Plot
Hollywood films about the Revolutionary War almost invariably lost money at the box office, and The Howards of Virginia was no exception, despite the presence of Cary Grant in the lead. Most of the story takes place in the colonial capital city of Williamsburg, Virginia, where Matt Howard (Cary Grant) dedicates himself to the causes of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Remaining faithfully at Matt's side through his early years as a frontiersman and on into his life among the "landed gentry" is his wife Jane Peyton Howard (Martha Scott), the sister of unregenerate royalist Fleetwood Peyton (Cedric Hardwicke).Most of the high points of the Revolution are herein recreated, including the Stamp Act riots, the Boston Tea Party, and Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty" speech. Curiously, however, director Frank Lloyd stages these scenes in a flat, near-throwaway fashion; even the inflammatory Henry (Richard Gaines) is hampered by unimaginative camera angles. Other historical personages parading through the film include Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, played respectively by Richard Carlson and George Houston. Though it's rather rough sledding in its feature-length version, The Howards of Virginia plays quite well in the half-hour abridgement prepared by Columbia for schoolroom showings. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Review
The movies have never produced a more talented leading man than Cary Grant, but as The Howards of Virginia regrettably demonstrates, not even Grant could do everything. This may imply that Grant is bad in Howards, but that's not necessarily the case: he's merely miscast. The audience is asked to accept that Grant is an unsophisticated, Revolutionary War era man of the people, but Grant's debonair quality still comes through. It's curious exactly why he can't keep this under control in Howards, for there are one or two other films in which he more convincingly portrays a man of simple means, but for whatever reason, it's beyond him here. That said, Grant's enormous charm is still present, so even though his performance is at odds with the character, it's still pleasant company. There's no problem with Martha Scott, who plays his soul mate as if she were born to the role, and Cedric Hardwicke is equally at home as her loyalist father. Unfortunately, Sidney Buchman's screenplay comes across as rather tired and requires the viewer to make an effort to follow it, and Frank LLoyd's merely okay direction doesn't help matters. ~ Craig Butler, RoviCast
- Cary Grant - Matt Howard
- Martha Scott - Jan Peyton-Howard
- Cedric Hardwicke - Fleetwood Peyton
- Alan Marshal - Roger Peyton
- Richard Carlson - Thomas Jefferson
Credit
John B. Goodman - Art Director, Waldo Twitchell - Consultant/advisor, Irene Saltern - Costume Designer, Frank Lloyd - Director, Paul Weatherwax - Editor, Richard Hageman - Composer (Music Score), Bert Glennon - Cinematographer, Frank Lloyd - Producer, Howard Bristol - Set Designer, Slavko Vorkapich - Special Effects, Jack Whitney - Sound/Sound Designer, Sidney Buchman - Screenwriter, Elizabeth Page - Book Author| The Howard Case (1936 Film), The Houston Story (1956 Film) | |
| The Howlin' Wolf Story (2003 Film), The Howling (1981 Film) |
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