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MacArthur (1977)
Rate:
8
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1/22
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For MacArthur, Gregory Peck does what George C. Scott did for Patton.
In fact, it's handled by the same production team. A forgotten but very controversial military figure, General Douglas MacArthur
was among a handful of famous generals during the 20th century. It was obvious from the outset only Gregory Peck could
play him. Not only he gets the job done, but he is MacArthur, period. Gregory Peck can even carry a corncob pipe convincingly well.
It's a fascinating biopic, recounting the events that happened during the latter stages of MacArthur's career. That's why the
secret relationship with a Filipina actress is not mentioned because he ended it in 1934 and the movie starts eight
years later. Ditto for his disgraceful razing of the Bonus Army in 1932. Of course, the farewell speech, of which he's
remembered most for, is included: "Old soldiers never die—they just fade away." The most memorable line of
his life is: "I came through, and I shall return." So he egotistically did with resounding victories in the Pacific
Theater during WWII. Unfortunately, the actual landing was restaged by MacArthur himself for dramatic effect.
There's the historic battle between President Harry S. Truman and General Douglas MacArthur. You can't have a
biopic without it. Having had enough of the messiah, Truman fired him during the Korean War for blatant insubordination
as he nearly caused WWIII by roping the Chinese into action. As a result, Truman's popularity plummeted so badly (which is
still the lowest approval rating to date) that he was shut out of the chance to run for the second term.
MacArthur tried to seek the presidency a few times but couldn't get any support due to his contradictory viewpoints.
Douglas' father, Arthur MacArthur, Jr., was awarded the Medal of Honor, and Douglas also received the medal although it
was a travesty, hence the nickname Dugout Doug for staying in the bunker the entire time while losing the islands in
the Philippines which led to Dwight D. Eisenhower's objections. Then, his son Arthur MacArthur IV was destined
to be one of the greats, and yet...nothing.
So, what happened? I was curious to know and found out that Arthur became a recluse, changing his name, and never appeared in
public again. The last news of him is that he was bought out of his residence at the soon-to-be-demolished Mayflower
Hotel in New York City and that the developers were shocked to learn he's General Douglas MacArthur's son.
Understandably, the following damaging info wasn't uncovered until 1979. For his services, General Douglas MacArthur was paid
$500,000 by the Philippine government during the siege of Corregidor and Bataan. If you think about it, why not the
soldiers who did the bulk of the work? There was a loophole: MacArthur wasn't working for the U.S. government, having been
retired. Either way, it doesn't look good for his legacy although he gets the credit for modernizing Japan.
All in all, Gregory Peck gives a top three performance in MacArthur, but it doesn't sink its teeth into his
worst qualities deep enough.