Warm Springs (film)

Warm Springs
Written by	Margaret Nagle
Directed by	Joseph Sargent
Starring	Kenneth Branagh Cynthia Nixon Kathy Bates Tim Blake Nelson Jane Alexander David Paymer
Theme music composer	Bruce Broughton
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
Production
Producer(s)	Chrisann Verges
Cinematography	Robbie Greenberg
Editor(s)	Michael Brown
Running time	121 minutes
Distributor	HBO
Release
Original release	April 30, 2005

Warm Springs is a 2005 television film about U.S. 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. Roosevelt's emotional growth as he interacts with other disabled people at Warm Springs prepares him for the challenges he will face as President during the Great Depression. The film is not a remake of Sunrise at Campobello.

Plot

The film begin with a scene of the 1920 presidential election. Later in the 1920s, Roosevelt's infantile paralysis sets in. He receives an invitation from George Foster Peabody to go to Warm Springs, Georgia for treatment.

The movie ends with Roosevelt attending the nominating convention of Al Smith in 1928.

Cast

Actor	Role
Kenneth Branagh	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Cynthia Nixon	Eleanor Roosevelt
Kathy Bates	Helena Mahoney
Tim Blake Nelson	Tom Loyless
Jane Alexander	Sara Delano Roosevelt
David Paymer	Louis McHenry Howe
Melissa Ponzio	Lucy Mercer
Marianne Fraulo	Missy LeHand
Brian F. Durkin	Elliott Roosevelt
Turner Dixon	James Roosevelt
Tripp Hennington	Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr.
Sam Frihart	John Roosevelt
Carrie Adams	Anna Roosevelt
Wilbur Fitzgerald	Al Smith
Felicia Day	Eloise Hutchinson

Actress Jane Alexander who plays Sara Delano Roosevelt, FDR's mother; also played Eleanor Roosevelt in the acclaimed 1976 telefilm Eleanor and Franklin and its 1977 sequel Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years. Many of the bit part actors in the film are actually physically challenged, though Branagh and several other of the principal actors are not. The withered appearance of Branagh's legs was achieved through the use of CGI.

Production

The film was produced by HBO Films and directed by Joseph Sargent. The majority of the film was made at Warm Springs, Georgia and its surrounding locations. The producers strove to make sure that many of the physical details were as authentic as possible. For example, Kenneth Branagh, as Roosevelt, is seen driving the very same specially-equipped automobile that FDR was taught to drive at Warm Springs. The cottage that Roosevelt stays in during the film is one of the cottages that the real FDR stayed in. And the swimming pool in which the patients swim in is the actual therapeutic swimming pool at Warm Springs, refurbished specifically for the film.

Reception

The film received near-unanimous praise by the critics, and won five Primetime Emmy Awards out of sixteen nominations, including Outstanding Made for Television Movie, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie (Jane Alexander), Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special (Original Dramatic Score) (Bruce Broughton), Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie and Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie. Joseph Sargent, who was also Emmy-nominated for his direction, did not win; however, he was nominated and won the Directors Guild of America Award. Screenwriter Margaret Nagle won the Writers Guild of America Award for her script. The film was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, but did not receive any.

See also

• Warm Springs Historic District
• Sunrise at Campobello, 1958 play
• Sunrise at Campobello, 1960 film

References

External links

• Warm Springs at the Internet Movie Database
• Warm Springs at AllMovie