The Hasty Heart
The Hasty Heart | |
---|---|
Directed by | Vincent Sherman |
Written by | Ranald MacDougall |
Based on | The Hasty Heart 1945 play by John Patrick |
Produced by | Russel Crouse Howard Lindsay |
Starring | Richard Todd Ronald Reagan Patricia Neal |
Cinematography | Wilkie Cooper |
Edited by | Edward B. Jarvis |
Music by | Jack Beaver |
Distributed by | Associated British-Pathé (UK) Warner Bros. (US) |
Release dates | 13 September 1949 (Premiere, London) |
Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | £248,584 (UK)[1] |
The Hasty Heart is a 1949
The Hasty Heart tells the story of a group of wounded Allied soldiers in a Pacific theatre mobile surgery unit immediately after World War II ends who, after initial resentment and ostracism, rally around a loner, an unappreciative Scottish soldier they know is dying.
The title is taken from the proverb "sorrow is born in the hasty heart" which is stated several times in the film.
Plot
In
Lt Col Dunn (
Margaret tries to convince Lachie to buy a regimental kilt, something he feels is too expensive to purchase because he recently bought a house in Scotland to which he intends to return. However, during Lachie's 24th birthday party, Margaret gives him a kilt, and the rest of his friends contribute something for his uniform. Lachie is proud, and they all pose for photos, with the others trying to answer the question of whether he wears anything under his kilt.
Lachie warms to the soldiers and opens up about his past, telling them "They say sorrow is born in the hasty heart." He reveals to Margaret that his aloof and suspicious behavior is the result of great cruelty inflicted on him in his youth as an
Dunn comes to the ward and tells Lachie that he can return to Scotland immediately if he wishes. When Lachie asks why he is receiving special treatment, the doctor tells him the truth about his condition and that his death is imminent. Lachie explodes at his friends, thinking they befriended him only because he was sick and dying. He decides to return to Scotland. Blossom offers him a necklace, but when Lachie rejects it, Yank explains that Blossom does not speak English and therefore could not have known that Lachie was dying. As he is leaving he breaks down and says he does not want to die alone. With that realization he softens and decides to stay on and have his picture taken in his uniform with the men, happy to be with true friends at last in his last few days.
Cast
- Richard Todd – Cpl. Lachlan "Lachie" MacLachlan, the Scot
- Ronald Reagan – Yank, the American
- Patricia Neal – Sister Margaret Parker
- Anthony Nicholls – Lieutenant Colonel Dunn
- Howard Marion-Crawford – Tommy, the Englishman
- Ralph Michael – Kiwi, the New Zealander
- John Sherman – Digger, the Australian
- Alfie Bass – Orderly
- Orlando Martins – Blossom, the African
- Robert Douglas – Off-Screen Narrator (uncredited)
Production
Warner Bros. bought the film rights to the play from American dramatist John Patrick for $100,000 and a percentage of the profits in 1945. It originally announced John Dall would play the lead of Lachie.[2] Instead, Todd was cast over Gordon Jackson.[3]
"I wasn't right at all for the nurse", said Patricia Neal. "But it was my first sympathetic part, at least."[4]
Reception
Box office
The film ranked tenth among popular films at the British box office in 1949.[5]
Critical reaction
Richard Todd was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film also won two Golden Globes (Richard Todd for Most Promising Newcomer – Male and for Best Film Promoting International Understanding).
TV remakes
The Hasty Heart was remade for television in 1957
References
- S2CID 161670089.
- ^ "Screen News: Warners Pay $100,000 Down for 'Hasty Heart' Joan Blondell Gets Top Part". The New York Times. 19 February 1945. p. 21.
- ^ Vallance, Tom (5 December 2009). "Richard Todd: D-Day veteran and actor celebrated for his role as Guy Gibson in 'The Dam Busters'". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
- ^ Thompson, Howard (2 November 1952). "Portrait of the Lady Named Neal". The New York Times. p. X5.
- ^ "TOPS AT HOME". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 31 December 1949. p. 4. Retrieved 24 April 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
- IMDb
- IMDb
- ^ "Winners & Nominees: Perry King". goldenglobes.com.