The Hasty Heart (1949)

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Am I Missing Something?

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Most of the ground has already been covered. I would add that, for 1949, the script was Liberal by American standards. The African ( played by a Nigerian not a South African as in the script ) is sharing a military ward with the whites. The dialogue reveals an admiration for the black South Africans who save up their pay for a whole year - whereas the whites were liable to blow their earnings on a drunken binge! Also worthy of note was that this was the first time that Ronald Reagan worked in a Socialist country for any length of time. 1949 London was dreary, struggling place. His experience of the impracticality of Socialist policies being implemented was burned into his mind. As they say, the rest is history!

This film was a complete surprise as to how excellent it was. Not a surprise was Patricia Neal's usual outstanding performance. Ronald Reagan proved to be much more than a B movie actor though. This is far and away his most outstanding performance and shows that his acting ability was as good as anybody's from that time. I'm also very surprised that this film is not more well known. Reagan's role as "the Gipper" in Knute Rockne All-American is obviously memorable and outstanding particularly during his hospital scene. And for Reagan to be known as the Gipper instead of the Yank makes sense. But again, this performance as Yank is clearly superior to any other role he performed including the Gipper.

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.

(CAVEAT: possible 'spoiler') I'll be the skunk at the garden party by opining that this flick in no way rates the 3.5 stars Maltin gives it, nor the raves from other viewers. While this is one of the better efforts I've seen from Reagan, Richard Todd, whose work I usually like, turns in a poor performance here. (Part of the problem is the patently contrived nature of the plot and the plot devices.) Todd's character is supposed to be unpleasant and unlikable at the outset; Todd pushes these traits to implausibility. His character reversal at the end is too sudden to be believable (especially as he plays it). The ending is inappropriately cheerful in light of the fact that, despite the reconciliation, Todd's character still faces an unpleasant death. Somehow we're supposed to ignore that in light of the festive goings-on. Not recommended.