One Man's Hero
One Man's Hero | |
---|---|
William J. MacDonald Conrad Hool | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | João Fernandes |
Edited by | Mark Conte |
Music by | Ernest Troost |
Production company | Hool/Macdonald Productions |
Distributed by | Orion Classics (US) The Kushner-Locke Company (overseas)[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 126 minutes |
Countries | United States Mexico Spain |
Language | English |
One Man's Hero is a 1999
The film is a dramatization of the true story of
Plot
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (February 2022) |
The story centers around Sgt. John Riley and 16 men of his
Riley is made a captain, in charge of all the Irish-immigrant U.S. soldiers who have come over to the Mexican side in increasingly large numbers, (as General Zachary Taylor puts it, "because of sex, saints and sadism"). For encouragement they are given their own green flag as the Saint Patrick's Battalion.
Several key battle engagements are highlighted, with dates, and a
As it becomes increasingly evident that the war is being lost by Mexico, Riley's men debate what to do. There is a difference between desertion and treason. Those who deserted before the war and are taken back to the U.S. will be lashed and branded; those who deserted after the declaration of war will be hanged as traitors. They decide to die as men fighting for freedom. When they finally lose, Cortina has escaped with many of his forces, and the Irish are taken prisoner. Many of them are still officially British citizens, having never yet been granted the U.S. citizenship they had first been promised for enlisting in the U.S. Army. General Winfield Scott utterly rejects the appeal of the Mexican Government, presented by Col. Nexor, to recognize Riley's men as Mexican citizens and
On the day of their execution, in sight of the men on the scaffold, Riley is lashed with a
Some time afterward, while working in a
Cast
- Tom Berenger as Sergeant / Lieutenant / Captain John Riley
- Joaquim de Almeida as Cortina
- Daniela Romo as Marta
- Mark Moses as Colonel Benton Lacy
- Stuart Graham as Corporal Kenneally
- Gregg Fitzgerald as Paddy Noonan
- Don Wycherley as Brian Athlone
- Wolf Muser as Corporal Schultz
- Luke Hayden as Seamus McDougherty
- Ilia Volok as Daniel Grzbalski
- Patrick Bergin as General Winfield Scott
- James Gammon as General Zachary Taylor
- Carlos Carrasco as Dominguez
- Stephen Tobolowsky as Captain Gaine
- Jorge Bosso as Col. Maximo Nexor
- Roger Cudney as Col. Harney
Awards
Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2000 ALMA Award[3] | Outstanding Director of a Feature Film | Lance Hool | Nominated |
1999 Political Film Society Awards[4] | Exposé Award | One Man's Hero | |
Human Rights Award | |||
Peace Award |
References
- ^ "Annual Report: The Kushner-Locke Company". Securities and Exchange Commission. 1998-09-30. Retrieved 2022-11-13.
- ISBN 978-1-55849-930-0.
- ^ Alma Awards https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/ALMA_Awards/2000 Archived 2009-03-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ PFS Awards https://web.archive.org/web/20091028135432/http://www.geocities.com/~polfilms/previous.html
External links
- One Man's Hero at IMDb
- One Man's Hero at Rotten Tomatoes
- Movie Review: 'One Man's Hero', a Heartfelt History Lesson, Los Angeles Times (subscription required)