Underplayed Gems

Tennessee Johnson (1942)

Tennessee Johnson poster
Directed by
William Dieterle
Genre
drama film, biographical film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 40m
Rated
NR
Rating
6.4 of 10 from 9 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A film about President Andrew Johnson who takes over after Lincoln is killed. He fights with politicians who want to punish the South after the Civil War and tries to bring the country back together.

dramaticpatrioticinspirationalhistoricalseriousstirringmelodramatic

What happens

Tennessee Johnson is a 1942 American film about Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by William Dieterle. The screenplay was written by John L. Balderston and Wells Root, from a story by Milton Gunzburg and Alvin Meyers. It stars Van Heflin as Johnson, Lionel Barrymore as his nemesis Thaddeus Stevens, and Ruth Hussey as first lady Eliza McCardle Johnson. The film depicts the events surrounding Johnson's impeachment, and "presents its title character as Lincoln’s worthy successor who runs afoul of vindictive Radical Republicans." Like most U.S. historical films made during World War II, Tennessee Johnson has a strong underlying theme of national unity. The film depicts Johnson as a visionary who heals the rift between North and South despite the efforts of his shortsighted foes. In a climactic but fictional scene, he delivers an impassioned speech to the senators sitting in judgment of him, and warns them that failure to readmit the former Confederate states will leave America defenseless before its overseas foes. In fact, Johnson never appeared in person at his impeachment trial. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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