2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

jarrodmcdonald-1 Just finished watching THE HASTY HEART a little while ago. Another great, somewhat unheralded film (by Warners). It's based on a play and I would imagine a lot of the original dialogue has been preserved-- there are some deep, heavy themes in this story. Spoiler follows...The guy (played by Richard Todd) is terminal, he's quite young-- he was raised without a father, with no friends and I suppose we are to assume he's never been with a woman. He's a ball of anger, and Todd plays him perfectly. But Ronald Reagan as one of the men who must deal with him in this condition and who eventually forges a bond of friendship with him, is just as effective in his role. The other minor characters are all strongly defined, and so is the nurse, portrayed by Patricia Neal. I like the way this story makes me think, and I like how the filmmakers have managed to capture the lighter moments as well as the tragedy. It's a beautifully made motion picture.

folsominc2 Amazing film about a man, used to being and surviving on his own, is dying and does not know it. The other patients in the ward know and try to be his friends, as difficult as he makes it.I thought each one's performance was amazing and moving. You could feel the nurse's indecision when Lachie, the dying man, asks her significant questions about the future.Besides Richard Todd's performance, which truly should have won an Academy Award, was the performance by Ronald Reagan. He was quite the man and quite the actor. Quoting the books of the Bible when he lost his temper was super and makes one think that is a very good idea - but to do it quietly. (wink) A final scene with both actors nose to nose gave a completion to the film as well as the final act between them before getting their photograph taken.Some suggest that it should not end on a whimsical note and I heartily disagree. It ended just perfectly. There was no need for a long drawn out scene of death or dying on any of the characters' roles. It ended as it had begun, men surviving the after effects of the horrible war and finding humor and fun where they could.Good show!

pbeat This movie belongs to Richard Todd. This is a must see for any film student. Forget Reagan. He can't act but I had to find this film in a Ronald Reagan film package just to see the Academy nominated performance of Richard Todd. Why we never heard from him again while Reagan has film collections is the absurdity of Hollywood. Richard Todd gave the best performance of the year and should have won the Academy Award. Don't miss this film if you want to study good acting. Patricia Neal is also first rate but the rest of the cast was below average. Reagan is distracting at how bad he is but only makes Todd that much better. The story is so sweet it will tear your heart out and you could spend most of the film crying. It was nice to get away from the war propaganda for half a second in 1949 and see a story that could have happened in any age. This film is among the best of the 40's and Richard Todd deserves a standing ovation.....

telegonus As a fan of neither soap operas nor Ronald Reagan I find myself utterly captivated by the movie of The Hasty Heart, a popular play of the postwar years, which was filmed in England by Warner Brothers. Richard Todd plays Lachy, a proud, somewhat obnoxious Scotsman who is assigned to a Burmese hospital, where he is presumably recovering from surgery but in fact dying, a fact kept from him by the medical staff. The other patients are told to go easy on the fellow, to make friends with him, which they do, with considerable opposition from Lachy himself, who did not up to this time have friends. There is some excellent dialogue along the way, as the various patients and staff members attempt to soften up this hard case, which in the end they do. The acting, of Richard Todd, as Lachy, and Patricia Neal, as the nurse he develops what I guess one would call a crush on, is quite good, but what makes the film somewhat of a revelation is the truly excellent performance of none other than Ronald Reagan, as Yank, the one American among the patients, and nobody's fool. Reagan does not play his part for charm. Yank is in his way as tough as Lachy, only he accepts life and Lachy doesn't. He too has a hard streak, but also compassion; and he is never soft. The interaction between the astringent Yank and everyone else is, thanks to Mr. Reagan, far and above the liveliest part of the film, which depending on one's mood can be either inspiring, in a gentle sort of way, or vaguely depressing, given its subject matter. This is a fine example of a well-made play of the sort its author, John Patrick, was an expert at. One doesn't see too many of them around these days, as they have gone out of fashion, as the art of the drama has, for good or ill, moved on. After seeing this movie one might have second thoughts about the notion that the theatre has, in the last half-century, moved on to better things.