Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64777 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-03-25
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Japanese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 116 minutes

Amazon.com
With its straightforward retelling of events leading up to the American Revolution, The Howards of Virginia is a standard slice of patriotism from Hollywood's golden age. Adapted by noted screenwriter Sidney Buchman from Elizabeth Page's 1939 bestseller Tree of Liberty, this colonial melodrama is notorious for saddling Cary Grant with one of his most ill-fitting roles, and it's true that Grant's 20th-century style clashes with his portrayal of buckskinned rebel Matt Howard. Still, his performance is far from being "really bad" (as critic Pauline Kael harshly opined), and Martha Scott brings tenacious dignity to her role as Howard's pragmatic wife, who defies her aristocratic family to join her new husband in the wilderness of Ohio. The stirrings of rebellion clash with some thankfully outmoded Hollywood clichés (such as Howard's initial rejection of his mildly disabled son), but overall this remains a respectable and altogether engaging historical adventure, encompassing the early career of Thomas Jefferson and noteworthy for its meticulous attention to period detail. --Jeff Shannon

From the Back Cover
Cary Grant, Honorary Academy Award winner (1970), stars in THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA, a stirring romantic adventure set during the turbulent years of Colonial and Revolutionary America. Beautiful young Virginian Jane (Martha Scott) steps down from her proper aristocratic upbringing when she marries down-to-earth surveyor Matt Howard (Grant). Deeply in love, they move to the backwoods and begin to raise their family. Major differences emerge, however, when the conservative Jane and her Tory father rebel against Matt's staunch democratic ideals. Eventually, Matt joins the Colonial forces in the fight for freedom against England, and Jane and Matt are forced to choose between their love for each other and their political beliefs. Exciting and dramatic, THE HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA is a tumultuous tale of love and adventure.

Customer Reviews

A miscast mishmash
This movie,adapted by Sidney Buchman from Elizabeth Page's massive 1939 best-selling novel "The Tree of Liberty",is one of those curious Hollywood hybrids:part grand historical epic,part modest family soap opera.Set in the second half of the eighteenth century during the build-up to,and subsequent battles of,the War of Independence,the story centres on the the relationship between Matt Howard (Cary Grant),a down-to-earth,restless,spirited and idealistic young woodsman,and Jane Peyton (Martha Scott),a privileged Virginia debutante.They meet,marry,and move to the rough-and-ready district of Matt's youth.Slowly,however,the differences that once seemed not to matter - class,for example,and old family allegiances - come to serve as the source of serious tensions.Matt,an old and firm friend of Thomas Jefferson,is drawn into the struggle againt the British colonial powers,eventually joining the army and fighting in the revolutionary war,while Jane,reflecting the conservative values of her cosseted upbringing,remains fervently opposed to the republican cause.Matt,therefore,faces two battles:one to defeat the British,the other to save his marriage. This ambitious movie never quite finds a proper balance between the epic and the intimate,moving backwards and forwards between the two without ever really finding either coherence or conviction.Scott is competent in an unimaginative role,but Grant is badly miscast and never looks or sounds remotely at ease.Sidney Buchman,a fine screenwriter who would later become a victim of McCarthyism,is too eager to illustrate his strong beliefs about Jeffersonian democracy and its legacy,turning some scenes into condescending history lessons and some characters into caricatures (he covered the same ground intellectually in "The Talk of the Town",but with far greater subtlety and a more assured dramatic touch). This is not,however,a bad movie,just a disappointing one.The period detail is vivid,particularly in those scenes that were shot on location in Williamsburg,and the action is staged and choreographed with a certain degree of skill.If one is frustrated by the unevenness and clumsiness one is still able,none the less,to admire the scope and the energy.The print,apart from the occasional pop and crackle,is in fairly good condition,and this particular edition comes with an original theatrical trailer.

I was dubious...but I truly liked it!
Upon reading some reviews I was afraid I wasn't going to like this Epic Historical("Americana") Drama I got as a birthday gift, but gladly I enjoyed the almost two hours of film.

Cary Grant is my favorite screen actor, top of the tops, and yes, this is not his usual role or movie, but he did a great work impersonating heroic Matt Howard (from Albemarle Virginia), who rises from a being a poor lad to become a hero & notorious citizen. I think his performance is very good, it's believable, although Cary Grant fans, who like him mostly in comedy, probably won't like this one and probably will skip it.

Martha Scott, an actress not a "star", gives a very fine, strong, performance as his upper-crust wife (Jane Peyton), and kudos to Cedric Hardwicke for his complex portrayal of Grant's nemesis and brother-in-law (Fleetwood Peyton). Richard Carlson is very sympathetic as Thomas Jefferson.

Fine sets, good pacing and directon by Frank Lloyd (who also directed "Mutiny on the Bounty", among many others), and the DVD transfer is pretty good.

Great entertainment!

Anyone who loves the history of Virginia . . ..
Being from Virginia, I am of course partial to movies about it. Having spent a lot of time touring historical homes in and around the state, this movie in particular stands out. Part of the movie was filmed at Carters Grove Plantation, one of the James River Plantations. Cary Grant was great friends with the McCrea's who owned the plantation in the 1930's-40's. He loved the house so much that he recommended to the film company that they use the house for the home of inlaws in the movie. (The plantation was also used for the George Washington miniseries with Barry Bostwick/as the Fairfax home)
I recommend this movie to anyone that loves Cary Grant. Mr Grant's portrayal is very moving, Richard Carlson as Thomas Jefferson isn't so bad either !