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Movie and TV Presidents: Tom Berenger as Theodore Roosevelt

Rough Riders is a 1997 mini-series which aired on the TNT network. It starred Tom Berenger as Theodore Roosevelt, was was then the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. It tells the story of how Theodore Roosevelt resigned from his government position to form a volunteer militia unit called "The Rough Riders" to fight in the Spanish American War. The series tells the story of the regiment (officially known as the 1st US Volunteer Cavalry) and is about the bravery of the volunteers at the Battle of San Juan Hill, part of the Spanish–American War of 1898.



The series was released on DVD in 2006. The cast included Sam Elliott as Captain Bucky O'Neil, Gary Busey as General Joseph 'Fighting Joe' Wheeler, Illeana Douglas as Edith Roosevelt, Chris Noth as Craig Wadsworth, George Hamilton as William Randolph Hearst, R. Lee Ermey as Secretary of State John Hay, Nick Chinlund as Frederick Remington and Dale Dye as Colonel Leonard Wood.

The movie contains what in my opinion is one of the worst cast presidents in a film. No, it's not Berenger, he was actually much better than I expected as Roosevelt. I'm referring to the casting of an aging Brian Keith as William McKinley. Keith bears no resemblance to McKinley whatsoever. His lines are mumbled and he is a minor part of the story. (Ironically, Keith gave a terrific portrayal as Theodore Roosevelt in the film "The Wind and the Lion". Watch this clip and see if you agree.)

Berenger on the other hand did a decent job of portraying TR, in what I imagine would be a very difficult role. The dialogue written for him is quite good, just the kind of things that I can imagine The real TR saying. For example, there is this exchange between Roosevelt and a reporter:

Newsman: Colonel Roosevelt, what do you think of this regiment, the Rough Riders?

Theodore Roosevelt: I think this regiment could whip Caesar's Tenth Legion! I think they could ride with Genghis Khan! They are the best examples of American manhood. We have cowboys, Ivy Leaguers, football players, polo players, bronco busters, New York City policemen... and one man, I regret to say, who used to work for the Internal Revenue Service!

Here is a clip of Berenger as Roosevelt in the series:



The entire miniseries is about four hours long. I enjoyed it quite a bit, as much as for the stories and the characters as for the action. It is a movie about both the homefront and the media-fed frenzy that led to the war, as well as the actual battle itself. It includes the story of Roosevelt's request to form the regiment, its selection and training, the mixing of northern and southern soldiers for a war for the first time since the civil war, the training of the troops in Tampa, their transportation to Cuba, the battles, the malaria, the African-American "buffalo soldiers" let by a young (then Captain) John "Black Jack" Pershing, and so much more.
If you have the time to spare, I recommend watching it.