Gefährtin seines Lebens

A few years ago, I was channel surfing one weekend and saw this movie about to start on TCM. I think I was in 7th grade at that time and didn't really know much about Andrew Jackson and the ugly presidential election against John Quincy Adams in 1828. Anyway the movie is quite romantic and the two leads have great chemistry together. The ending was so sad. I know it's just a movie but it gave me a warmer interpretation of Jackson. And after learning more about in U.S. History, I understand his position in the Peggy Eaton affair. See who says you can't learn from watching movies? I certainly do. Oh and another poster asked if Rachel really died before Jackson entered the White House and to my understanding, she does.

I keep waiting to see this again on TMC. I wish I had been around to see these movies when they were first released, on the big screen. How amazing it must have been. There are some good movies released today, but on the whole, they are more childish and less adult and certainly less well scripted than movies like this.

I find it a heart-breaker, and I cry my head off at the end. Charlton Heston and Susan Hayward are magic together, and this movie is magic as well. It points back to a time when yes, there were huge flaws in Americans, racism, etc, but they were on the whole a prouder race, and had more to be proud of, if you ask me.

Charlton Heston and Susan Hayward serve as markers of the definitive pioneer spirit of Americans at that time, and as such they deliver outstanding performances as flawed but real and strong people fueled by the idealism of an America in a time of self-discovery.

I wish they could make movies like this, full of heart and devoid of PC.

Although Rachel Donelson (Susan Hayward) is married when Andrew Jackson (Charlton Heston) meets her in a log cabin at Nashville in 1791, he knows that she will be his wife some day... And it is he who accompanies her when her mother, Mrs. Donelson (Fay Bainter), sends her to Natchez to get her away from Lewis Robards (Whitfield Connor), her husband, who is making her miserable...

In a riverboat, on their way to Natchez, they are attacked by Creek Indians and the danger brings them close to each other...

When they reach Natchez, Rachel stays at the home of a relative and Andrew tells her that they can get her marriage annulled and be wed... Before they can do anything, however, Andrew receives a letter from his law partner in Nashville, John Overton (John McIntire), saying that Robards has been granted a petition for divorce on the grounds of adultery, naming Jackson as correspondent...

Andrew is humiliated by this injustice, but he feels proud of his love for Rachel and tells her so...

They get married and go back to Nashville where Andrew becomes interested in politics... Soon, however, they find out from John Overton that although Robards had been granted a petition for divorce, it had not been consummated until now; therefore, Rachel and Andrew have been living together for two years without really being married... At Rachel's insistence, they are wed again at her mother's home...

The news spreads, however, and at a party Charles Dickinson (Carl Betz) makes a remark about Andrew – 'stealing another man's wife.'

Andrew challenges him to a duel, and wounded, makes a solemn vow to Rachel that he will lift her so high that no one will ever again dare say a word against her…

It is a pity that this well directed and well acted movie was not filmed in Technicolor as Susan Hayward looked so beautiful...

One scene is particularly stunning... She's deliriously happy at the news that her husband is on his way home... Then she realizes that, having worked in the fields all day, she's messy and dirty... In desperation, she grabs a pitcher of water to wash her face and drops it on the floor... Her husband walks in as she is picking up the pieces and her expression, a mixture of wild elation and acute embarrassment, is truly incredible...

Henry Levin's film got two nominations, one for Art and Set Direction and the other for Costume Design...

Charlton Heston and Susan Hayward star in The President's Lady about President Andrew Jackson and his wife a divorcée. Susan Hayward tugged at our emotions in her films and in a career noted for brilliant work the great Lady from Brooklyn gave a touching performance in this film. Ms. Hayward a strong woman needed strong male co stars and Mr. Heston fills the bill in this film. While Garbo, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck deservedly rank among the top female film stars Ms. Hayward's also deserves inclusion for her gallery of great performances among them I Want To Live her Academy Award Winning performance.

Susan Hayward combined great sexy glamorous appeal, and was also one of the screen's top dramatic actresses during her stardom, and a worldwide box office star as well. As Daryl Zanuck noted "Susan Hayward is a our multi million dollar star"

This movie is basically factual. It gives an excellent portrayal of two complex historical characters. Heston is excellent as a strong Andrew Jackson and Hayward gives strength with a touch of humanity to Rachel Donelson Robards Jackson. You can get a feel for the ruggedness of a young Tennessee with Jackson as a person who will ascend to historical significance. It is the style of movies that you do not see anymore.

One reviewer questioned whether Rachel died before Jackson became President. Yes she died before he was sworn in as President. Many feel her health deteriorated rapidly as she faced the negative comments made about her during the election of 1828. She was ostracized because of her divorce from Robards. This mistreatment was cause for several hotheaded reactions from Andrew Jackson. This is hard for our current culture to understand since by all accounts it was likely an abusive marriage.

I know there is much disagreement regarding colorization of older movies but I would really like a colorized version of this excellent historical biography. It is a classic of this style of film.