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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It's A Great Feeling (1949)

It's A Great Feeling - 1949

Our next film is 1949's star-filled "It's A Great Feeling", starring Doris Day, Dennis Morgan, and Jack Carson.  A young woman comes to Hollywood to get work in movies.  The experience is more than she bargained for, and she must make the decision to pursue a career in Tinseltown or return home to Wisconsin.

The film's supporting cast includes Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford, Errol Flynn, Danny Kaye, Ronald Reagan, Maureen Reagan, Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Sydney Greenstreet, Eleanor Parker, Patricia Neal, Irving Bacon, and Frank Cady.

Jack Carson has been tapped by Warner Bros. to direct a movie starring Dennis Morgan.  Morgan isn't at all thrilled about it, and he tells Gary Cooper all about how terrible it'll be.  He makes the decision to quit movies and go to Broadway.

When he tells Carson of his plan, Jack isn't happy at all.  He needs the money from the movie to finance the restoration of his home.  Carson couldn't care less, and happily plans his trip to New York.

Judy Adams is a waitress at the Warner Bros. cafeteria.  She's dying to get her big chance in Hollywood.  She gets the chance to deliver Jack Carson's lunch to him, and she sees this as her big opportunity.

On her way there, she runs into actor Sydney Greenstreet, who asks what her rush is.  "I’m sorry, Mr. Greenstreet.  I was running to Jack Carson’s dressing room."  "That's a switch," smiles Sydney.  "They're usually running when they come out!"

When she gets to see Jack, he really doesn't want to listen to an audition, but she makes him.  He does give her a job: helping him con Dennis Morgan into staying around for the film.

She pretends to be "Mrs. Jack Carson", whom Jack has kept hidden because he didn't want to ruin his career.  Dennis is sympathetic to her story.  Unfortunately, he gets wise to the plan when Carson appears in the room.  Judy storms out and says she's going back home to Wisconsin, and she's through with the Hollywood scene.

Meanwhile, Jane Wyman has been told that Jack Carson is going to direct her in the new film "Mademoiselle Fifi".  She faints, and refuses to do the picture.

Dennis and Jack get the idea to use Judy in place of Jane Wyman.  They track her down at the train station and convince her to stay.  But first they've got to come up with a plan that will get the producer of the movie on board with using Judy as the star.

While updating Judy's appearance at a clothing store, Joan Crawford overhears bits and pieces of a conversation, and she's not happy with what she hears.

It's a hilarious scene that culminates in Joan giving us a performance that would be worthy of any of her movies.  During the scene, Carson and Morgan come up with a plan.  They decide to showcase Judy doing every day things and let the producer get the idea to hire her himself.

She shows up in all sorts of places.  The producer thinks he's going crazy, and doesn't even want to see any blonde girls her height again.

Dennis and Jack arrange for Judy to sing a song that will be incorporated into a movie screen test.  She does a wonderful job singing "That Was A Big Fat Lie".

However, due to Jack's bad directing, the screen test goes horribly wrong, and the producer almost has a nervous breakdown as he's watching it.

They decide to build Judy up as a famous French actress coming to America to get the part in "Mademoiselle Fifi".  Judy puts on a fake accent and a brown wig, and the two guys take her to a party the studio is throwing in her honor.

She meets Hollywood stars Eleanor Parker and Patricia Neal, who welcome her and tell her about what life as an actress is really like.

"Poor kid," remarks Patricia as Judy is whisked away.  "They'll probably make her a blonde," says Eleanor.

Judy sings a song in her fake French accent called "Cafe Rendezvous".  It doesn't go too well.  The fan she holds has the words in French.  She accidentally turns the words towards the audience.

She also falls down the stairs during the performance.  Her brown wig falls off in the process.

When she stands up and everyone sees her true hair color, Eleanor whispers to Patricia, "I told you they'd make her a blonde!"  "You were right," smiles Patricia.

Defeated, Judy decides to return to Wisconsin and marry Geoffrey Bushdinkle.  She wants a normal life after the chaos that Hollywood has brought her.

On the train home, Doris has a nightmare.  She leaves her bed and goes to an empty room where she sings "Blame It On My Absent Minded Heart".

Coincidentally, the Hollywood producer is on the same train.  He hears her singing and tells her that he can get her into pictures.  She slaps his face and storms off.

We cut to Wisconsin, where Judy is about to get married to Geoffrey Bushdinkle.

In a last ditch attempt to get her to return to California, Jack Carson and Dennis Morgan have followed her to Wisconsin and witness the wedding from outside the venue.

They're too late to stop her from getting married.  They kid around by telling each other she'll be living her life in this dull town with dull Geoffrey Bushdinkle.

Then, Geoffrey Bushdinkle's face is finally revealed.  Carson and Morgan are shocked.  "He's got nothin'," says Jack as the two walk away.

Judy and Geoffrey are surrounded by their family and friends, who wish them good luck.

Cast rundown:

   Doris Day.......................................Judy Adams

   Dennis Morgan................................Himself

   Jack Carson....................................Himself

   Gary Cooper....................................Himself

   Joan Crawford.................................Herself

   Errol Flynn......................................Geoffrey Bushdinkle

   Danny Kaye....................................Himself

   Ronald Reagan................................Himself

   Maureen Reagan..............................Herself

   Edward G. Robinson.........................Himself

   Jane Wyman...................................Herself

   Sydney Greenstreet.........................Himself

   Eleanor Parker.................................Herself

   Patricia Neal....................................Herself

   Irving Bacon...................................RR Information Clerk

   Frank Cady.....................................Oculist

And that's all for It's A Great Feeling.  It's fun to see a lot of stars in the movie.  Joan Crawford delivers the exact same speech here as she does in "Mildred Pierce".  Patricia Neal wore the same black fur-trimmed evening gown in another film.   She was filming "The Fountainhead" with Gary Cooper on the same day, and walked from one set to the other to film her cameo.

Director David Butler also has a cameo in the film.  He plays himself.  He passes on the movie when he realizes Jack Carson is associated with it.

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