The Hasty Heart (1949)

 

The Hasty Heart - 1949

Continuing with our President's Day theme, how about a film starring an American president?  1949's "The Hasty Heart" is about a man sick at the end of the Pacific War.  In Burma, he learns the true meaning of friendship.

The film's cast includes Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, Richard Todd, Anthony Nicholls, Howard Marion-Crawford, Ralph Michael, John Sherman, Alfie Bass, and Orlando Martins.

At the end of the Pacific War in Burma, a bunch of guys are recuperating from various illnesses or injuries they received during the military campaign.  They include an American, a New Zealander, an Australian, a British man, and a man from Africa.

The group of guys look to the American, called Yank, as their leader.  He's got quite a personality.

And all the guys are very ably looked after by Sister Margaret Parker, who is kind but doesn't put up with any shenanigans on her watch.

The guys get some news from the man in charge of their camp.  They will be getting a new arrival, a Scot, who has just recovered from an operation in which he had to have one of his kidneys removed.  The operation was successful, however, his remaining kidney is defective and will cause him to die very shortly.  Though he feels fine now, he will soon get very sick.  The man hasn't been told the particulars of his condition, just that he is to wait until a spot opens up for him to go home.  The men are instructed to be friendly towards him and make him happy.  They accept their assignment readily.

Enter Corporal Lachlan McLauchlan.  He is very prickly and resists all of Sister Parker's charms.

Lachie's gruff and abrasive ways don't win him any points with the rest of the guys.  They quickly become frustrated with him, and eventually give up on trying to befriend him.

He particularly gets under Yank's skin.  Lachie also plays the bagpipes when and where he wants to.  That includes bedtime.

When Lachie's birthday comes around, Sister Parker decides that the men should chip in and get him a kilt as a present.  They all decide which parts will be theirs to give.

Once the presents have been given, Lachie doesn't say a word, which greatly annoys Yank.  He starts to loudly recite the books of the Bible to calm himself down.  Sister Parker has to put her hand firmly over his mouth so that Lachie won't be able to hear him.

Lachie's silence isn't because he's ungrateful or spiteful.  He's actually very moved.  He makes a speech expressing his thanks, and Sister Parker produces a bunch of cupcakes to celebrate the day.

While the cupcakes are being enjoyed, the guys have one burning question for Lachie.  What exactly does a Scot wear under a kilt?  Naturally, Lachie won't answer that.  However, they are determined to discover the answer.

Later, Lachie tells Sister Parker about his life.  He's had a rough go of it, and he's become the hardened person he is because of great cruelty early in his life.

Soon, all the guys can't help but like Lachie.  And he is enjoying true friendship for the first time in his life.

One day, Lachie is offered the chance to go home by special airplane.  Wondering why he's been singled out, the commanding officer has no choice but to tell him why.  Lachie is stunned to learn that he is dying.

And he is very angry when he begins to think that the guys entered into friendship out of pity for him.  They protest that that is not the case.  Sure, it may have started out that way, but they are genuinely fond of him now.

The man from Africa, Blossom, steps forward and tries to present Lachie with a set of necklaces he's made.  Still smarting from the shock of his health and from what he perceives as forced friendship by the guys, Lachie rejects the gift.

Yank gives Lachie a lesson in friendship he'll never forget.  He tells Lachie that Blossom doesn't speak English, and so couldn't have known that he was dying.  The gift of the necklaces was an act of unselfish friendship.

Lachie collapses and weeps into his elbow.  Sister Parker quickly attends to him and comforts him.  Lachie is truly sorry for his behavior and realizes that the guys are really and truly his friends.

Lachie dons his new kilt and all the guys pose for a picture.  Sister Parker mans the camera.

At the last second, one of the guys slips down and finally discovers what Lachie is wearing under the kilt.  When he tells the rest of the guys, they dissolve into helpless laughter as Lachie smiles and "complains" to Sister Parker.

Cast rundown:

   Ronald Reagan......................................Yank

   Patricia Neal.........................................Sister Margaret Parker

   Richard Todd.........................................Cpl. Lachie MacLachlan

   Anthony Nicholls...................................Lt. Col. Dunn

   Howard Marion-Crawford........................Tommy

   Ralph Michael.......................................Kiwi

   John Sherman.......................................Digger

   Alfie Bass.............................................Orderly

   Orlando Martins.....................................Blossom

And that's it for The Hasty Heart.  Richard Todd was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer for his role as Lachie.  Of her role as Sister Margaret Parker, Patricia Neal later said, "I wasn't at all right for the nurse, but it was my first sympathetic part, at least."  I think she's swell!

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Lincoln (2012)

Lincoln - 2012

 Coming up next on this President's Day weekend in the USA, I've decided to feature 2012's "Lincoln", the story of Abraham Lincoln and how he pushed to pass the Thirteenth Amendment and abolish slavery.

The film's extraordinary cast includes Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, Jackie Earle Haley, Bruce McGill, Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Gulliver McGrath, Gloria Reuben, Dakin Matthews, S. Epatha Merkerson, Elizabeth Marvel, Joseph Cross, Stephen Spinella, David Oyelowo, Adam Driver, and Stephen McKinley Henderson.

Abraham Lincoln is hoping the US Civil War will end soon.  In January 1965, he begins to think that the famous Emancipation Proclamation may be ignored.  He begins work on new legislation that will guarantee that black people will not be re-enslaved by southern states.

He proposes a Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.  He argues passionately for it to his Cabinet.  He faces considerable opposition in Congress.

Lincoln enlists the help of Preston Blair to help sway the opposition in Congress.  Blair also wants to negotiate a peace settlement with Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy.  Besides Blair, a couple of others work on Lincoln's behalf to help those in opposition to the amendment come around.

Outside of overseeing the war, Lincoln is very popular with the public, who come out in droves to see him at various functions.  His speeches are touched with humor and good old common sense.  "The part assigned to me is to raise the flag.  Which, if there be no fault in the machinery, I will do.  And when up, it'll be

for the people to keep it up.  That's my speech," he says matter-of-factly.

Lincoln's home life is anything but peaceful.  His wife Mary is in perpetual mourning over the death of their son Willie.  There are moments when she can hardly breathe and it feels as though grief will completely envelop her.

But she also proves that she can be the life of the party and a formidable politician in her own right.  She deftly navigates a tricky conversation with congressmen who have made it their business to oversee her household accounts.

When she sees that she's delaying the receiving line because of the dressing down she's giving the congressmen, Mary says, "Oh, I'm detaining you, and more importantly, the people behind you."

As they move on, Mary has one final word of triumph for the congressmen.  "How the people love my husband.  They flock to see him by their thousands on public days.  They will never love you the way they love him.  How difficult it must be for you to know that...and yet how important to remember it," she says with a smile.

Also in the Lincoln family, son Robert wants to enlist in the army and do his part to help win the war.  Lincoln is steadfastly against it, but he comes in time to see his son's point of view.

Mary Lincoln is furious with her husband for even countenancing Robert's request.  She does not want to see another son die.  Lincoln threatens her with the madhouse because of her incessant mourning and crying.

Mary calls her husband out on his threat.  "Then do it!  Do it!  Don't you threaten me!  You do it this time.  Lock me away.  You'll have to, I swear...if Robert is killed."

Eventually, Mary comes around, but issues a word of warning about the Thirteenth Amendment and ending the war.  "Seward can't do it.  You must.  Because if you fail to acquire the necessary votes, woe unto you, sir.  You will answer to me."

Lincoln works long and hard on the amendment.  He tries everything he knows to do in order to secure the necessary votes for its passage in Congress.

Eventually, the Thirteenth Amendment is passed and signed into law.  There is great rejoicing in the House chamber at the US Capitol (this is a particularly moving scene).

Also celebrating the passage of the amendment is Thaddeus Stevens, without whom it could not have been passed.  He has a very personal reason for wanting to see it go through.

At the end of the Civil War, the Lincolns drive out in their carriage.  Abraham mentions to his wife that its his dream to travel to the ancient city of Jerusalem and walk where David and Solomon walked.  Mary confides in her husband her fears over how they will be remembered to history.

After celebrating the end of the war and the passage of a monumental amendment, Lincoln hurries to join his wife for a play at Ford's Theater on what will be the final night of his life.

Cast rundown:

   Daniel Day-Lewis...................................Abraham Lincoln

   Sally Field.............................................Mary Todd Lincoln

   David Strathairn....................................William Seward

   Joseph Gordon-Levitt..............................Robert Lincoln

   James Spader........................................W.N. Bilbo

   Hal Holbrook..........................................Preston Blair

   Tommy Lee Jones...................................Thaddeus Stevens

   Jackie Earle Haley...................................Alexander Stephens

   Bruce McGill...........................................Edwin Stanton

   Jared Harris...........................................Ulysses S. Grant

   Lee Pace................................................Fernando Wood

   Gulliver McGrath.....................................Tad Lincoln

   Gloria Reuben........................................Elizabeth Keckley

   Dakin Matthews......................................John Usher

   S. Epatha Merkerson...............................Lydia Smith

   Elizabeth Marvel.....................................Mrs. Jolly

   Joseph Cross..........................................John Hay

   Stephen Spinella.....................................Asa Vintner Litton

   David Oyelowo.......................................Corporal Ira Clark

   Adam Driver...........................................Samuel Beckwith

   Stephen McKinley Henderson....................William Slade

And that's it for Lincoln.  For her portrayal of Mary Lincoln, Sally Field had to really beg and plead for the part.  She knew that she was ten years older than Daniel Day-Lewis, who played Lincoln, and twenty years older than the real Mrs. Lincoln at the time of the film's depiction, but Field was determined to play the legendary first lady.  Once she landed the part, Field gained twenty-five pounds for the role.  I think she inhabits the essence of Mary Lincoln beautifully.  Her performance is not to be missed or underestimated in this film.

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