Sunrise at CampobelloSunrise at Campobello is a 1958 play by American producer and writer Dore Schary based on U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's struggle with polio. The film version was released in 1960.-Background:...
is a 1958 play by
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
producer and writer
Dore ScharyIsidore 'Dore' Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright.Graduate of Central High School, Newark, New Jersey, Class of 1923....
based on U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's struggle with polio. The
film versionSunrise at Campobello is a 1960 biographical film made by Dore Schary Productions and Warner Bros. It tells the story of the initial struggle by future President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his family when he was stricken with paralysis at the age of 39 in August 1921.-Plot...
was released in 1960.
The original
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
production was presented at the
Cort TheatreThe Cort Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 138 West 48th Street in midtown-Manhattan. The Shubert Organization purchased the theatre in 1927, two years before Cort's death....
by
The Theatre GuildThe Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1919 by Theresa Helburn, Lawrence Langner, and Armina Marshall. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players....
and Dore Schary and directed by
Vincent J. DonehueVincent Julian Donehue was an American director noted mainly for his theatre work, with occasional film and television credits .Donehue was born in Whitehall, New York...
. It opened on January 30 1958 and closed on May 30 1959 running for 556 performances. It starred
Ralph BellamyRalph Rexford Bellamy was an American actor with a career that spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:...
as Roosevelt.
Sunrise at CampobelloSunrise at Campobello is a 1958 play by American producer and writer Dore Schary based on U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's struggle with polio. The film version was released in 1960.-Background:...
is a 1958 play by
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
producer and writer
Dore ScharyIsidore 'Dore' Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright.Graduate of Central High School, Newark, New Jersey, Class of 1923....
based on U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's struggle with polio. The
film versionSunrise at Campobello is a 1960 biographical film made by Dore Schary Productions and Warner Bros. It tells the story of the initial struggle by future President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his family when he was stricken with paralysis at the age of 39 in August 1921.-Plot...
was released in 1960.
Background
The original
BroadwayBroadway Theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, is the theatre associated with the 40 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City...
production was presented at the
Cort TheatreThe Cort Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 138 West 48th Street in midtown-Manhattan. The Shubert Organization purchased the theatre in 1927, two years before Cort's death....
by
The Theatre GuildThe Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1919 by Theresa Helburn, Lawrence Langner, and Armina Marshall. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players....
and Dore Schary and directed by
Vincent J. DonehueVincent Julian Donehue was an American director noted mainly for his theatre work, with occasional film and television credits .Donehue was born in Whitehall, New York...
. It opened on January 30 1958 and closed on May 30 1959 running for 556 performances. It starred
Ralph BellamyRalph Rexford Bellamy was an American actor with a career that spanned sixty-two years.-Early life:...
as Roosevelt. Bellamy won a
Tony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and...
for
Best ActorThe Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
. Others in the cast included
Henry JonesHenry Burk Jones was an American actor of stage, film and television.Jones was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Helen and John Francis Xavier Jones...
as
Louis McHenry HoweLouis McHenry Howe was an intimate friend and close political advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He, along with Eleanor Roosevelt and Margurite "Missy" LeHand, was one of the few close associates who supported FDR throughout the most difficult stages of his personal and political...
;
Mary FickettMary Fickett is an Emmy-winning American actress.Fickett has two children from her three marriages...
as
Eleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and assumed a role as an advocate for civil rights...
;
Anne SeymourAnne Seymour may refer to:* Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, nee Stanhope, wife of the Lord Protector, Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, and aunt of Edward VI of England...
as Sara Delano Roosevelt and, in his Broadway debut,
James Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor of stage and screen, well known for his deep basso voice. To modern audiences, he is best known for providing the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, and Mufasa in The Lion King.-Childhood:Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, the son of Ruth...
.
The production won three other Tonys including
Best PlayThe Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York....
(producers were
Lawrence LangnerLawrence Langner was a playwright, author, and producer.Born near Swansea, South Wales and working most of his life in the United States, he started his career as one of the founders of the Washington Square Players troupe in 1914....
,
Theresa HelburnTheresa Helburn was an important figure in 20th century American theater and a Bryn Mawr College alumna, best known for her work with New York's Theatre Guild....
, Armina Marshall and
Dore ScharyIsidore 'Dore' Schary was an American motion picture director, writer, and producer, and playwright.Graduate of Central High School, Newark, New Jersey, Class of 1923....
),
Best Director of a PlayThe Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play has been given since 1960. Before 1960 there was only one award for both play direction and musical direction, then in 1960 the award was split into two categories: Dramatic and Musical. In 1976 the Dramatic category was renamed to Play...
(Vincent J. Donehue) and
Henry JonesHenry Burk Jones was an American actor of stage, film and television.Jones was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Helen and John Francis Xavier Jones...
won for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.. Mary Fickett was nominated for Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Play.
Campobello Island was Roosevelt's summer home in
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally bilingual province in the confederation. The provincial capital is Fredericton...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Most of the play's actions take place there, where we see Roosevelt struggle to overcome the paralyzation of his legs. The play ends with the 1924
Democratic National ConventionThe Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
speech, which catapulted him back into politics after an absence of several years.
Film adaptations
The film version, released by
Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. (also known as Warner Bros. Pictures, or simply Warner Bros.—the shortened form of the former official, sometimes still used, formal corporate name: Warner Brothers
, in 1960, starred Bellamy again with Greer GarsonEileen Evelyn Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award nominations, winning the Best Actress award for Mrs. Miniver...
as Eleanor and Hume CronynHume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
as Louis Howe. The film also starred Jean Hagen-Early life:Hagen was born as Jean Shirley Verhagen in Chicago, Illinois, to Dutch immigrant Christian Verhagen and his Chicago-born wife, Marie . The family moved to Elkhart, Indiana when she was 12 and she subsequently graduated from Elkhart High School...
, Tim ConsidineTimothy Daniel "Tim" Considine is a former American child actor and young adult actor who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
and Lyle TalbotLyle Talbot was an American actor on stage and screen, best known for playing Joe Randolph on television's The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and for his long career in films from 1931 to 1960....
. Ann Shoemaker who played FDR's mother, also played that role on Broadway after the original actress left the show.
Schary, who began his career in Hollywood, wrote and produced the film which, like the stage version, was directed by Vincent J. Donehue.
Despite it being perhaps Bellamy's most famous role, it was Greer Garson who received the critical attention. She won the Golden Globe and National Board of Review Award for Best Actress. The film received four Academy Award nominations: Best Actress (Garson), Art Direction, Sound and Costume Design.
In 2005, HBO premiered an original made-for-television film called Warm SpringsWarm Springs is a 2005 television movie about American President Franklin D. Roosevelt's struggle with polio, his discovery of the Warm Springs, Georgia spa resort and his work to turn it into a center for the aid of polio victims, and his resumption of his political career.-Cast:Actress Jane...
, which was also based on FDR's struggle to overcome polio. It too, had a splashy ending at the 1924 convention, but was otherwise almost completely different from Sunrise at Campobello, which had omitted the entire Warm Springs portion of FDR's life. It starred Kenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is a Northern Irish actor and film director.- Early life :Branagh, the second of three children, was born and brought up in Belfast to working class Protestant parents Frances and William Branagh, a plumber and joiner who ran a company that specialised in fitting...
as FDR and Cynthia NixonCynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She is an Emmy, Tony and Grammy award winning actress.-Early life and career:...
as Eleanor. The film won several Emmy AwardThe Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards and Tony Awards .They are presented in various...
s, including one for Best Made-for-Television Film.
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 1958 Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are for Broadway productions and...
for Best Play
- 1958 Tony Award for Best Actor in Play - Ralph Bellamy
- 1958 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play - Henry Jones
- 1958 Tony Award for Best Director - Vincent J. Donehue
Nominations
- 1958 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play - Mary Fickett