Richard Todd single-handedly makes something special and worth seeing out of "The Hasty Heart," a stage-to-film-adaptation about a group of convalescing WWII soldiers awaiting orders that they can go home after the war has ended.
One of them won't be going home, but he doesn't know it. He has a terminal kidney condition that has left him with weeks to live, and those left with him, his fellow soldiers and a caring nurse, played by Patricia Neal, she of the mega-watt smile, have to balance their sense of compassion with the fact that they don't really like this dude very much, at least not at first.
And for good reason. Richard Todd plays the dying soldier, and his creation is fascinating. Socially awkward doesn't even begin to describe the prickly Scotchman, who compensates for his awkwardness by being belligerent and off putting. Then, when the others have finally broken through his shell with an act of kindness, it's almost heartbreaking to see how desperately he clings to their friendship, like the dorky outcast in school who responds disproportionately to the slightest hint of friendliness. Todd's performance is original and remarkable, and deservedly won him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 1949, the only nomination of his career.
Grade: A.
One of them won't be going home, but he doesn't know it. He has a terminal kidney condition that has left him with weeks to live, and those left with him, his fellow soldiers and a caring nurse, played by Patricia Neal, she of the mega-watt smile, have to balance their sense of compassion with the fact that they don't really like this dude very much, at least not at first.
And for good reason. Richard Todd plays the dying soldier, and his creation is fascinating. Socially awkward doesn't even begin to describe the prickly Scotchman, who compensates for his awkwardness by being belligerent and off putting. Then, when the others have finally broken through his shell with an act of kindness, it's almost heartbreaking to see how desperately he clings to their friendship, like the dorky outcast in school who responds disproportionately to the slightest hint of friendliness. Todd's performance is original and remarkable, and deservedly won him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 1949, the only nomination of his career.
Grade: A.