Love is in the air in the second season of Turn, including a new twist on the story of Benedict Arnold. However, I have to wonder why the producers decided to make a historical show other than to film people plotting and struggling with conflicted romantic entanglements while wearing fancy clothes. While little is known about the period of the Vikings, honestly, a lot is known about the American Revolution, but the producers do not seem very interested in the actual history. Read More…
Realizing that the British have a spy in the rebel army, Major Benjamin Tallmadge (Seth Numrich) recruits childhood friends Abraham Woodhull (Jamie Bell), Anna Strong (Heather Lind) and Caleb Brewster (Daniel Henshall) to form the Culper Ring in order to smuggle information from British-controlled New York to the rebel army. The show is an interesting look at the American Revolution but it would have worked better if it focused more on the spy ring and less on Woodhull’s romantic entanglements. Read More…
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In 1780, the war between the British and the American rebels is five-years-old, and has reached a stalemate. The chief intelligence officer for George Washington and the head of the Culper Spy Ring, searches for the agent who is sending the British vital military information, but learns too late that it is the famous hero, Major General Benedict Arnold. While the balanced treatment of both sides is praiseworthy, and the examination of the early intelligence service is worthwhile, it is not director John Sturges’ best film. In fact, everyone is too stiff, aside from Michael Wilding, who plays Major John Andre, a British army officer and Arnold’s contact, who was hung as a spy. Although the movie is worth watching for Wilding’s performance, it is regrettable that the script focuses on the tragic death of Andre, not the vanity and character flaws that drove Benedict Arnold to betray his country. Read More…
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Although John Paul Jones (1959) gets the basic facts right, Robert Stack’s portrayal of the famous captain in the rebel navy during the American Revolution is a two-dimensional stock hero who has John Paul Jones’ bravery but otherwise bears little resemblance to the real man. Read More…
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Bursting with patriotism, The Howards of Virginia (1940) captures the growing conflict between the American colonists and Britain that led to the American Revolution, but it loses its way once the revolution actually starts. Read More…
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Although it presents the decisive Saratoga campaign during the American revolution, The Devil’s Disciple (1959) is both inaccurate and boring. Read More…
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Although visually stunning, Revolution (1985) offers only glimpses of the American Revolution. Read More…
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The Patriot (2000) examines partisan warfare in the south during the American Revolution, but it overdoses on flag waving, and is a deliberately misleading mix of fact and fiction. Read More…
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Although Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) is not one of John Ford’s best movies, it is worth watching since there are only a handful of movies on the American Revolution. Read More…