The Man Without a Country

"A Man Without a Country" is an exceptional piece of film work considering it was made for television. Normally, you'd expect less...and I was thrilled when I watched this again, as I only saw it when it originally aired and I was quite young at the time.

The story is fictional but the way it's constructed you might think it's a true story. Philip Nolan (Cliff Robertson) spends his life aboard US Navy ships but never gets to see the United States itself. So, when the ship approaches the American coast, he's transferred to another ship. Why such a bizarre existence? It seems that when he was young, he was involved with a treasonous plot involving Aaron Burr. When he was brought up on charges since he was in the US Navy, instead of taking his punishment he was very mouthy at the hearing and said, in essence, he never wanted to see the USA again. So, a bizarre punishment was meted out...and thus he spent the rest of his life on the seas...never seeing his home. But he manages to change a lot over the years and becomes a valuable crew member during the War of 1812....and comes to love and appreciate America. Can a young officer on a crusade manage to get a pardon for poor Nolan?

This featured so much to love--an excellent cast (Cliff Robertson, Beau Bridges, Peter Strauss, Robert Ryan and Walter Abel), a sad and interesting story and lovely production values. Although this is a bit cerebral and many kids and action film fans won't like it, I think it's one of the better made for TV films of the era.

After 27 years, Robertson's portrayal of Nolan, the man who wishes never to see or hear of his country again, still smoulders in the memory. The closing scenes are heart-rending to anyone who has ever felt more than the slightest stir of patriotic sentiment or homesickness for a distant country. This is a classic version of a classic American story, in which a "merciful" sentence proves to be more diabolical and Draconian than poor Nolan could have ever imagined. Before there was Kafka or Orwell, there was "The Man Without a Country."