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MacArthur (1977)
Rate:
8
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1/22
1/22:
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's 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 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 was
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 character's worst qualities deep enough.