''The President's Lady'' is a 1951 novel of the life of American president
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
and his marriage to
Rachel Donelson Robards, written by
Irving Stone
Irving Stone (born Tennenbaum, July 14, 1903 – August 26, 1989) was an American writer, chiefly known for his biographical novels of noted artists, politicians, and intellectuals. Among the best known are '' Lust for Life'' (1934), about the l ...
.
A biographical film was made in 1953 by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, directed by
Henry Levin and produced by
Sol C. Siegel
Sol C. Siegel (March 30, 1903 – December 29, 1982) was an American film producer. Two of the numerous films he produced, ''A Letter to Three Wives'' (1949) and ''Three Coins in the Fountain (film), Three Coins in the Fountain'' (1954), were no ...
with Levin as associate producer. The
screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
was by
John Patrick, based on the 1951 novel by
Irving Stone
Irving Stone (born Tennenbaum, July 14, 1903 – August 26, 1989) was an American writer, chiefly known for his biographical novels of noted artists, politicians, and intellectuals. Among the best known are '' Lust for Life'' (1934), about the l ...
, the music score by
Alfred Newman
Alfred Newman (March 17, 1900 – February 17, 1970) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Acad ...
, and the cinematography by
Leo Tover
Leo Tover, A.S.C. (December 6, 1902 – December 30, 1964) was an American cinematographer, twice nominated for Academy Awards for his work on ''The Heiress'' (1949) and ''Hold Back the Dawn'' (1941). His other credits include the silent ve ...
.
The film stars
Susan Hayward
Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories.
After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...
and
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist.
As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...
with
John McIntire
John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in Novem ...
and
Fay Bainter
Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Jezebel'' (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Early life
Bainter wa ...
.
The film was nominated for the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for
Best Art Direction
The Academy Award for Best Production Design recognizes achievement for art direction in film. The category's original name was Best Art Direction, but was changed to its current name in 2012 for the 85th Academy Awards. This change resulted fro ...
:
Lyle R. Wheeler
Lyle Reynolds Wheeler (February 2, 1905 – January 10, 1990) was an American motion picture art director. He received five Academy Awards — for ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1946), ''The Robe'' (1953), ''The ...
,
Leland Fuller
Leland Fuller (February 16, 1899 – October 9, 1962) was an American art director. He was nominated for six Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on more than 50 films between 1943 and 1962.
Selected filmography
Ful ...
and
Paul S. Fox
Paul Samuel Fox (September 30, 1898 – May 1972) was an American set decorator. He won three Academy Awards and was nominated for ten more in the category Best Art Direction.
Selected filmography
Fox won three Academy Awards for Best Art ...
and for
Best Costume Design:
Charles LeMaire
Charles LeMaire (April 22, 1897 – June 8, 1985) was an American costume designer. He
was born in Chicago.
LeMaire's early career was as a vaudeville performer, but he became a costume designer for such Broadway productions as ''Ziegfeld Folli ...
and
Renié
Renié Conley (July 31, 1901 − June 12, 1992) was a prominent Hollywood costume designer.
Biography
Born in Republic, Washington and studied at Chouinard Art Institute and University of California in Los Angeles.
For over three decades, Renié w ...
.
Charlton Heston played Andrew Jackson once again in ''
The Buccaneer'' (1958).
Plot
In 1789, Rachel Donelson Robards meets Tennessee's attorney general, Andrew Jackson, for the first time when he seeks room and board at her mother's farm near Nashville. John Overton, Andrew's law partner and Rachel's cousin, had recommended Andrew, and Mrs. Donelson welcomes the young attorney, who also has experience fighting Indians. Andrew becomes infatuated with the lovely Rachel and is disappointed when her moody husband, Lewis Robards, comes from Harrodsburg to ask her to return home. Lewis apologizes for his jealous, antagonistic behavior, but upon their return, Rachel discovers that Lewis has been having an affair with a slave girl. The sympathetic Mrs. Robards writes to Mrs. Donelson, telling her that Rachel wishes to go back to Nashville, and Mrs. Donelson sends Andrew to retrieve her. Infuriated, Lewis pulls a gun on Andrew, but Andrew easily disarms him and leaves with Rachel. The couple evade a band of Indians, then stop for the night at an inn to avoid further danger. When they arrive at the farm in the morning, they learn that Lewis has arrived before them. Lewis demands that Rachel leave with him, and when she refuses, he threatens to return the following morning with gun-toting relatives. Desperate to protect Rachel, Mrs. Donelson asks flatboat owners Capt. and Mrs. Stark to take Rachel to Natchez, but the Starks refuse to accept the responsibility unless a man accompanies Rachel. Andrew volunteers, and after they fend off an Indian attack, the couple kiss and realize that they have fallen in love. In Spanish-controlled Natchez, Andrew tells Rachel that she could obtain an annulment there and they could marry, but that their marriage would not be legal in the United States. Rachel refuses to let Andrew give up his career and asks him to return to Nashville to obtain a divorce for her. Before he leaves, however, Andrew receives a letter from John announcing that Lewis has gotten a divorce, charging Rachel with adultery. Although she is crushed by the accusation, Rachel marries Andrew, and after they return to Nashville, the couple spend two happy years together. Rachel is sad that they do not have children, but is content to be with Andrew. One day, John arrives with news that he had been mistaken, as Lewis had only petitioned for a divorce without actually obtaining one. Now, however, Lewis has divorced Rachel on grounds of adultery. Rachel begs Andrew to marry her again, although he believes that holding another ceremony will be an admission that they were in the wrong. After the wedding, Rachel and Andrew go to town, where Lewis' cousin Jason makes a crude remark about Rachel. Andrew almost beats Jason to death before being pulled away, then, during the drive home, Andrew and Rachel learn that Rachel's brother has been killed by Indians. Heading a militia troop, Andrew leaves to fight the Indians, and Rachel and her slave Moll work the fields alone for a year and a half until Andrew returns. Rachel is delighted to see her husband, and overjoyed that he has brought her an orphaned Indian infant, whom they name Lincoya. Andrew was forced to sell their home to equip his men, although he soon builds Rachel a fine new home in Nashville, which they call "The Hermitage." Rachel spends the next eight years happily, although Andrew is often gone fighting Indians or serving in Congress. One day, Rachel is invited to join a ladies' club, but is upset to learn that most of the women, still believing that Rachel is an adulteress, have refused to allow her admittance. Humiliated, Rachel returns home, where she is horrified to discover that Lincoya has died suddenly during her brief absence. Andrew finally comes home, and soon makes a large gentleman's wager on a horse race. Rachel is thrilled when Andrew wins and is told that he has been appointed the general of the state militia. Jealous Charles Dickinson makes a cutting remark about Andrew stealing another man's wife, however, and Andrew again loses his temper and challenges Dickinson to a duel. Rachel begs Andrew not to fight, but he insists on defending her honor. During the duel, Andrew is seriously wounded but manages to kill Dickinson. Although she is glad to have her husband home, Rachel is heartbroken that their lives have again been disrupted by scandalmongers. Andrew promises Rachel that he will lift her so high that no one will dare whisper a word against her, but his promise is delayed by the war of 1812, during which he is away fighting for two years. Andrew returns home a hero, but when politics call again, he returns to Washington, leaving Rachel home alone. Finally, in 1825, Andrew is persuaded to run for president, although John warns him that his enemies will run a virulent campaign against him and he will have to control his temper. Rachel, who is in failing health, sneaks out one night to listen to Andrew speak at a rally, and is crushed to hear the jeering crowd yell out that they will not have a murderer for a president or a prostitute as the first lady. Rachel collapses as she stumbles through the streets, and Andrew stays by her bedside night and day. When Andrew receives word that he has won the election, Rachel tearfully acknowledges that he kept his promise to raise her to grand heights. She then tells him that she will not be able to accompany him, and with her dying breath, asks him not to carry spite with him. Soon after, in Washington, just before his inaugural speech, Andrew gazes at a miniature of Rachel and vows that his memories will keep him company for the rest of his life.
Cast
*
Susan Hayward
Susan Hayward (born Edythe Marrenner; June 30, 1917 – March 14, 1975) was an American film actress, best known for her film portrayals of women that were based on true stories.
After working as a fashion model for the Walter Thornton Model A ...
as
Rachel Donelson
*
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist.
As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...
as
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
*
John McIntire
John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in Novem ...
as
John Overton John Overton may refer to:
People
*John Overton (printseller) (1640–1713), seller of prints and maps who succeeded Peter Stent
*John Overton (priest) (1763–1838), English clergyman
*John Overton (judge) (1766–1833), judge at the Superior Cour ...
*
Fay Bainter
Fay Okell Bainter (December 7, 1893 – April 16, 1968) was an American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Jezebel'' (1938) and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Early life
Bainter wa ...
as Mrs. Donaldson
*
Whitfield Connor
Whitfield Connor (December 3, 1916 – July 16, 1988) was an American actor, director and producer.
Career
Connor started in radio in the 1930s.
In 1945 he made his Broadway debut as Horatio in a production of Hamlet and by 1948 had won his ...
as Lewis Robards
*
Carl Betz
Carl Lawrence Betz (March 9, 1921 – January 18, 1978) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He appeared in a variety of television series, including the CBS soap opera ''Love of Life''; he is best remembered for playing Donna ...
as
Charles Dickinson
* Gladys Hurlbut as Mrs. Phariss
*
Ruth Attaway
Ruth Attaway (June 28, 1910 – September 21, 1987) was an American film and stage actress. Among the films she appeared in are '' Raintree County'' (1957), ''Porgy and Bess'' (1959) and ''Being There'' (1979).
Early life
Attaway was born on J ...
as Moll
*
Charles Dingle
Charles Dingle (December 28, 1887 – January 19, 1956) was an American stage and film actor.
Early life
Dingle was born December 28, 1887, in Wabash, Indiana. His father was John Crockett Dingle, and he was said to be a descendant of Davy ...
as Capt. Irwin
* Nina Varela as Mrs. 'Peachblossom' Stark
*
Margaret Wycherly
Margaret De Wolfe Wycherly (born Margaret De Wolfe, 26 October 1881 – 6 June 1956) was an English stage and film actress. She spent many years in the United States and is best remembered for her Broadway roles and Hollywood character parts. On ...
as Mrs. Robards
*
Ralph Dumke
Ralph Ernest Dumke (July 25, 1899 – January 4, 1964) was an American comedian and actor who had an active career from the early 1920s up until his death in 1964. He rose to fame as part of a comedy duo with Ed East, performing nationally in ...
as Col. Stark
*
John George as Spectator (uncredited)
*
Sam McDaniel
Samuel Rufus McDaniel (January 28, 1886September 24, 1962)Tanner, Beccy (November 7, 1991)"McDaniel Opened Doors; 'Gone With the Wind' Was Actress' Most Famous Film" ''The Wichita Eagle''. Retrieved January 3, 2021. was an American actor who ap ...
as Servant (uncredited)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Presidents Lady, The
1953 films
20th Century Fox films
Films about presidents of the United States
American historical drama films
American black-and-white films
1950s historical drama films
Films scored by Alfred Newman
Films directed by Henry Levin
Films based on American novels
Films set in the 1780s
Films set in the 1790s
Films set in the 1800s
Films set in the 1810s
Films set in the 1820s
Films about Andrew Jackson
Films produced by Sol C. Siegel
1953 drama films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films