Friday, July 18, 2014

July 18 - Glory

Today’s film is a war movie with a scene that happens on July 18. I hope you will watch this film tonight and enjoy it.


GLORY                                   


Captain Robert Gould Shaw is injured in the Battle of Sharpsburg and learns afterwards that President Lincoln is planning to free the slaves. Back in Boston, he is promoted to Colonel and made commander of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry regiment, which is to be the first all-colored regiment. Shaw asks his friend, Cabot Forbes to be his second-in-command. Many African-American men volunteer for the regiment.  Sergeant Major Mulcahy drills the men incessantly. When told that African-Americans could be executed if captured, none of the men request a discharge. The regiment finally gets their rifles.  Shaw has to browbeat a supply sergeant to get proper boots for the men. The men are told they are only to be paid $10 a month, rather than $13 like white troops. The regiment finally gets uniforms and are sent to Beaufort, South Carolina. The regiment and Colonel James Montgomery’s unit march on Darien, Georgia.  Montgomery’s men start looting and burning, in spite of Shaw’s protests.  Shaw blackmails Col. Montgomery and Gen. Harker into letting the regiment go into combat instead of serving as manual labor. They are sent to James Island, near Charleston and get their first taste of combat, driving off a Confederate attack, but suffering casualties.  At dusk on July 18, 1863, [1:35:55 to 1:52:20] the regiment leads the assault on Fort Wagner. Shaw is killed and the attack is repulsed with the regiment taking over 50% casualties. 
                    
An excellent combat film. The film is very historically accurate in its uniforms and equipment. All the actors give very good performances, making this a character film and not just an action movie.

Battery Wagner by Timothy Bradshaw, Jr. (Palmetto Historical Works, Columbia, SC, 1993) at pages 45-60 gives the date of the assault

Awards – The film won the Best Supporting Actor(Washington), Best Sound and Best  Cinematography Oscars and was nominated for the Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing Oscars at the 82nd Academy Awards. 

Producer -Freddie Fields        
               
Director - Edward Zwick                        

Screenplay - Kevin Jarre                         

Runtime – 2 hours   2 minutes                 

Released – December 14, 1989               

Starring –

Matthew Broderick as Col.Robert Gould Shaw
Denzel Washington as Private Silas Trip
Morgan Freeman as Sgt. Major John Rawlins
Cary Elwes as Major Cabot Forbes
Cliff De Young as Col. James Montgomery
Andre Braugher as Private Thomas Searles
Jihmi Kennedy as Private Jupiter Sharts
Alan North as Mass.Gov.John Albion Andrew
John Finn as Sergeant Major Mulcahy
Donovan Leitch as Capt. Charles F. Morse
Bob Gunton as General Charles Garrison Harker
Jay O. Sanders as Gen. George Crockett Strong
Raymond St. Jacques as Frederick Douglass


Copyright by Ivan Walters 2014. 



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