Taps

Continuing my plan to watch every Tom Cruise movie in order, I come to his second movie, Taps (1981)

Plot In A Paragraph: Military cadets take extreme measures to insure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.

I really enjoyed this movie. It's one I had to buy for this marathon, and despite the cast, (Cruise, George C. Scott, Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn and Ronny Cox) I'm surprised I'd never heard of it before, and nobody I have spoke to remembers it. Cruise has a fairly substantial role as a hot headed cadet.

It's a really tense, engrossing, well acted and well directed movie that deserves to be seen.

Taps grossed $35 million at the domestic box office, to end the year the 16th highest grossing movie of 1981.

Hold the fort seems to be the slogan of these military cadets when they decide to rally behind TIMOTHY HUTTON who wants an armed defense of the school from authorities who want to shut it down after an accidental shooting by the presiding General Bache (GEORGE C. SCOTT). Aiding and abetting are TOM CRUISE and, in his film debut, SEAN PENN.

The tale seems highly improbable but is played so earnestly, is scripted so well, and directed so competently that it manages to hold the attention until the more or less predictable outcome.

The cadets are all extremely well played, from the very young boys to those who appear to be in their early twenties. When the authorities are unable to take back the school, the parents appeal to the children through loud speakers. "Sometimes being accepted by your friends, isn't worth the price," says one mother.

Unfortunately, the stalemate phase of the movie lasts much too long to sustain interest. But it's interesting now to watch the very young Hutton, Penn and Cruise show why they became superstars. I agree with Maltin who says it "plays its cards too soon, leaving a lot of dead weight before the outcome."

Summing up: Improbable story, but entertaining in a curious way.

Memorable line from Hutton's father resonates today: "They think you're home grown terrorists."

I first saw Taps when I was only 11 and I loved it. But at eleven I liked it for its militaristic attributes rather than its 'fight for honour' motif.

I recently, aged 31, saw it again, and, predictably, liked it for entirely different reasons. Firstly, as someone else on this sight mentioned, the film is quite beautiful to look at. The cinematography is quite stunning actually, and if you don't believe me, watch it again. Secondly the direction, writing, and editing is tight, controlled and technically fairly solid.

But what made this film for me was the impressive, inspired acting by the, at the time, young cast. I was captivated by the core trio of Cruise, Penn, and Hutton. If charisma were a concrete substance these three would have garbage bags of the stuff stowed in their cupboards.

The script was thoughtful, and, importantly, believable. The ending was very powerful......when I was eleven, but once seen, lost it's effect on subsequent viewings.

'Taps' is an uneven film, burdened somewhat by its ponderousness and pathological seriousness. But what a time capsule!

Of all of the young actors here, only Timothy Hutton was already a star, having become the youngest actor ever to win an Oscar for his role in Robert Redford's 'Ordinary People.' Ironically, among the suporting actors in 'Taps' are Tom Cruise and Sean Penn, one of whom has become the biggest box office draw of his generation and the other its most respected acting talent. Also featured are Evan Handler, best-known as Harry Goldenblatt (Charlotte's divorce lawyer and second husband) on TV's 'Sex and the City,' and Spike Lee favorite Giancarlo Esposito, whose credits include 'The Usual Suspects' and the much-underappreciated TV series 'Homicide: Life on the Streets.'

Even if you find 'Taps' a little overblown and pretentious, it's worth watching to see these accomplished actors back in their baby-faced teens.

Taps is about the cadets of Bunker Hill Military Academy and their commanding officer, George C. Scott, and their reaction to the news of the closing of the Academy.

Scott announces at the graduation that the next year will be the final year of Bunker Hill. The Board of Trustees is selling off the place for its prime real estate value to be used for condominium development. Certainly an occurrence we've seen all over the country in many places and not something really desirable in many.

Cadet Major Timothy Hutton knows he will head the last graduating class at Bunker Hill. He and fellow cadets like Sean Penn and Tom Cruise aren't taking it lying down. They may be military cadets, but they've seen and grown up with student protests. Only these students have weapons and are trained in their use.

Can you really blame the cadets like Hutton who've actually in fact forgotten that soldiers carry out and don't make policy? I think it was significant that during the course of Taps it's mentioned that George C. Scott served with General Douglas MacArthur who gave him a sword for his service. It's also mentioned that Scott was passed over for promotion an advancement beyond being a brigadier general and was retired comfortably out to pasture at the Academy.

Scott's not the same kind of military man you see in Patton. Rather he's a lot like the Patton you see in that television film, Patton, the Last Days. A man so totally out of his element that when the accident and broken neck occurred he'd lost his will to live.

Anyway after a scuffle with some of the town louts who are less than enamored of Bunker Hill's military tradition. A town kid is accidentally killed when he tries to get Scott's military issue pistol and it discharges. In a court of law, the man would have been acquitted, but Scott answers to a higher law he lives by.

That scuffle threatens to close the school even for the last year and the kids seize it. It's a confrontation then between idealistic and wrongheaded youth and the real forces of law enforcement.

Ronny Cox contributes a very nice performance as the commanding general of the National Guard trying to keep a lid on the situation. His scenes with the idealistic and obstinate Hutton are the highlight of the film for me.

Tom Cruise and Sean Penn got their first real notice in this film right at the start of their respective mega-careers. Hutton has a nice followup to his Oscar winning performance from Ordinary People. And George C. Scott is, George C. Scott.