What does this film have in common with Detective Story, the 1949 movie directed by William Wyler and Tomorrow the World!, the 1944 film directed by Leslie Fenton? Answer: all three of these movies began their lives originally as Broadway plays that featured Ralph Bellamy in the leading male role. When Detective Story came to the screen, Bellamy was replaced by Kirk Douglas. In the case of Tomorrow the World!, Bellamy's part was taken up by Fredric March. Only in Sunrise at Campobello (SAC) was Bellamy allowed to recreate his acclaimed Broadway performance for the screen.
Notwithstanding the fact that SAC contains Bellamy's most famous role as FDR--one he would go on to reprise in the two Herman Wouk TV miniseries The Winds Of War and War and Remembrance---he was inexplicably denied an Oscar nomination for his effort. And in one of those ironies that often happen in Hollywood, Greer Garson DID receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her work in SAC--only to lose to Elizabeth Taylor, the sentimental favorite for Butterfield 8.
Ralph Bellamy is a fine actor who has enjoyed a long and varied acting career on stage and screen that moved from farce and foolishness to drama and tragedy. In the 1950s, he became a popular and witty guest panelist on the classic TV game show To Tell the Truth---where he occasionally worked with Polly Bergen, who co-starred with Robert Mitchum in the aforementioned two Herman Wouk TV miniseries.
Bellamy was interviewed over several years by James Bawden, former TV columnist for the Toronto Star, and it appears in Classic Film Stars---Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era (The University Press Of Kentucky 2016). He did not recall his experience in making SAC fondly. Bellamy claims that he "overplayed to the rafters," and that part of the blame for the film's lack of success was due to the "precious little movie experience" of the director, Vincent J. Donahue. Bellamy felt that SAC lacked "modulation" although he had high praise for his co-star Greer Garson, whom he thought was "perfect" in her role as Eleanor Roosevelt. The only good thing he said about the making of SAC is that he "got a whole new career playing FDR." Bellamy's parting comment about this film-- "He's (FDR) been very good for my bank account. And I always thought that there was more than a little rich, ripe ham in him."
Notwithstanding Bellamy's own self-deprecating interview comments about SAC, perhaps the substantial positive feedback he has received over the years from both critics and moviegoers alike about his unique concept of FDR will be the most meaningful and enduring final words on this subject.
Notwithstanding the fact that SAC contains Bellamy's most famous role as FDR--one he would go on to reprise in the two Herman Wouk TV miniseries The Winds Of War and War and Remembrance---he was inexplicably denied an Oscar nomination for his effort. And in one of those ironies that often happen in Hollywood, Greer Garson DID receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her work in SAC--only to lose to Elizabeth Taylor, the sentimental favorite for Butterfield 8.
Ralph Bellamy is a fine actor who has enjoyed a long and varied acting career on stage and screen that moved from farce and foolishness to drama and tragedy. In the 1950s, he became a popular and witty guest panelist on the classic TV game show To Tell the Truth---where he occasionally worked with Polly Bergen, who co-starred with Robert Mitchum in the aforementioned two Herman Wouk TV miniseries.
Bellamy was interviewed over several years by James Bawden, former TV columnist for the Toronto Star, and it appears in Classic Film Stars---Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era (The University Press Of Kentucky 2016). He did not recall his experience in making SAC fondly. Bellamy claims that he "overplayed to the rafters," and that part of the blame for the film's lack of success was due to the "precious little movie experience" of the director, Vincent J. Donahue. Bellamy felt that SAC lacked "modulation" although he had high praise for his co-star Greer Garson, whom he thought was "perfect" in her role as Eleanor Roosevelt. The only good thing he said about the making of SAC is that he "got a whole new career playing FDR." Bellamy's parting comment about this film-- "He's (FDR) been very good for my bank account. And I always thought that there was more than a little rich, ripe ham in him."
Notwithstanding Bellamy's own self-deprecating interview comments about SAC, perhaps the substantial positive feedback he has received over the years from both critics and moviegoers alike about his unique concept of FDR will be the most meaningful and enduring final words on this subject.