geeky1. James Gammon as Zachary Taylor in One Man's Hero: This film is a dramatization of the true story of John Riley and the Saint Patrick's Battalion, a group of Irish Catholic immigrants who desert from the mostly Protestant U.S. Army to the mostly Catholic Mexican side during the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. Gammon conveyed Taylor's humble leadership, though he would not shave his mustache for the role.
2. Malachy Cleary as Warren Harding in Boardwalk Empire (Hold Me in Paradise): This episode from the first season of HBO's gangster series has main character Enoch "Nucky" Thompson attending the Republican National Convention in Chicago, where he finds himself attracted to the candidacy of Warren G. Harding over more established candidates, even after meeting Warren's mistress and illegitimate child. He promises Harding's manager the votes of the New Jersey delegation in exchange for blocking Senator Edge's nomination for the vice-presidency, knowing Edge has sided against him in funding new roads for Jersey City rather than Nucky's own Atlantic City. Here is an excerpt with Cleary's performance as Harding:
3. David Clennon as William Henry Harrison in Tecumseh: The Last Warrior: This is a 1995 TV western in which the story begins in 1812 when settlers tried to take away more and more territories from the native Americans. Tecumseh, who is the leader of the Shawnee nation, tries to lead his people in opposition, leading to a confrontation with Harrison and the US Army.
4. Burgess Meredith as James Madison in Magnificent Doll: This is a 1946 film that tells a fictionalized story of Dolley Madison. It stars Ginger Rogers as Dolley, who is the daughter of boardinghouse owners in Washington, DC. In the movie she falls in love with Aaron Burr (David Niven) and Madison. The costumes look to be from a later era. The story has Dolley manipulating Burr's affections in order to help Thomas Jefferson win the presidency, before eventually she becomes First Lady of the land herself.
5. Jason Robards as Ulysses Grant in Legend of the Lone Ranger: This 1981 telling of the story of the Lone Ranger and Tonto has President Ulysses Grant captured and held hostage by the notorious Cavendish gang. As hokey as the story is, the outstanding actor makes a very good on-screen Ulysses Grant.
6. Nigel Hawthorne as Martin Van Buren in Amistad: This film has been the focus of one of the entries in this series already, but the classical Academy Award winning actor who had won the award for his portrayal of the titular character in "The Madness of King George" gave a screen presence to the much overlooked Van Buren in this film.
7. Van Heflin as Andrew Johnson in Tennessee Johnson: Would you have ever guessed that Andrew Johnson would be the subject of his own movie? Me neither, but that's just what happened in 1942 when Hollywood made this flick. It stars Van Heflin as Johnson, Lionel Barrymore as his nemesis Thaddeus Stevens, and Ruth Hussey as first lady Eliza McCardle Johnson. The film depicts the events surrounding the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, and "presents its title character as Lincoln’s worthy successor who runs afoul of vindictive Radical Republicans." It gives a positive portrayal of Johnson and a negative portrayal of Reconstruction activism, so it is a film that would not get made today, but it did represent attitudes that were more common when the film was made. The movie shows Johnson as a visionary who heals the rift between North and South despite the efforts of his shortsighted foes. In a climactic scene, he warns the senators sitting in judgment of him that the failure to readmit the former Confederate states will leave America defenseless before its overseas foes. In reality Johnson never appeared in person at his trial. Still this is an interesting movie and almost deserves an entry of its own.
8. Larry Gates as Chester Alan Arthur in Cattle King (aka Guns of Wyoming): Chester Alan Athur did actually visit Wyoming and other western states. This 1963 western starring Robert Taylor and Robert Loggia incorporates Arthur's visit into the story. A range war takes place in Wyoming between Sam Brassfield (Taylor) who builds fences to protect his grass land, and Clay Mathews(Robert Middleton) a cattle baron determined to keep an open range.Both men argue their case before the cattlemen's association to President Chester A. Arthur, who happens to be in Cheyenne for a visit. A hired gun of Mathews picks a fight with Brassfield's top man, Johnny Quatro (Loggia) in a saloon, then vows revenge after Brassfield intervenes. The movie has all of the things you might expect in a duster from this era including the gunfight on main street. Chester Alan Arthur is just a nice bonus!
Coming up with eight of these was harder than I thought, mostly because it is hard to find pictures from these old obscure movies. Still, I'm glad that presidents like Arthur, the first Harrison and others could be included in this month's theme.