Warm Springs (2005)

Franklin Roosevelt, left a paraplegic from polio at 39 years of age, seeks out a miracle cure in the backwoods of Georgia.

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writer:

Margaret Nagle

Stars:

Kenneth Branagh, Cynthia Nixon, David Paymer

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 8 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kenneth Branagh	...	Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Cynthia Nixon	...	Eleanor Roosevelt
David Paymer	...	Louis Howe
Tim Blake Nelson	...	Tom Loyless
Matt O'Leary	...	Fred Botts (as Matthew O'Leary)
Matt Malloy	...	Lionel Purdy
Andy Davoli	...	Jake Perini (as Andrew Davoli)
Nelsan Ellis	...	Roy Collier
Jane Alexander	...	Sara Delano Roosevelt
Kathy Bates	...	Helena Mahoney
Melissa Ponzio	...	Lucy Mercer
Quint Von Canon	...	Stephen Teller
Mike Pniewski	...	Hastings, Party Leader
Grayce Spence	...	League Member
Rand Hopkins	...	Dr. Lovett

Storyline

A look at Franklin D. Roosevelt's pre-presidency days, from his being diagnosed with polio one year after his unsuccessful bid for the White House as presidential nominee James Cox's running mate, through his rehabilitation in Warm Springs, Ga., to his nomination of Al Smith for Democratic Presidential candidate in 1928.

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Plot Keywords:

polio | paralysis | paraplegic | spa | politics | 

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Taglines:

The greatest challenge FDR faced was the one we never saw.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

HBO [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

I psyhi enos igeti

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films, Mark Gordon Company, The, Mark Gordon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cottage in Warm Springs that Roosevelt (Kenneth Branagh) stays in is actually one of the cottages that the real Franklin D. Roosevelt stayed in.

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Goofs

At the 1924 Convention, several people are shown waving 50-star flags, not introduced until 1960.

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Quotes

Eleanor Roosevelt: [beginning to cry] I think we've lost him, Louis!
Louis Howe: He's down there to be alone. Let's give him what he wants. Meantime we'll change our focus.
Eleanor Roosevelt: To what?
Louis Howe: To you.

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Connections

References Rose of Washington Square (1939)

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Soundtracks

"I Won't Dance"
Music by Jerome Kern
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh, and Oscar Hammerstein II
Sung by Felicia Day, Laurel Lawson, Teal Sherer and Margo G. Dietrich
(from the musical "Three Sisters", and later re-used in "Roberta")

User Reviews

Mr. Branagh in Top Form as FDR!

I can vividly recall my fifth grade teacher telling us (in the late 1950s) that if Franklin Delano Roosevelt were still alive, people would come out in droves to reelect him to a fifth term as President. The brilliant film "Warm Springs" demonstrates Roosevelt's strength of character, his human touch, and his courage to overcome his physical limitation due to polio.

Director Joseph Sargent carefully recreates the environment of the 1920s, capturing the political climate, as well as rural poverty and segregation in the Deep South. Screenwriter Margaret Nagle deserves credit for her detailed character portraits and crisp dialogue, based upon sound historical research. It was impressive that the character of Eleanor Roosevelt was substantially developed alongside that of her husband. The costuming, décor, and set-ups in this film were first-rate. In the artistic values, every moment of this film range true.

Kenneth Branagh and a stellar supporting cast (Kathy Bates, Cynthia Nixon, David Paymer, and Tim Blake Nelson are all standouts) embody their characters with meticulous attention to historical detail and accuracy. The range is impressive, as the cast must depict both the patrician society of New York and the hardscrabble world of rural Georgia.

Branagh probes deeply into the emotional life of Franklin as he struggles to come to terms with his disability. FDR is remembered as a ruthless politician. But the film is remarkable for the sensitive and vulnerable side of this titanic figure, which is often downplayed by historians. The only shortcoming of Branagh's rich performance was in his inability to capture the stentorian voice and the melodious inflections of FDR. Given Branagh's background in the theatre and in performing Shakespeare, it was surprising that his voice was not a closer match to one of the most distinctive sounds of the past century, which kept the spirits of Americans buoyed with his regular radio fireside chats.

"Warm Springs" is a made-for-television movie with all of the attributes of an Academy Award-winning feature film. The story was taut and economical as it focused on the years at Warm Springs prior to FDR's political ascendancy. In those years, Roosevelt drew upon his administrative skills by raising consciousness about the therapeutic value of the hot waters in the treatment of polio, leading to the establishment of the nonprofit Warm Springs Foundation in 1927. It was in this period that a great American discovered within himself the personal resolve and courage that would lead Americans through the Great Depression and World War II. From start to finish, this powerful yet sensitive film walks tall just like our thirty-second President.