"Sunrise at Campobello" tells the story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt between the time he was stricken with polio (infantile paralysis as the movie calls it) and the time of his re-introduction as a viable political figure when he rose and walked to the podium (on crutches and with leg braces) to give the speech placing Alfred Smith's name in nomination at the Democratic National Convention of 1924. So this covers about three years of FDR's life. It's an interesting portrayal. Opening with some scenes at the family summer home on Campobello Island, New Brunswick on the day that he first fell ill, the picture is painted of Roosevelt as a strong and active man - a lover of the outdoors. All this serves to set up the battle that followed, as this strong, active man suddenly has to deal with all the challenges of the paralysis that came upon him, and the movie looks at both FDR's personal life (with a fair amount of emphasis on both his children and especially his mother and how they reacted to the illness) and especially at how this illness affected his political ambitions. It's no surprise, of course, that Roosevelt is going to ultimately become the four times elected President of the United States, so every viewer knows that his political career will be resurrected, but watching the struggle is the point of this film. It's an inspiring story. It serves to remind the viewer that no one should be counted out because of a disability. FDR's determination is especially shown by the scene in which he insists on dragging himself up a flight of stairs - if only to prove to everyone else that he can do it. This is a reminder of the value of dogged determination - a "never say never" attitude that would come to exemplify FDR's entire life and career. I would say, though, that the inspiration of the story is somewhat marred by the fact that, frankly, the story is too long and sometimes moves along at a pretty slow pace. The opening of the movie at Campobello is important as it deals with the early days and immediate aftermath of FDR's illness. The closing of the movie is important as it deals with the leadup to that 1924 Convention. But the intervening scenes at Hyde Park were somewhat monotonous and repetitive, and could surely have been cut a bit to make the movie a little more compact.
The performances, however, are what make this movie a standout. I was born long after Franklin Roosevelt died and a few months after Eleanor Roosevelt died - and so after this movie was made. What that means is that all I know of them, their looks, their speaking styles, etc. come from film and still pictures. Ralph Bellamy was absolutely superb as Franklin Roosevelt. He seemed to nail the part. He had played the role in the stage play of the same name (both the movie and the play were written by Dore Schary) on which the movie was based which ran for 556 performances on Broadway. Ironically, Bellamy won a Tony Award for Best Actor in the stage play, but somehow failed to even be nominated for an Oscar for this performance. Even more ironic is that Greer Garson was nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Eleanor Roosevelt. It's not that she didn't put on a very good performance. It's just that I didn't find her as striking in the role of Eleanor as Bellamy was as FDR. Rounding out the main members of the cast were Ann Shoemaker as FDR's somewhat over-protective and hectoring mother Sara (I don't know what FDR's mother actually looked like, but I thought Shoemaker looked eerily like FDR, making her a good choice for the role) and Hume Cronyn as Louis Howe, FDR's journalist-friend, publicity man and political advisor. All the performances in this were excellent and although I've never seen the stage play I'm thinking that this story probably worked better as a movie than as a stage play.
I thought the story soft-soaped the marriage of FDR and Eleanor. We know that after Eleanor discovered Franklin's affair with Lucy Mercer in 1918 their marriage (as a romantic, intimate relationship) virtually ended. Although they stayed together, their relationship became more of a political partnership - and probably lacked the kind of affection portrayed here, even during FDR's illness, although it was Eleanor (along with Howe) who encouraged him to remain politically active. As I understand it, one of the most important things about this movie (and the stage play) is that even though Roosevelt died in 1945, the stage play (which debuted in 1958) was the first time FDR's illness would have been so openly portrayed. The extent of his paralysis was kept largely hidden from the American public even during his more than 12 years as president.
If you can stay with this through its fairly long run time (and especially the unnecessary length of the scenes in Hyde Park) this is time well spent. (8/10)
The performances, however, are what make this movie a standout. I was born long after Franklin Roosevelt died and a few months after Eleanor Roosevelt died - and so after this movie was made. What that means is that all I know of them, their looks, their speaking styles, etc. come from film and still pictures. Ralph Bellamy was absolutely superb as Franklin Roosevelt. He seemed to nail the part. He had played the role in the stage play of the same name (both the movie and the play were written by Dore Schary) on which the movie was based which ran for 556 performances on Broadway. Ironically, Bellamy won a Tony Award for Best Actor in the stage play, but somehow failed to even be nominated for an Oscar for this performance. Even more ironic is that Greer Garson was nominated for Best Actress for her performance as Eleanor Roosevelt. It's not that she didn't put on a very good performance. It's just that I didn't find her as striking in the role of Eleanor as Bellamy was as FDR. Rounding out the main members of the cast were Ann Shoemaker as FDR's somewhat over-protective and hectoring mother Sara (I don't know what FDR's mother actually looked like, but I thought Shoemaker looked eerily like FDR, making her a good choice for the role) and Hume Cronyn as Louis Howe, FDR's journalist-friend, publicity man and political advisor. All the performances in this were excellent and although I've never seen the stage play I'm thinking that this story probably worked better as a movie than as a stage play.
I thought the story soft-soaped the marriage of FDR and Eleanor. We know that after Eleanor discovered Franklin's affair with Lucy Mercer in 1918 their marriage (as a romantic, intimate relationship) virtually ended. Although they stayed together, their relationship became more of a political partnership - and probably lacked the kind of affection portrayed here, even during FDR's illness, although it was Eleanor (along with Howe) who encouraged him to remain politically active. As I understand it, one of the most important things about this movie (and the stage play) is that even though Roosevelt died in 1945, the stage play (which debuted in 1958) was the first time FDR's illness would have been so openly portrayed. The extent of his paralysis was kept largely hidden from the American public even during his more than 12 years as president.
If you can stay with this through its fairly long run time (and especially the unnecessary length of the scenes in Hyde Park) this is time well spent. (8/10)