Today’s movie is a period drama with a scene that happens on
August 17. Watch it tonight and enjoy.
MY BOY JACK
Jack is the son of the
uber-nationalist and famous author Rudyard Kipling. He has terrible myopia and
is rejected by the army and the navy on the eve of World War I, but is
delighted when his father uses his political connections to get him a
commission in a Irish regiment when war begins. Kipling senior served on the
propaganda committee that handled how war news was presented. Jack does very well
in his training and does a good job with the men he is given to lead. His
mother and sister are not very happy about Jack going to war and they say a
tearful goodbye when Jack heads back after his last leave. The regiment is sent
to the front. On August 17, 1915, his family toast Jack’s birthday at home,
while he gets the word of their going ‘over the top’ tomorrow. [48:54 to
51:49] The next day Jack leads his
platoon into no-man’s land. The Kiplings get a telegram that Jack is reported
missing, presumed wounded. His mother starts a desperate quest to learn what
has happened to him, talking to the Red Cross, the high command and other
survivors of the battle, while Kipling senior knows in his heart that Jack is
dead.. Eventually from a survivor of Jack’s platoon they learn Jack and some
men reached the German trench, but was killed leading the survivors in an
attack on a machine gun nest. The
Kiplings are devastated, but resolve to carry on.
A sad and sweet story. Portrays the mixed emotions of those
who fight and those left behind. A very good performance by Daniel
Radcliff.
Rudyard Kipling by Lord Birkenhead (Random House, New
York, 1978) gives the date of Jack’s birthday at page 188
Director - Brian Kirk
Producer - Michael Casey
Screenplay - David
Haig
Released - November 11, 2007
Runtime - 93 minutes
Starring –
David Haig as Rudyard Kipling
Daniel Radcliffe as Jack Kipling
Kim Cattrall as Caroline Kipling
Carey Mulligan as Elsie 'Bird' Kipling
Martin McCann as Bowe
Julian Wadham as King George V
Richard Dormer as Corporal O'Leary
Ruaidhri Conroy as Guardsman McHugh
Laurence Kinlan as Guardsman Doyle
Nick Dunning as Colonel Ferguson
Bill Milner as Peter Carter
Michael McElhatton as Leo Amery, MP
Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment