The Magnificent Yankee (1950)

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Francis Biddle (book)
Emmet Lavery (play)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Biography of celebrated American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes. |

Plot Keywords:

Historical | 1900s | Supreme Court | 1930s | Judge

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Louis Calhern	...	Oliver Wendell Holmes
Ann Harding	...	Fanny Bowditch Holmes
Eduard Franz	...	Judge Louis Brandeis
Philip Ober	...	Owen Wister / Narrator
Ian Wolfe	...	Adams
Edith Evanson	...	Annie Gough, Holmes' Housekeeper
Richard Anderson	...	Reynolds, Secretary
Jimmy Lydon	...	Clinton, Secretary (as James Lydon)
Herbert Anderson	...	Baxter, Secretary (as Guy Anderson)

Also Known As:

The Man with Thirty Sons (UK)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Quotes:

[referring to President Theodore Roosevelt]
Oliver Wendell Holmes: He said, among other things, that he could carve a judge with more backbone out of a banana.
Fanny Bowditch Holmes: [outraged] Well, the very idea!
Graham, reporter for Boston Transcript: Is there any statement, Mrs. Holmes, that you would make?
Fanny Bowditch Holmes: Yes, Mr. Graham, there is.
Oliver Wendell Holmes: Fanny...
Fanny Bowditch Holmes: You may say that we adore dear Mr. Roosevelt at all times -
Graham, reporter for Boston Transcript: Adore, Mrs. Holmes?
Fanny Bowditch Holmes: Yes, Mr. Graham, we adore everything about him... except his taste in bananas.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story (1951)

An Almost Perfect Biographical film of Holmes!

First, the casting of Lewis Calhern as Oliver Wendell Holmes and Ann Harding as his wife, Fanny Bowditch Holmes, is perfect together. The film is set around Holmes' life as a Supreme Court Justice with the late Louis Brandeis who was the first Jewish member of the supreme court. The film is first rate and the script could use a little work. This film is an example of old Hollywood at it's brilliance with class, style, and a terrific cast and crew. The film's historical basis allows the story to be told easily. You can't help but enjoy Harding and Calhern on the screen as a loving couple. They don't make such high quality films anymore where it's character driven. I watched this film this morning and I couldn't take my eyes off Calhern as he played the late Oliver Wendell Holmes nor Ann Harding as his wife. The film is a perfect example of what thrived in Old Hollywood in it's golden era. It's never recovered from days where veterans like Harding and Calhern and many others worked five films per year.