The Howards of Virginia (1940)The film is set in colonial Virginia between the 1750s and 1781. Matt Howard (Cary Grant), orphaned son of a backwoods Virginia farmer... See full synopsis » Director:Frank Lloyd |
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The Howards of Virginia (1940)The film is set in colonial Virginia between the 1750s and 1781. Matt Howard (Cary Grant), orphaned son of a backwoods Virginia farmer... See full synopsis » Director:Frank Lloyd |
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Cary Grant | ... |
Matt Howard
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| Martha Scott | ... |
Jane Peyton-Howard
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| Cedric Hardwicke | ... |
Fleetwood Peyton
(as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
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Alan Marshal | ... |
Roger Peyton
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| Richard Carlson | ... | ||
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Paul Kelly | ... |
Capt. Jabez Allen
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Irving Bacon | ... |
Tom Norton
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Elisabeth Risdon | ... |
Aunt Clarissa
(as Elizabeth Risdon)
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Anne Revere | ... |
Mrs. Betsy Norton
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Tom Drake | ... |
James Howard at 16
(as Richard Alden)
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Phil Taylor | ... |
Peyton Howard at 18
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Rita Quigley | ... |
Mary Howard at 17
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Libby Taylor | ... |
Dicey
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Richard Gaines | ... | |
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George Houston | ... | |
The film is set in colonial Virginia between the 1750s and 1781. Matt Howard (Cary Grant), orphaned son of a backwoods Virginia farmer... See full synopsis »
Simpler than it first appears. This movie tries to be an epic about a frontier man transformed into a civic and military leader - but it doesn't try that hard. Cary Grant doesn't look like he knows quite how to play this guy, and I don't blame him. The material isn't wonderful, although it's a nice story. The wrong elements of the plot are emphasized, and the character of Matthew Howard is less a complicated man than a simple cypher.
It's not a bad movie by any means, but it looks like it's trying desperately to copy "A Tale of Two Cities" and "Gone with the Wind" at the same time. It just doesn't have the legs for either one. I give this movie a 6 for Cary's personal magnetism, even in a stifling role like this one.