The Roosevelt presidency is recalled through the reflections of first Lady Eleanor in this award worthy sequel to the first Roosevelt movie the year before, making this one of the best sequels ever made. Jane Alexander and Edward Herrman are reunited (along with several others) as the film begins on the day of Roosevelt's first inauguration and heads throughout the war as Eleanor remains faithfully by his side and becomes one of the most beloved people in the world after his death.
Wanting to be much more than a first lady who does nothing more than stand and shakes stranger's hands, Eleanor fights for civil rights for minorities and travels the world while FDR creates tons of social programs to help America get past the great depression. Walter McGinn repeats his role as the devoted Louis Howe, and Rosemary Murphy continues on as his mother. An important addition to the cast (and FDR's staff) is Priscilla Pointer as his devoted secretary Marguerite Missy LeHand. This focuses mainly on the war years but does have flashbacks of instances from the past, newly filmed, showing the devotion of FDR and Eleanor to each other in spite of the lack of intimacy, especially when son Jimmy is ill.
Both Herrman and Alexander are superb, but it's told from Eleanor's point of view and she gets to show a nice sense of humor, telling a very funny joke about am American soldier confronting a Japanese soldier in the battle lines fox hole, then comforting an ailing soldier in a military hospital while she's touring the country. This is an excellent historical film that covers a lot of ground, features a terrific ensemble and in spite of obvious flaws, both FDR and Eleanor are quite grounded. No war is not without its victims, but the warmth and support of the leader of the free world makes getting through it a lot easier, especially thanks to the cause of freedom to. Nearly flawless and definitely a must for movies about American history, even if the Roosevelt story has been done over and over.
Wanting to be much more than a first lady who does nothing more than stand and shakes stranger's hands, Eleanor fights for civil rights for minorities and travels the world while FDR creates tons of social programs to help America get past the great depression. Walter McGinn repeats his role as the devoted Louis Howe, and Rosemary Murphy continues on as his mother. An important addition to the cast (and FDR's staff) is Priscilla Pointer as his devoted secretary Marguerite Missy LeHand. This focuses mainly on the war years but does have flashbacks of instances from the past, newly filmed, showing the devotion of FDR and Eleanor to each other in spite of the lack of intimacy, especially when son Jimmy is ill.
Both Herrman and Alexander are superb, but it's told from Eleanor's point of view and she gets to show a nice sense of humor, telling a very funny joke about am American soldier confronting a Japanese soldier in the battle lines fox hole, then comforting an ailing soldier in a military hospital while she's touring the country. This is an excellent historical film that covers a lot of ground, features a terrific ensemble and in spite of obvious flaws, both FDR and Eleanor are quite grounded. No war is not without its victims, but the warmth and support of the leader of the free world makes getting through it a lot easier, especially thanks to the cause of freedom to. Nearly flawless and definitely a must for movies about American history, even if the Roosevelt story has been done over and over.