Sunrise at Campobello (1960)

“You were both too surprised to *be* surprised. ” – Gov. Alfred P. Smith

Number of Times Seen – 1 (18 Sep 2016)

Brief Synopsis – Story of how Franklin Roosevelt and his close family dealt with his illness of polio that struck him when he was in his 40’s.

My Take on it – I have always been a fan of the US Political system and the Presidency in particular.

FDR was one of the best Presidents that the US had and this film tells of his own personal struggles after losing his first National Election for Vice President in 1920 and then being struck with Polio.

This movie is truly a great way to learn about his early years before becoming President and how he personally dealt with his illness as well as how his wife and children also dealt with it.

The cast is great with Ralph Bellamy playing FDR and Greer Garson as Eleanor, his wife.

Hume Cronyn was great as their top aide and friend.

I loved the dialogue because it was so engaging and fresh throughout.

We get to see FDR’s interactions with many of the main politicians of the day and this is a great chance to see how the Politics of the 1920’s worked.

It isn’t that surprising that the politics of then isn’t very different than the politics of now.

Despite this film being a way to view the political history, the focus is more on FDR’s personal struggles and his adamant faith that he would find a way to overcome his illness and continue on with his life no matter what.

Knowing what history had in store for him, makes this even more impressive to watch it all unfold before our eyes.

Bottom Line – Very well written story about the future President.  This is a great way to learn about his life and early political career and most importantly how he used pure will power in order to find a way back to living his life.  Excellent cast helps here and Garson and Bellamy are both sensational as the future first couple. Dialogue is superb and I learned a lot about the U.S. political system of the 1920’s. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The Broadway production of “Sunrise at Campobello” by Dore Schary opened at the Cort Theater in New York on January 30, 1958, ran for 556 performances and won the 1958 Tony Award for the Best Play. Ralph Bellamy won the 1958 Tony Award for Best Actor in Play and recreated his stage role in the movie version. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy

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