The Hasty Heartdirected by Vincent Sherman | |
| Category: |
"Drama" |
|---|---|
| Year of Release: | 1949 |
| Date Added: | 06/01/2026 |
| Date Watched: | 06/01/2026 |
| Description: | The movie takes place at a hospital in Burma right after WWII ends. Patients who aren't well enough are still there, under the care of Sister Parker (Patricia Neal). Along with an Englishman, a New Zealander, an Australian, and a native, there's a Yank (Ronald Reagan). A Scotsman, Lachie (Richard Todd), seemingly recovered from an operation to remove shrapnel, is brought into the ward. He's resentful because he wasn't sent home with his unit. What he doesn't know, but the others do, is that his one remaining kidney is failing and he has just weeks to live. The others try to befriend him, but he's a loner, abrasive and independent. Yank is soon fed up. But Sister finds out that it's Lachie's birthday and buys him a kilt he never had. He breaks down, having been an orphan and never having any friends. From being standoffish, he suddenly won't stop talking. He asks all the others, one by one, to visit him in Scotland, but they have their own lives to go back to. He then asks Sister to marry him. She hesitates, but then says yes (although the movie doesn't make clear if she was just placating him or if she was serious). The Lachie finds out he's dying and begins resenting everyone for pitying him. He's given the chance to go home to die and grabs it. But Yank gets in his face and tells him how ungrateful he is and that he is welcome to die friendless if that's the way he wants it. Lachie breaks down and decides to stay at the hospital and die among friends. |
| My Rating: | 6 |
Reviewed by Roger on 2026-06-01 16:40:37
