up by Nazis several times but never stopped fighting. At one point he destroyed a German tank, jumped on top of it, took control of its machine gun, and began wiping out Nazis with it. It’s hard to find a guy with more fortitude than Murphy. After World War II he was so popular he starred in several Hollywood films. So in this film he IRONICALLY plays a guy who cops out and redeems himself later. But while watching the film you are secretly saying, “Ha! Murph wouldn’t have run from a battle; what a great actor!”
The Magnificent Seven (1960) John Sturges
Lee (Robert Vaughn) seems to be the ultimate gunfighter among the group recruited to protect a Mexican village from bandits. But he’s turned yellow-bellied. He’s seen so many men die (at his hands) that he’s now scared. The other gun slingers never even realize the fear he lives with. At the end, however, when the chips are down, he comes through for his bunch and the villagers. He dies happy.
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A version was previous published on Taste of Cinema and is republished on Medium.
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Photo credit: Wikimedia
