The Hasty Heart (1949)

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Writers:

Ranald MacDougall (screenplay)
John Patrick (play)

Release Date:

2 December 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

It's 1945, Burma, the day the war is over! For many this means they've survived and will be going home...

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Burma | Nurse | Bagpipe | Birthday Party

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Ronald Reagan	...	Yank
Patricia Neal	...	Sister Parker
Richard Todd	...	Cpl. Lachlan 'Lachie' MacLachlan
Anthony Nicholls	...	Lieutenant Colonel Dunn
Howard Marion-Crawford	...	Tommy (as Howard Crawford)
Ralph Michael	...	Kiwi
John Sherman	...	Digger
Alfie Bass	...	Orderly (as Alfred Bass)
Orlando Martins	...	Blossom

Also Known As:

Hasty Heart (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #13890) | Australia:G

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

When Lachie asks Yank what he's going to do after the war, Yank replies that he's going back to "...a little place on the Rock River, Dixon, Illinois." This is actor Ronald Reagan's actual boyhood home.

Quotes:

[referring to his purchase of a farm back in Scotland]
Cpl. Lachlan 'Lachie' MacLachlan: I put my money to better use. It's in Scotland - in the earth.
Yank: I knew it! He's got it buried in a tin can!

Movie Connections:

Remade as The Hasty Heart (1983) (TV)

Reagan Shines

As a fan of neither soap operas nor Ronald Reagan I find myself utterly captivated by the movie of The Hasty Heart, a popular play of the postwar years, which was filmed in England by Warner Brothers. Richard Todd plays Lachy, a proud, somewhat obnoxious Scotsman who is assigned to a Burmese hospital, where he is presumably recovering from surgery but in fact dying, a fact kept from him by the medical staff. The other patients are told to go easy on the fellow, to make friends with him, which they do, with considerable opposition from Lachy himself, who did not up to this time have friends. There is some excellent dialogue along the way, as the various patients and staff members attempt to soften up this hard case, which in the end they do. The acting, of Richard Todd, as Lachy, and Patricia Neal, as the nurse he develops what I guess one would call a crush on, is quite good, but what makes the film somewhat of a revelation is the truly excellent performance of none other than Ronald Reagan, as Yank, the one American among the patients, and nobody's fool. Reagan does not play his part for charm. Yank is in his way as tough as Lachy, only he accepts life and Lachy doesn't. He too has a hard streak, but also compassion; and he is never soft. The interaction between the astringent Yank and everyone else is, thanks to Mr. Reagan, far and above the liveliest part of the film, which depending on one's mood can be either inspiring, in a gentle sort of way, or vaguely depressing, given its subject matter. This is a fine example of a well-made play of the sort its author, John Patrick, was an expert at. One doesn't see too many of them around these days, as they have gone out of fashion, as the art of the drama has, for good or ill, moved on. After seeing this movie one might have second thoughts about the notion that the theatre has, in the last half-century, moved on to better things.