The Hasty Heart (1949)

It's 1945, Burma, the day the war is over! For many this means they've survived and will be going home. But not for everyone. A Scottish soldier, Corporal Lachlan "Lachie" MacLachlan is the... See full summary »

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Writers:

Ranald MacDougall (screenplay), John Patrick (play)

Stars:

Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, Richard Todd

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ronald Reagan	...	Yank
Patricia Neal	...	Sister Margaret Parker
Richard Todd	...	Cpl. Lachlan 'Lachie' MacLachlan - the Scot
Anthony Nicholls	...	Lieutenant Colonel Dunn
Howard Marion-Crawford	...	Tommy - the Englishman (as Howard Crawford)
Ralph Michael	...	Kiwi - the New Zealander
John Sherman	...	Digger - the Australian
Alfie Bass	...	Orderly (as Alfred Bass)
Orlando Martins	...	Blossom - the African

Storyline

It's 1945, Burma, the day the war is over! For many this means they've survived and will be going home. But not for everyone. A Scottish soldier, Corporal Lachlan "Lachie" MacLachlan is the victim of a wound to the lower back on this day. He's moved to a M.A.S.H. unit and undergoes surgery. As time goes by he begins to recover and watches, in dismay as soldiers pack up and head for home. The doctors have told him he needs to remain "for observation". The Colonel takes Sister Parker, the unit head nurse, into his confidence and tells her that the real reason Cpl. MacLachlan can't go home is because the wound he sustained destroyed one of his kidneys and the other one is defective and will shut down in three to four weeks. He asks her to put Lachlan up with some other soldiers she has waiting to go home so that he can spend his last days with friends. But Cpl. MacLachlan wants nothing to do with friends and prefers his own privacy to "idle chat". He's a hard nut to crack and their work ...

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Plot Keywords:

soldier | nurse | burma | patient | kilt | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hasty Heart

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Lachie asks Yank what he's going to do after the war, Yank replies that he's going back to "...a little place on the Rock River, Dixon, Illinois." This is actor Ronald Reagan's actual boyhood home.

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Quotes

[Referring to Lachie's bagpipe playing]
Yank: Somebody give him asthma.

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Connections

Remade as The Hasty Heart (1983)

User Reviews

A Hasty Heart

This film was a complete surprise as to how excellent it was. Not a surprise was Patricia Neal's usual outstanding performance. Ronald Reagan proved to be much more than a B movie actor though. This is far and away his most outstanding performance and shows that his acting ability was as good as anybody's from that time. I'm also very surprised that this film is not more well known. Reagan's role as "the Gipper" in Knute Rockne All-American is obviously memorable and outstanding particularly during his hospital scene. And for Reagan to be known as the Gipper instead of the Yank makes sense. But again, this performance as Yank is clearly superior to any other role he performed including the Gipper.