Turner Classic Movies will be running "1776" on the 4th at 11:30 AM Eastern. Check you local listings.
This diary is a re-run, originally published on July, 4 2008:
Every year on the 4th of July, my family sits down to watch the film, "1776." Besides just being appropriate to the holiday, it is a good movie. Musical, to be more precise.
If you don't know what I'm talking about read about it here. "1776" is a musical written by Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone. It was a stage play (it won the Tony Award for Best Musical of 1969) before Columbia Pictures committed it to film and released it in 1972, just 4 years shy of the Bicentennial.
Come down below the fold to find out more...
"1776" is drawn from the Congressional Record, biographical journals, family accounts, personal letters, et cetera. The writers took poetic license, as all writers do. But there is much that is factual in the screenplay and even the songs. Large portions of spoken and sung dialog are taken directly from the letters and memoirs of the actual participants. While it isn't a perfect history lesson, it is enough to get one headed in the right direction.
The major characters are Johns Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, portrayed by William Daniels, Henry Da Silva and Ken Howard, respectively. The rest of the Continental Congress are all here, including John Hancock, Caesar Rodney, Roger Sherman, Edward Rutledge and Robert Livingston, to name a few. Even Abigail Adams and Martha Jefferson make appearances. It is set during the late spring/early summer of 1776, when the Congress was beset by an undeclared war, an ill-equipped army, an uncertain future, heat and flies. Oh, and John Adam's incessant cajoling about the question of American independence.
The story of how these men came to do something that had never been done in the history of mankind is fascinating. Their rivalries, their faults, their dreams... we get them all, good and bad. This is no sugar-coated, sweetness and light independence story. But it is family-safe. No bad language (ok, a reference to "drinking and whoring"), no violence, no sex (save a very long kiss between the Jeffersons). There is comedy and pathos in equal measure.
One of my favorite bits is when Adams offers his view of how history will remember him - or, more precisely, forget him - while venerating Franklin:
"It doesn't matter. I won't be in the history books anyway, only you. Franklin did this and Franklin did that and Franklin did some other damn thing. Franklin smote the ground and out sprang George Washington, fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightning rod and the three of them- Franklin, Washington, and the horse- conducted the entire revolution by themselves."
Of course, Adams did say this, only not while Franklin was still alive. But, as poetic license goes, this is harmless and quite funny. Especially when Franklin, after a brief moment's thought says, "I like it." Because you know he would have.
Even though license was taken, there is quite a lot of historical accuracy here. The names of the Congressmen, the clothing (more muted and natural fiber clothing from the New Englanders and fancy clothes worn by the Southerners), the custom of "applauding" by banging walking sticks on the wooden floor. And the noble actions of Caesar Rodney who, even though he was sick with cancer AND leading the Delaware militia against a loyalist uprising, rode from Delaware to Philadelphia. Rodney made the 80 mile trek from Dover to Philadelphia in a thunderstorm. On horseback. In record time. His presence broke the tie vote of his three-man delegation and placed his colony in the "Yea" column.
Oh, and the Declaration... the birth certificate of this nation. I dare you not to tear up when the final words are read out: And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor. That boy Jefferson sure could write!
The songs are one of my favorite things about the film. They are catchy as heck (I'll be singing "Sit Down John" for weeks after this). And funny. Well, some of them are funny. One song will have you in tears; "Mama Look Sharp" is about a soldier who dies in a battle. Have a tissue handy.
Momma, hey momma, come lookin' for me
I'm here in the meadow by the red maple tree
Momma, hey momma, look sharp, here I be
Hey, hey, momma look sharp
Them soldiers, they fired. Oh ma, did we run
But then we turned round and the battle begun
Then I went under, oh ma, am I done?
Hey, hey, momma look sharp
My eyes are wide open, my face to the sky
Is that you I'm hearin' in the tall grass nearby?
Momma come find me before I do die
Hey, hey, momma look sharp
I'll close your eyes, my Billy
Them eyes that cannot see
And I'll bury you, my Billy
Beneath the maple tree
And never again will you whisper to me
Hey, hey, momma look sharp
There is a very intense song about the slave trade ("Molasses to Rum to Slaves") sung by Edward Rutledge (John Cullum - yes, the one from Northern Exposure) of South Carolina. It points out quite a few unspoken truths about the relationship between New England and the South when it came to the issue of slavery. The argument over the slavery clause in the Declaration caused the South to walk out and could have killed the idea of independence were it left in. Adams was furious and said that, "...if we give in on this issue, posterity will never forgive us." But, as Franklin points out, "...First things first, John. Independence; America. If we don't secure that, what difference will the rest make?" According to writings, Adams had actually predicted trouble on this issue "a hundred years hence" but Sherman Edwards thought nobody would believe that Adams was so prescient so he left it out. Maybe Adams was psychic?
But the last song... the last song is sung by John Adams and based loosely on his writings about the day and how it would celebrated. It always gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes. And them Repugs say we aren't patriotic!
Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?
They want to me to quit; they say
John, give up the fight
Still to England I say
Good night, forever, good night!
For I have crossed the Rubicon
Let the bridge be burned behind me
Come what may, come what may
Commitment!
The croakers all say we'll rue the day
There'll be hell to pay in fiery purgatory
Through all the gloom, through all the gloom
I see the rays of ravishing light and glory!
Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?
I see fireworks! I see the pageant and
Pomp and parade
I hear the bells ringing out
I hear the cannons roar
I see Americans - all Americans
Free forever more
How quiet, how quiet the chamber is
How silent, how silent the chamber is
Is anybody there? Does anybody care?
Does anybody see what I see?
Say what you will about John Adams but he was a dogged little cuss.
The DVD has restored footage which Columbia cut to placate Richard Nixon. That's right, Tricky Dick was a long-distance movie editor. An entire song was cut and, luckily, saved by the director. "Cool, Cool, Considerate Men" is sung by the...um...Right-leaning members of Congress:
To the right, ever to the right
Never to the left, forever to the right
We have gold, a market that will hold
Tradition that is old, a reluctance to be bold.
Nice to know some things never change, eh?
Set the DVR if you must. This movie is funny and touching; a must-see. Movie musicals like this aren't trendy nowadays. But I highly recommend that you give this one a shot. Especially considering that the subject matter and the holiday could hardly coincide more happily.