''Sunrise at Campobello'' is a 1960 Warner Bros.

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

telling the story of the struggles of future

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and his family when Roosevelt was stricken with paralysis at the age of 39 in August 1921. Based on

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bi ...

's 1958

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

-winning Broadway play of the same name, the film was directed by

Vincent J. Donehue Vincent Julian Donehue (September 22, 1915 – January 17, 1966) was an American director noted mainly for his theater work, with occasional film and television credits. Biography Vincent Donehue was born in Whitehall, New York. He was a gradu ...

and stars Ralph Bellamy, Greer Garson,

Hume Cronyn Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor and writer. Early life Cronyn, one of five children, was born in London, Ontario, Canada. His father, Hume Blake Cronyn, Sr., was a businessman an ...

and Jean Hagen. The film was produced with the cooperation of the Roosevelt family.

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

was present on the set during location shooting at the Roosevelt estate in

Hyde Park, New York Hyde Park is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States, bordering the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. Within the town are the hamlets of Hyde Park (CDP), New York, Hyde Park, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland, New York, Haviland. ...

Plot

At the

Roosevelt family The Roosevelt family is an American political family from New York whose members have included two United States presidents, a First Lady of the United States, First Lady, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, arti ...

's summer home on Campobello Island,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

, Canada (on the border with

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

) in the summer of 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt is vigorously athletic, enjoying games with his children and sailing his boat. Roosevelt is suddenly stricken with fever and then paralysis. Conflict ensues between the bedridden Roosevelt, his wife

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was intro ...

, his mother

Sara Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...

and his close political adviser Louis Howe. Later, as Roosevelt drags himself up the stairs, he painfully strives to overcome his physical limitations and resist remaining an invalid. Roosevelt reenters public life as he walks to the speaker's rostrum at a party convention, aided by heavy leg braces and crutches.

Cast

* Ralph Bellamy as

* Greer Garson as

as Louis Howe * Jean Hagen as Marguerite "Missy" LeHand * Ann Shoemaker as

Sara Roosevelt Sara Ann Roosevelt ( Delano; September 21, 1854 – September 7, 1941) was the second wife of James Roosevelt I (from 1880), the mother of President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her only child, and subsequently the mother ...

* Alan Bunce as Governor

Alfred E. Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a Ci ...

* Tim Considine as

James Roosevelt James Roosevelt II (December 23, 1907 – August 13, 1991) was an American businessman, Marine, activist, and Democratic Party politician. The eldest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, he served as an official Secret ...

Zina Bethune Zina Bianca Bethune (February 17, 1945 – February 12, 2012) was an American actress, dancer, and choreographer. Early years Bethune was born on Staten Island, the daughter of Ivy ( Vigder), a Russian-born (Sevastopol, present-day Ukraine) act ...

as Anna Roosevelt * Frank Ferguson as Dr. Bennett * Pat Close as

Elliott Roosevelt Elliott Roosevelt may refer to: * Elliott Roosevelt (general) (1910–1990), American general * Elliott Roosevelt (socialite) (1860–1894), American socialite {{hndis, Roosevelt, Elliott ...

* Robin Warga as Franklin Roosevelt Jr. * Tom Carty as Johnny Roosevelt * Lyle Talbot as Mr. Brimmer * David White as Mr. Lassiter * Walter Sande as Captain Skinner * Herbert Anderson as Vincent Dailey Director

had originally considered Anthony Quayle for the role of Roosevelt until Schary's wife suggested Bellamy.

Production

''Sunrise at Campobello'' presents events that took place over three years, from August 1921 to July 1924, culminating in Roosevelt's speech at the

1924 Democratic National Convention The 1924 Democratic National Convention, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, 1924, was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history. It took a record 103 ballots to nomin ...

. Before and during Roosevelt's

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by ...

, the extent of his disability was minimized. ''Sunrise at Campobello'' depicts the debilitating effects of his paralytic illness to a greater extent than had been previously disclosed by the media. Exteriors were filmed at the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, the

Roosevelt Campobello International Park Roosevelt Campobello International Park preserves the house and surrounding landscape of the summer retreat of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt and their family. It is located on the southern tip of Campobello Island in the Canadian pro ...

on Campobello Island and the Roosevelts' former Manhattan residence. Interiors were shots on sets at

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

. The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles was used to represent for

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylv ...

for the 1924 convention. The film was scored by Franz Waxman.

Reception

The film faced competition from ''

Elmer Gantry ''Elmer Gantry'' is a satirical novel written by Sinclair Lewis in 1926 that presents aspects of the religious activity of America in fundamentalist and evangelistic circles and the attitudes of the 1920s public toward it. The novel's protagonis ...

'', '' The World of Suzy Wong'', '' The Apartment'' and ''

Butterfield 8 ''BUtterfield 8'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor won her first Academy Award for her performance in a leading role. The film was based on a 1935 novel of the same na ...

'', films that all dealt with sex and that impacted the box-office performance of ''Sunrise at Campobello''. The film was entered into the 2nd Moscow International Film Festival. At its screening on July 19, 1961 at the Russia Theatre, the audience started to leave within minutes. More than 2,000 attendees departed before the end of the screening, possibly after realizing that the film did not depict the war years. ''Variety'' wrote that the film "...loses none of its poignant and inspirational qualities." It called Bellamy "brilliant", and noted Garson's "deeply moving, multifaceted characterization.""Sunrise at Campobello", ''Variety'', December 31, 1959
/ref> In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

called ''Sunrise at Campobello'' "a well-done, moving biographical film" and wrote: "Ralph Bellamy's performance of Mr. Roosevelt is every bit as strong, as full of feeling and characteristic gesture, as Mr. Bellamy made it on the stage. ... However, it must be mentioned that a tendency to overdo some of the famous Roosevelt expressions ... induces a bit of vexation, especially when they are shown in close-up, which g1aringly discloses their forced and theatrical quality." Crowther also criticized Greer Garson's "singsong manner of speech" that sounded like a caricature of Eleanor Roosevelt's voice. ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' review concluded that "the play was an excellent job and has been improved upon." More recently, Darragh O’Donoghue considers the film a

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...

but notes: "Hume Cronyn is the heart and soul of the film as Louis Howe, FDR’s right-hand man, an asthmatic whose relish for the 'real world' of compromised politics disgusts FDR’s patrician mother played with haughty relish by Ann Shoemaker."

Awards and honors

Greer Garson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama.

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

;Nominations"Oscars.org -- Sunrise at Campobello"
.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...

. Retrieved January 15, 2014. * Best Actress: Greer Garson * Best Art Direction (Color): Art Direction:

Edward Carrere Edward Carrere (13 October 1906 – 19 December 1984) born in Mexico, first hit Hollywood in 1947, making his debut as an art director on '' My Wild Irish Rose''. He garnered his first Academy Award nomination two years later for the Errol Fly ...

; Set Decoration:

George James Hopkins George James Hopkins (March 23, 1896 – February 11, 1985) was an American set designer, playwright and production designer. Hopkins was a native of Pasadena, California; his mother Una Nixson Hopkins was a magazine writer and an art director ...

* Best Costume Design (Color):

Marjorie Best Marjorie Best (10 April 1903 – 14 June 1997) was an American Hollywood costume designer known for her period designs. Best was born in Jacksonville, Illinois and studied at the Chouinard Art Institute. She taught school briefly before g ...

* Best Sound: Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, George Groves, sound director

References

External links

* * * *
Movie trailer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunrise At Campobello 1960 films 1960s biographical drama films American biographical drama films Films scored by Franz Waxman American films based on plays Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe-winning performance Films about Franklin D. Roosevelt Cultural depictions of Franklin D. Roosevelt Cultural depictions of Eleanor Roosevelt Films about presidents of the United States Films set in New Brunswick Films set in New York (state) Films set in 1921 Films set in 1922 Films set in 1923 Films set in 1924 Medical-themed films Warner Bros. films 1960 drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films