The President's Lady

Seeing how I had just started my usual Epics marathon a little earlier than Easter time this year and that it happened to be Andrew Jackson's birthday yesterday, I made it a point to catch up with both the original 1938 Cecil B. De Mille production of THE BUCCANEER as well as Charlton Heston's first stab at the role (the second would, of course, occur in the 1958 remake of the latter) in the film under review which, incidentally, I have missed out on several times on Italian TV over the years thinking it more a "woman's picture" than a historical epic. While the latter suspicion turned out to be true enough, it also proved more enjoyable and even compelling than I had initially envisaged.

20th Century Fox's current diva, Susan Hayward, plays the titular role of Rachel Donaldson and it is just one of many real-life women she vividly portrayed on the screen: from Bathsheba to Messalina, from Jane Froman to Lillian Roth, culminating in her Oscar-winning turn as Barbara Grahame in I WANT TO LIVE! (1958). The story, narrated in the first person by Hayward herself, starts with her very first meeting with Andrew Jackson, then a budding Nashville lawyer in partnership with an older one (John McIntire). The two fall for each other instantly and they do not shirk from displaying it to everybody else…even down to having Hayward's unpleasant husband returning unannounced to break up their square dance! This sets off a feud between Jackson and the Donaldsons (who also include matriarch Fay Bainter) on one side and the Robards (including a brother named Jason!!) that hounds the increasingly prestigious couple till the end of her days. In the eyes of the close-minded Nashville community, the feisty Hayward willfully destroyed her marriage to pursue the brash new-kid-in-town Heston – even if her husband had actually been having an affair with his Creole maid behind closed doors right under the nose of his dying mother (Margaret Wycherley)!

Once Jackson's career as a lawyer takes off, he is soon appointed the regional Attorney General but still takes time off to romance Donaldson while employed as an Indian trapper on a treacherous riverside trip she is undertaking to escape from her husband's wrath. Reaching Natchez, they are mistakenly informed that her husband's plea for divorce had been accepted and they marry immediately; it turns out that divorce claim was premature and on and on they go to more public shunning (including after an all-important horse race Heston wins against Charles Dingle that leads to a fatal duel) and, ultimately, public shaming when Senator Jackson joins the U.S. Presidential race that, we are told here, he wins on the very day he lost his sickly wife. Indeed, we had previously watched a lonely Hayward undergoing many hardships while taking care of her two homesteads at the same time that Heston is battling the British in New Orleans or other senators in Washington. The barren woman had also had her adopted Indian child (brought back home by Jackson after one of his campaigns) die on her while she was engaged in yet another fruitless attempt to be accepted as an equal by the unforgiving female community! Although I have no clue as to how accurate the melodramatic events depicted here are or not (they are based on an Irving Stone book, whose later biographies of Vincent Van Gogh and Michelangelo were also filmed, the latter with Heston himself), the resulting film is good to look at and listen to: Leo Tover was the cinematographer, Alfred Newman provided the fine score and both the production and costume designs garnered Oscar nods.

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.

The figure of Andrew Jackson in American history is one that is constantly being reevaluated by historians. He was the champion of the common man in his day though the qualification should be made, the common white man. He was a slave owner, unapologetic in that regard, and American Indians have no cause to love him as he favored their complete removal to west of the Mississippi in his time.

Yet at the same time he was the spearhead of a movement to grant the franchise to the common Caucasian man. He was the first president who came from west of the Appalachians having moved from South Carolina to Tennessee which served as his base his whole political career. Our first six presidents came from the landed gentry who were the original founding fathers. Jackson worked his way up from poverty and never forget his roots no matter how rich he became.

Jackson was also the ideal of the frontier civilian soldier. Though with no military training so to speak, he distinguished himself in campaigns against the Indians and won an impressive victory at New Orleans beating some of the best of Wellington's Army from the Peninsular War in Europe. That victory is what sealed his reputation and eventually put him in the White House.

Irving Stone's biographical novel on which The President's Lady is based concentrates not on Jackson the historical figure, but on the love affair between Andrew Jackson and Rachel Donelson Robards. Rachel is played by Susan Hayward and she's a frontier woman and was until the day she died. Their love gets off to a rocky start because Rachel is divorced from her first husband Lewis Robards and weds Andrew thinking the divorce is final. In fact it wasn't and technically she was guilty of bigamy. They had to marry again and Jackson always defended his wife's honor by any means necessary as the film shows.

Charlton Heston came over from his home studio of Paramount to play Andrew Jackson in this 20th Century Fox production. He plays the tempestuous Jackson and it became one of the roles he was most identified with even after he was Moses in The Ten Commandments. In fact he played Jackson again in the DeMille supervised remake of The Buccaneer.

What The President's Lady does lack is any development of secondary characters. This film is strictly a star's vehicle. But when you got a pair of stars like Susan Hayward and Charlton Heston maybe it doesn't matter.

The film ends with the presidential campaign of 1828 and it was one of the nastiest in our history. The elite of the east knew it would lose power and fought with everything they could throw. Rachel's two divorces became campaign fodder.

By the way the Jackson camp weren't exactly shrinking violets either in this race. Still it did get down and dirty when it came to her.

The President's Lady holds up very well for today's audience and if Andrew Jackson is no political hero for good reasons to a lot of people, he was in fact a great romantic figure and more than a model husband. In fact it's really what The President's Lady is all about.

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'm delighted to see so many favorable reviews for this excellent picture. Released the same year CinemaScope made its splashy debut, 'The President's Lady' is a mid-sized production in b&w of typically high 20th-Fox quality. It would have been interesting if John Ford had directed it (it's his kind of film), but as it is, it is a minor classic all by itself, and Henry Levin did a great job.

The score by Alfred Newman deserves special mention. Not only is it moving and poignant in all the right moments, it is positive and robust and helps make the picture succeed on every level. It's a typical Newman score, which means music of extraordinary depth and quality.

Leo Tover's camera-work adds to the luster of this fine film. I can only request that it appear on DVD, for we enthusiasts, if no one else.