Fdr
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Narrator: David McCullough.
# Filmed by David Grubin Prods. and WGBH/Boston. Executive producer, Judith Crichton; producer/writer, David Grubin; senior producers, Chana Gazit, Margaret Drain; Docu admirably explores the Roosevelt lore and legend, and how noblesse oblige prevailed. For those who don't know the Roosevelts, Grubin fills out their story with effective newsreel footage, home movies, stills, interviews and headlines.
Second-guessing by interviewees about feelings or reactions is worrisome, but on the whole, Grubin's production, with its wealth of details, is nothing short of stunning.
Exquisitely edited, backed by Michael Bacon's appropriate music -- often just a piano or a banjo -- the program has been fashioned by Grubin into a dramatic whole. FDR's stature grows with the list of his political and personal accomplishments; his failings are human, and so, all the more surprising.
First two hours cover the Roosevelts' lives and influences pre-1932, including his polio and his infidelity. The second episode covers the presidential years. He came into office during the Great Depression, raised people's hopes, divided classes, saw the country through World War II.
Using newsreels, photos and voiceovers, Grubin catches the nation's pain, need and hopelessness. The New Deal's social reforms, such as the National Recovery Act and the Works Progress Administration, are ticked off, and FDR's style is showcased. Two of his major achievements were getting hopes up and the economy moving; as Dick Powell chirps in a featurette for theaters, "'Cause the Road Is Open Again!"
After their shattering personal experiences, the Roosevelts, man and wife, found themselves reaching out from sheltered lives to help others. Roosevelt earned the loathing of the wealthy because he was supposed to have betrayed them; but he had adoration from where it counted -- the average citizen.
FDR, the only son of domineering Sara Roosevelt and pretty much a lightweight , fell in love with and married his distant cousin Eleanor, niece of President Theodore Roosevelt. Eleanor, plain at best, tried domesticity, bore six children and waited for Franklin; he was, she discovered, romancing Lucy Mercer.
The affair would become a spur to Eleanor's independence, self-assertion and concern for people less fortunate. FDR's polio, striking him after he ran unsuccessfully for vice president, would eventually change his attitudes and open his eyes to others' suffering. Because of individual adversities, they both explored new depths; Eleanor stayed with him because it was the thing to do.
His final betrayal of Eleanor is tough to accept, but her recognition of the public's devotion to him reportedly softened her feelings -- or strengthened her resolve to stay.
FDR's duplicity in politics and in his personal life isn't attractive. He knew how to handle people, how to enchant folks with his optimism, and didn't hesitate to use these skills to accomplish his goals. He said to Orson Welles, "You and I are the two best actors in America." Harry Truman, then a senator, observed, "The trouble with the president is that he lies."
Program reveals how FDR's paralysis was kept from the public. Voters wouldn't think him strong enough to lead, it was felt, if they knew of his helpless physical condition. He seemed to walk (a four-second film clip shows how he managed), but it was only for show.
He needed steel braces (painted black to hide them), a cane, someone's strong arm and his own powerful upper torso, since not only his legs but his hips were useless. FDR biographer Hugh Gallagher notes, "People were more polite back then , and the press loved Franklin Roosevelt."
FDR was a master charmer, whether on an individual basis, addressing thousands (as in his Ebbets Field speech when he was so ill), or giving radio Fireside Chats to millions. FDR was the president who, serving hot dogs to the King and Queen of England, brought British anger and GOP disdain upon himself, but the royals liked him.
FDR, as so clearly demonstrated in the intimate docu, was as much loved as any president ever has been. As Churchill said of him, "Meeting Roosevelt was like uncorking your first bottle of champagne." Here he is.
Camera, William B. McCullough, Roger Phenix; editors, Susan Fanshel, Geof Bartz; sound, Phenix; music, Michael Bacon. 270 MIN.
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