''Sunrise at Campobello'' is a 1960 American

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

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 one feature film, ''Act One (film), Act One'', th ...

's 1958

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

-winning Broadway

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

of the same title, 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 (town), New York, Whiteha ...

and stars

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and award ...

Greer Garson Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was a British-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the homef ...

Hume Cronyn Hume Blake Cronyn Jr. (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a Canadian-American actor, screenwriter and playwright. He appeared in many stage productions, television and film roles throughout his career, and garnered numerous accolades, includ ...

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 longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

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, East Park, Staatsburg, and Haviland. Hyde Park is known as the hometown of Fra ...

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, and various merchants, bankers, politicians, inventors, clergymen, artists, and socialites. The progeny ...

's summer home on Campobello Island,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada (on the border with

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

) 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 was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages">Provençal dialect ...

, his mother Sara 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

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

Ann Shoemaker Ann Shoemaker (born Anne Dorothea Shoemaker; January 10, 1891 – September 18, 1978) was an American actress who appeared in 70 films and TV movies between 1928 and 1976. She portrayed Sara Roosevelt, mother of Franklin D. Roosevelt, in b ...

as Sara Roosevelt * Alan Bunce as Governor Alfred E. Smith *

Tim Considine Timothy Daniel Considine (December 31, 1940 – March 3, 2022) was an American actor, writer, photographer, and automotive historian. He was best known for his acting roles in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Early life Considine was born in Lo ...

James Roosevelt James Roosevelt II (December 23, 1907 – August 13, 1991) was an American businessman, Marine officer, activist, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician. The eldest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor R ...

* Zina Bethune as Anna Roosevelt *

Frank Ferguson Frank S. Ferguson (December 25, 1899 – September 12, 1978) was an American character actor with hundreds of appearances in both film and television. Background Ferguson was born in Ferndale, California, the younger of two children of W. Tho ...

as Dr. Bennett * Pat Close as

Elliott Roosevelt Elliott Roosevelt may refer to: * Elliott Roosevelt (socialite) (1860–1894), American socialite, father-in-law of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, father of Eleanor Roosevelt, younger brother of President Theodore Roosevelt, and grandfather of G ...

* 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 (1890), 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 ...

. 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 b ...

, 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 prov ...

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

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

. The

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, an ...

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 Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

for the 1924 convention. The film was scored by

Franz Waxman Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann; December 24, 1906February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre. His film scores include ''Bride of Frankenstein'', ''Rebecca (194 ...

Reception

The film faced competition from '' Elmer Gantry'', '' The World of Suzy Wong'', ''

The Apartment ''The Apartment'' is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray, with Ray Walston and Edie ...

'' 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 ...

'', films that all dealt with sex and that impacted the box-office performance of ''Sunrise at Campobello''. At the time the film was made, Roosevelt's affair with Lucy Mercer was not generally known and could not be portrayed on screen. The film was entered into the

2nd Moscow International Film Festival The 2nd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 9 to 23 July 1961. The Grand Prix was shared between the Japanese film '' The Naked Island'' directed by Kaneto Shindo and the Soviet film '' Clear Skies'' directed by Grigori Chukhrai. ...

. 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 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 some ...

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 glaringly 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 Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' 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 preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

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 Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

;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 in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

. Retrieved January 15, 2014. * Best Actress: Greer Garson * Best Art Direction (Color): Art Direction: Edward Carrere; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins * Best Costume Design (Color): Marjorie Best * Best Sound: Warner Bros. Studio Sound Department, George Groves, sound director

References

External links

*
''Sunrise at Campobello'' at AllMovie
* *
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 English-language biographical drama films