''1918'' (also known as ''Horton Foote's 1918'') is a 1985 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Ken Harrison and starring

William Converse-Roberts William Converse-Roberts is an American actor. He was born William Converse Roberts in Needham, Massachusetts. He attended both Stony Brook University and the Yale School of Drama. In 1989, he won an Obie Award for his performance in an Off-Broad ...

, Hallie Foote, and

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. His roles include the Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of the title character in '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), the voice of adult Simba in Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994) ...

. It is based on the play ''1918'' by

Horton Foote Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...

, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. It was followed by ''

On Valentine's Day ''On Valentine's Day'' is a 1986 American drama film directed by Ken Harrison. It is the sequel of Harrison's ''1918''. It was entered into the main competition at the 43rd Venice International Film Festival and was screened at the 1986 Toronto I ...

''.

Plot

It's 1918, the height of United States involvement in World War I: Liberty Bonds are sold, German immigrants are suspected as traitors or saboteurs, young men everywhere succumb to the patriotism and propaganda, and enlist. In a small Texas town, Horace Robedaux feels the pressure. He does not want to leave his young wife Elizabeth and their young child Jenny, but Elizabeth's can't-do-anything-right little brother constantly talks about the war. Elizabeth's stern father, who opposed the marriage initially, now has plans to take care of his daughter and the child, so Horace can fight for his country, but the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case wa ...

influenza epidemic sweeping the town (and the U.S.) may change everyone's plans.

Cast

as Horace Robedaux * Hallie Foote as Elizabeth Robedaux *

Rochelle Oliver Rochelle Oliver (born April 15, 1937) is an American acting coach and former actress. Career Oliver studied acting with Uta Hagen. Her stage appearances include ''The Brothers Karamazov'', ''The Cave Dwellers'', '' The Diary of Anne Frank'' an ...

as Mrs. Mary Vaughn * Michael Higgins as Mr. Vaughn *

as Brother Vaughn * Jeanne McCarthy as Bessie Stillman * Bill McGhee as Sam the Cemetery Worker * L.T. Felty as Mr. Thatcher * Horton Foote Jr. as Jessie * Tom Murrel as Stanley

Production

TBA

Reception

References

External links

* * American drama films 1985 drama films 1985 films Films with screenplays by Horton Foote Films about influenza outbreaks Spanish flu in popular culture Films set in 1918 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{1980s-drama-film-stub