CONSENSUS #13. Glory (1989)

 
 

SYNOPSIS: "Glory" is the historically enhanced tale of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in the Civil War. The all-black unit was led by the white Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) and became by far the most famous black unit in the Civil War. It's shining moment was an assault on the Confederate Fort Wagner. The movie covers germination, formation, training, racist hurdle jumping, the bonding, and the glorious respect-earning.

BACK-STORY: "Glory" was inspired by screenwriter Kevin Jarre's viewing of Augustus Sainte-Gaudens' memorial to the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in Boston. His research relied on the letters of Robert Gould Shaw, "Lay This Laurel" by Lincoln Kirstein, and "One Gallant Rush" by Peter Burchard. Edward Zwick ("Courage Under Fire") directed with a limited budget of $18 million. Shelby Foote (of Ken Burns' "Civil War" fame) was the technical adviser. Morgan Freeman took a pay cut to appear in the movie and was determined to be a part of the enhancing of African-American history. The movie was critically acclaimed, but only a modest box office success ($27 million). It won three Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actor (Denzel Washington), Cinematography (Freddie Francis), and Sound Mixing. It was nominated for Art Direction and Film Editing.

TRIVIA: Wikipedia, imdb

1. James Horner used the Boys Choir of Harlem for the soundtrack.

2. The opening scene from the Battle of Antietam is actually reenactors at Gettysburg.

3. The whip used on Tripp was a special one that would not cut Washington's back, but it did sting.

4. Matthew Broderick and Cary Elwes did not get along during the filming.

5. The screenplay was based on the books Lay This Laurel by Lincoln Kirstein and One Gallant Rush by Peter Burchard and Shaw's personal letters.

6. This was Andre Braugher's film debut.

7. Most of Elwes scenes were cut and Jane Alexander's role was drastically cut.

8. It is one of only five films to win the Grammy for Best Score and yet not be nominated for an Academy Award for Original Score.

9. Washington was reluctant to make the film because his father-in-law was a principal at an all-black high school and he strongly believed that integration had diluted black culture.

10. Robert Gould Shaw is the only main character who is based on a real historical person.

Belle and Blade = 5.0
Brassey's = 4.0
Video Hound = 5.0
War Movies = N/A
Military History = #10
Channel 4 = #68
Film Site = yes
101 War Movies = yes
Rotten Tomatoes = #24

HISTORICAL ACCURACY: "Glory" is an excellent example of a movie that takes the basic historical facts and constructs a narrative around them to bring recognition to a military unit in a way that is attractive to a mainstream audience. The film does a lot of tweaking of the facts, but none of it is egregious and all of it advances the narrative arc.

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment was the brainchild of Gov. Andrew. Frederick Douglass was a leading influence for the creation of all-black units as a means of getting respect for African-Americans and giving them a stake in the future of the Union. Andrew began the process after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Two of Douglass’ sons volunteered for the unit. (The movie chooses not to include them.) The 54th Massachusetts was the first regiment recruited in the North. The 1st South Carolina Volunteers was already in existence. The film glosses over the difficulty of recruiting enough Massachusetts blacks to fill out the unit. In fact, Andrew had to send recruiters throughout the North. The unit was comprised almost exclusively of freed blacks. A runaway slave like Trip would have been a rare exception. Speaking of which, none of the members of the unit (other than Shaw) were real people.

Capt. Shaw was at Antietam, but his unit was not involved in any charges similar to that of the movie. He saw no serious fighting. However, he did receive a neck wound from a spent bullet. When Gov. Andrew offered command of the regiment, through Shaw's abolitionist father, Shaw turned it down at first. He reconsidered over night and accepted. The second in command was Lt. Col. Norwood Hallowell. Forbes bears little resemblance to him. On the other hand, the depiction of Shaw is spot on. He was 25 and looked younger. Broderick gets the evolution from in-over-his-head rookie colonel to confident leader down pat. His ruminations are based on Shaw’s actual letters. The movie does omit Shaw's courtship and marriage to Anna Haggerty.

The movie undoubtedly fleshes out and enhances the trials Shaw and the unit go through in training. The template is appropriate. The unit was assigned to Readville, Mass. for boot camp. When Shaw arrived, the men already had their "blue suits". The Mulcahy (John Finne as one of the great cinematic drill sergeants) character is fictional, but does reflect the antipathy of many Irish toward blacks during that era. The flogging of Trip uses dramatic license because AWOL offenses were normally treated with spread eagling or some similar punishment. I found no evidence the unit was deprived of shoes by the quartermaster although the general theme of neglect feels genuine. I also found no evidence that Shaw had a rocky road to gaining the men's respect. That arc may not have been accurate, but it is absolutely crucial to the theme of growing into leadership and is a strength of the screenplay. This arc builds to the mutiny over the pay. This is classic tweaking. Congress did allocate $10 (minus $3 for uniforms) for black soldiers. The twist is Shaw initiated the protest. And the pay issue did not come up until they had reached South Carolina. The Confederate government did issue a proclamation threatening to enslave any blacks captured in uniform and to execute their white officers.

The parade through Boston is accurately depicted. The parade was witnessed by Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and John Greenleaf Whittier as well as Shaw's parents. The arrival at Beaufort, South Carolina is realistic as well. The unit was greeted by freed slaves. Beaufort was part of the Port Royal Experiment in which Northern abolitionists educated the newly freed slave children.

The raid on Darien, Georgia is substantially accurate. The 54th was paired with the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers under Col. James Montgomery. Montgomery was the jerk the movie portrays. He did utter the line "they will be swept away by the hand of God like the Jews of old". He did order his undisciplined contraband soldiers to sack the town. Shaw did reluctantly participate in the atrocity as depicted in the film.

Their first combat experience came about from a letter Shaw wrote to Gen. Strong (not from threatening Gen. Hunter with exposure of his corruption). They were moved to the Charleston area and received their baptism of fire on July 16, 1863 in a spirited skirmish between pickets that involved four of the companies on James Island. The 54th retreated slowly to allow the 10th Connecticut to withdraw. There was Confederate cavalry involved, but it is doubtful they charged an untouched unit as is shown in the movie. That would have been unrealistic tactically. The depiction of volleys followed by a bayonet charge and then hand-to-hand was typical of Civil War combat. This action did earn the respect of the white units.

The prelude to the attack on Ft. Wagner was well researched. Shaw did have a premonition of death. He did give a stack of letters to Edward Pierce of the N.Y. Daily Tribune. He did send off his horse. However, Gen. Strong asked him to lead the assault, not the other way around. Also, it was Strong who asked who would pick up the flag and it was Shaw who said he would.

The charge is close to the truth. The locale for the filming and the fort itself are authentic. There was a stake filled moat and a rampart. For cinematic purposes, the movie starts the charge in the daylight when it actually began after dusk. Shaw did lead the charge (which would not be out of the ordinary for a war where casualty rates for officers were greater than for the enlisted). The Rebels opened fire at about two hundred yards with cannon fire. At the moat, the unit was hit by massed musket fire. Shaw was shot at the crest of the rampart and fell into the fort. (The movie dubiously leaves out the story of Sgt. William Carney who earned the Medal of Honor for planting the flag on the parapet and then despite several wounds getting it back to the camp. He famously said, "Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!") Several of his men followed Shaw in, but most of the unit was forced to retreat. The adrenalin-fueled run led by Forbes is pure fiction, but cool.

The aftermath of the battle is true to the facts. Shaw was buried in a mass grave by the Confederates in an act intended to dishonor him. Tellingly, Shaw's parents insisted he remain interned with his men after the fall of the fort. The movie gives the impression the unit was devastated by the attack. In reality the unit suffered 272 casualties out of 600 men. 45% is very high, but this means more than half were not even wounded.

The Battle of Fort Wagner did not mark the end of the 54th's service. It covered a Union retreat at the Battle of Olustee in Feb., 1864. It made an unsuccessful assault on a strong entrenched position at Honey Hill in November. Lastly, it participated in one of the last actions of the war when it attacked a Rebel force defending an abandoned fort. In a reversal of Fort Wagner, the Confederates fled and the 54th suffered only two dead.

OPINION: "Glory" has no weaknesses. The acting is stellar. The cast is amazing and balanced as a team effort. The standout is Washington, of course. His Best Supporting Actor nod was possibly the most deserving ever. He is absolutely mesmerizing when he is on screen. The scene where he is flogged is a tour de force. That tear! The rest of the ensemble does not just stand around and watch him. All of the major roles could not have been better played. Freeman is his usual solid self. Andre Braugher made his film debut! Talk about coming out the blocks fast. On the other end of the spectrum is Jihmi Kennedy who had the only significant role of his aborted career. The sweetness of his Jupiter balances the belligerence of Trip. Cary Elwes is an excellent foil for Broderick. (He and Broderick did not get along during the shoot, by the way.) The biggest shock here is Broderick. He would seem to have been an obvious weak link, but he holds his own. The critics who faulted his "shaky" performance did not realize that it is an accurate depiction of a young man thrust into a difficult position. Critics seem to have overlooked the use of Shaw's own words to show his feelings. Broderick acts like the man who wrote those letters and he looks like him, too. And don’t forget the reenactors that lend their special skills to any quality Civil War movie. The movie was partly filmed at Gettysburg during the 125th anniversary.

The film is technically sound. Edward Zwick did not have a massive budget, but he does a great job. The training camp set and the Fort Wagner re-creation are outstanding. The uniforms and weaponry are accurate. The sound effects were Oscar worthy. Most impressive is the musical score by James Horner ("Enemy at the Gates", "Braveheart"). He makes awesome use of the Harlem Boys Choir to give parts of the score a hymnal quality. It is absolutely incredible that the music did not get an Academy Award nomination!

The screenplay is solid, but breaks no new ground. The themes include the rookie commander who grows into his leadership role and adjusts his by the book approach to the personality of his unit. You also get the obligatory redemption arc of Trip. It was a nice touch to have him decline carrying the flag, but otherwise his evolution was comfortably predictable. A double dose of cliché came with Trip and Thomas coming to respect each other and the antagonistic white unit learning to respect the 54th. The heterogeneous small unit ensemble is nothing new, but was essential to the plot. It goes without saying that the film has an anti-war bent.

"Glory" has an excellent blend of combat action and dialogue which is rare for a war movie. The two combat scenes are among the best ever. The James Island skirmish comes as a big payoff for all the training scenes. They earned the right to die, which was another theme. It is worth the wait and a great prep for the climactic assault. In fact, the flow from scene to scene throughout the movie is commendable. Zwick places the parade in the middle of the film as a halftime interlude. Best of all is the scene with the soldiers "testifying" before the final day of many of their lives.

In conclusion, "Glory" and I have a long relationship. I saw the making of documentary on CBS before the movie came out. I remember being very skeptical about whether it would be good. I also questioned the casting of Ferris Bueller as Col. Shaw. My fears were for naught, thankfully. I took my American History classes to see it. I was already covering the 54th Massachusetts in my Civil War unit so the story was not new to me. I’ve always gone out of my way to highlight individuals and groups that deserve recognition, but have been overlooked by the curriculum. And not just for African-Americans. All Americans should know this story and cinema can play this role. Unfortunately, cinema often botches the one chance to get it right (e.g. "Braveheart"). But occasionally, the ignorant masses get a rousing history lesson like in "Glory", "The Lost Battalion", and "The Great Raid".

The placement of "Glory" at #13 is certainly warranted. In truth it could be argued that it is the best war movie ever made. I would have it in my top ten. It has great acting. It has some remarkable combat reenactment. It is technically outstanding. The score is iconic. It is historically accurate for the most part and where it fudges, it does so to advance the story-line. Most importantly, its infotainment at its most magnificent.