The Scarlet Coat

Plot synopsis:
In 1780, General Benedict Arnold commands the Continental Army defences at West Point, New York. Major John Bolton (Cornel Wilde), a dragoon officer assigned to counter-intelligence, intercepts and kills a British spy leaving the Storm King Tavern, and captures a letter found on his body. He reports to Gen. Robert Howe (John McIntire), that the coded message was from the British spy calling himself "Gustavus" to "James Osborn", in care of Dr. Jonathan Odell of New York, stating that Arnold has taken command at West Point. The secret knowledge indicates that the spy is a "highly placed person". Bolton returns to the tavern, where one of his contacts, stableboy Ben Potter (Bobby Driscoll), tells him that the Tory wife of a redcoat, Mrs. Sally Cameron (Anne Francis), is travelling under a flag of truce possibly carrying information to the enemy. She catches them searching her room, where Bolton takes her safe conduct pass after verbally sparring with her. Mrs. Cameron tries to seduce Bolton to obtain its return, but he rebuffs her. A messenger arrives with a package for "Mr. Moody," but when no one by that name can be found, another traveler, Col. Winfield, offers to deliver the package. Bolton recognizes that Winfield is an imposter, and in a struggle over the package, kills him. Other American officers arrest Bolton for murder and deliver him to Howe.
A pass through the lines found hidden in Winfield's boot reveals that the impostor was actually Moody, a spy, who had another coded letter from "Gustavus" to "Osborn" in his possession. The package, a ream of blank paper, concealed a message from "Osborn" written in invisible ink requesting an urgent meeting to finalize an unknown arrangement. Howe proposes that Bolton feign desertion to the British. Bolton agrees, aware that he could be hanged if the British discover his mission. With Moody's pass, Bolton passes through the British lines, but the British lieutenant on duty recognizes that he is not the same man who previously used the pass and follows him. In New York, Bolton calls upon Dr. Odell (George Sanders), trying to deliver the letter. The lieutenant bursts in to arrest Bolton, but when he addresses him as "Mr. Moody", Odell takes Bolton and the letter to British Army Major John André (Michael Wilding) for deciphering, using a pair of spectacles to isolate key words. Bolton claims that he was Moody's source of information. He offers to continue working for the British. Odell bluntly tells Bolton that he thinks his story is too neat and believes him to be a Rebel spy. But André takes an immediate liking to Bolton. He invites him to a dinner party that evening, where Bolton suffers an anxious moment when Sally Cameron (unmarried and André's mistress) is present. Bolton's explanation corroborates information about the murder that André had checked, and Sally provides the perfect eyewitness.
Bolton is sent with two Tory agents to sabotage the chain barrier across the Hudson River before a British attack on the American position at Verplanck, so that British warships can pass. André gives one a letter to deliver afterwards at the Storm King Tavern. Bolton drowns one agent, but when he tries to arrest the other, is confronted by an armed Ben Potter, who still thinks that Bolton is a murderer and deserter. The agent disarms Ben and nearly kills Bolton. Ben finds his gun and shoots the agent. At a secret meeting with Howe, Bolton uses spectacles to decipher the letter, which points to Gustavus as someone at West Point with authority. Bolton volunteers to return to New York to identify the mysterious "James Osborn." Odell more than ever believes Bolton is a spy, but Bolton convinces André that the British agents completed their mission.
To trap him, Odell writes a false dispatch from "Mr. Osborn" for Bolton to steal. At another dinner, Bolton notices that Sally Cameron only pretends to toast the King. She has also fallen in love with him and warns Bolton about Odell's trap. The British attack on Verplanck is crushed and results in Bolton's arrest as a Rebel spy. He is saved from hanging by André, who intervenes for him after Sally confesses her feelings for Bolton and begs him to vouch on Bolton's behalf. He does so, despite her refusal of his marriage proposal. Putting duty before personal considerations, André asks Bolton to accompany him to a meeting between "Gustavus" and "Osborn" aboard the sloop Vulture. André assures Bolton that "Gustavus" and "Osborn" have conjured a quick end to the war. The wily "Gustavus" changes the meeting at the last moment to the house of a Tory sympathizer and orders André to come alone. Bolton persuades André to go in uniform, and not in civilian clothing, lest he be captured as a spy. Soon after, Odell detects Bolton warning American shore batteries of the British presence, but Bolton escapes by swimming ashore to the American garrison. The American commander, Col. Jameson (James Westerfield), is skeptical of Bolton's loyalties and stubbornly holds him until Howe can vouch for him. "Gustavus" escapes. "Osborn" is captured and Bolton realizes that Benedict Arnold is "Gustavus." To his horror, Bolton learns that "Osborn" is André, and worse, that he changed into civilian clothes trying to escape.
At André's court-martial, Bolton testifies that André entered the lines in uniform and changed into civilian clothing only at Arnold's treacherous orders. The court reluctantly sentences André to be executed as a spy. André pledges his continuing friendship with Bolton and asks him to protect Sally from any retribution. Bolton brokers a last-minute deal to exchange André for Arnold, but André considers the suggestion a taint on his honour and declines.

Tags: intrigue, murder

Review:
At the film's beginning, a card tells us this is to be about Benedict Arnold's unmasking as a traitor.
So, I expected the usual historical action film, depicting the heroic Americans and the villainous British.
And, at first, the film seemed to be going this way.But then, it became richer as it focused not so much on Benedict Arnold as on Major John Andre, the British Adjutant General, and Major John Boulton, an American secret agent.
The essential plot point is that Boulton will pretend to desert the American forces and go over to the British, his object being to learn who the mysterious Gustavus is.
Gustavus is a pseudonym for an American (Arnold, of course) who is revealing secrets of the American forces to the British.But once Boulton has "defected," he encounters two very interesting men.
The other is Major John Andre, who accepts Boulton as a true defector.
In his guise as defector, Boulton appears to be a man without ideals, someone interested in making money for the information that he can carry.As the film develops, Boulton and Andre come to respect each other, tho they are men on opposite sides.
And Andre comes across as a loyal British subject, a man of integrity.
Were it not for the war, these people might be good friends and work together.In the climatic scene, Andre is found guilty of enticing Arnold to betray his country, even to offering Arnold money for information.
As Andre makes clear, that is his job, and there are Americans who are trying to do the same thing with British officers as well.
And Washington does provide a solution: If Andre will sign the papers, he will be exchanged for Arnold, who has deserted to the British and is among their troops.
Andre rises to heroic status in this scene, a man to be respected, and a true British patriot, willing to sacrifice his life for his ideals.
The costumes rival the colors of nature, particularly the scarlet coats of the British officers.
The film makes fine use of the Cinemascope aspect ratio.My only objection to the sets is this: Everything looks new, as if the furniture had just been purchased at a local store, as if the painters had just left yesterday, the lawn crews had just finished mowing the grass and tending the flower beds.
But here his British demeanor and accent are perfectly correct for Andre, and Wilde's rougher looks are correct for the American he plays.Sanders is also satisfactory in a good part of the suspicious doctor.
And Bobby Driscoll--remember him from "Song of the South"?--has a small supporting part as a teenager anxious to join the Revolutionary forces.Anne Francis is window dressing as Sally Cameron, whom both Andre and Boulton are in love with.
At his end, Andre asks Boulton to look to Sally, for, should the Colonists win the war, she will probably be treated as a traitor because of her late husband's British sympathies.The script was written by Karl Tunberg, who'd done the script for "Beau Brummel" just before this.
One of the intriguing aspects of this historical drama is the way the "Tories" or British American Loyalists are portrayed, and the sort of gloss given to their ardent support for King George III.
If there is a strong criticism to be made of this film, it is that perhaps the people in this story are made out to be a little bit nicer than they were in real life.In some regards, the actions of the character of Major Boulton, played by Cornel Wilde, make him the least likable member of the cast and the flaw in the storyline.
This film does concentrate heavily on the notions of personal honor and personal prestige which were a major social 'norm' in that day and age.In its subtext, the fact that about twenty-five percent of the colonial population was decidedly pro-British is glossed over, too.
She was a good choice for the woman of divided loyalties, a 'gal' who was rather more modern than the social conventions of that day might have allowed -- if there had not been a life and death struggle going on.One good aspect of the film is the way the rivalries of the American revolutionary leaders degenerated into outright jealousies, and how these personal conflicts very nearly sabotaged the entire revolutionary effort.
It rates a seven largely because Cornel Wilde is so deeply immersed in his role, and does it so well, and because Anne Francis makes the most of her supporting effort.The color print used on Turner Classic Movies was very clear, as well, and so it was an enjoyable presentation in that important regard.Hope it runs again soon..
A Rarity - a good film about the American Revolution!.
Except for 1776 the other two films have stars in them (1776 had some good character actors, William Daniel as John Adams - repeating his stage performance fortunately - and Howard De Silva as Ben Franklin - even in the small role of Edward Rutledge there is John Cullum singing that fascinating economic lecture "Mollasses to Rum to Slave".).
A sad list - fortunately there is 1776 and DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK and THE SCARLET COAT.The conspiracy of Benedict Arnold - Sir Henry Clinton - and Major John Andre is a subject that has only appeared in two movies - and oddly enough both were good.
However, only the first twenty minutes of the film deal with the conspiracy at all (though the plot hinges on clearing Costello's name of treason charges).
THE SCARLET COAT is a solid dramatic treat, and wisely concentrates on the real tragic hero in the story: Major John Andre.
Yes, he was a spy, and had he succeeded American history would have been part of the British Empire for at least another century (Arnold was selling more than control of West Point and the Hudson - Washington and his staff were scheduled to be there on the day the trap would have been sprung).
But unlike Arnold (whatever blows he unfairly received after doing such marvelous service for the American cause up to 1777) Andre never betrayed his country - he was fighting for his king and homeland, and thought he was in the right.
Michael Wilding makes this point very eloquently in the film's court-martial scene.
As a result, the viewer's sympathies (as well as those of Cornell Wilde's character, and all the other characters in the film) remain with the Major even unto death.
It is interesting to note that in the 19th Century the Arnold Conspiracy did remain the subject of American drama - but the play that held the boards was not named "Arnold" but "Andre".
THE SCARLET COAT (John Sturges, 1955) **1/2.
Somehow, despite numerous screenings on TCM U.K. over the years, I never bothered with this one; then, when it seemed to drop off their schedule, I acquired THE SCARLET COAT – along with a few other genuinely rare Cornel Wilde efforts – on DVD-R (culled, ironically, from one such TV broadcast) through a friend!
Anyway, I now begrudge all the more the fact of having overlooked the film for so long since I enjoyed it a good deal; incidentally, for some odd reason, I have never been particularly enthused of pictures set during the American War of Independence – so that may well be the reason why I did not actively pursue this one.
Another obvious draw, then, were the principal actors: Wilde as the patriot ordered to defect (by his superior, John McIntire) to the British ranks in order to unearth the mole who is passing them information about the enemy's movements (which turns out to be a prominent military figure, Benedict Arnold, played by Robert Douglas – though, that, in itself was a bit of a giveaway even to viewers unfamiliar with American history!); co-star Michael Wilding is the English officer who takes Wilde under his wing (against the better judgment of doctor comrade George Sanders, amusing in characteristic cynical mode) and suffers the consequences of this blind faith – albeit yielding mutual respect (which not even the woman, Anne Francis, who comes between them can negate!) – with his life.
For the record, I almost gave this a *** rating but decided against this given the fact that the film loses some momentum in its last lap – due to the (necessarily) involved plotting, an unfortunate lapse into cliché (Wilde is thrown into prison by his own side at the proverbial eleventh-hour, thus allowing the traitor Arnold to flee and Wilding to be intercepted and face the music all alone!) and over length (even if a fade-out clinch between Wilde and Francis should not have been amiss, to counterpoint the ensuing glumness concerning Wilding's fate).
scarlet coat like most revolution flicks wasnt well received but is nears perfection in the art of movie making.
a great character study of john andre the heroic redcoat who is revered by both friend and foe for courage,,, scarlett coat also probes the duality of the undercover agent ,,, as a counterfeit traitor maj bolton befriends andre and undertakes a high level penetration of british intelligence yet he defends andre in andre's courtmartial ...
the film captures the moral ambiguity of the spyhow much of the spy's world is real ,,, which reality does he belong to the reality of his mision or the reality which the cover story createsandre's capture and courtmartial is a success for bolton in his mission beyond that whch wahington would have ever demanded ,,, the mission was merely to identify the traitor in us ranks ,,, bolton has knocked out enemy intelligence as well ,,, yet bolton mourns the death of the man he was sent to destroyann francis plays a stock american character,,, compliant with the british but willing to engage them in a war of witsa movie well worth revisiting.
Although no one should depend on this film for his honor's thesis on the American Revolution.
But this account of the foiling of the plot of Benedict Arnold to betray the American Revolution is certainly a fine drama with Cornel Wilde in the lead as an American secret agent who stops the Arnold betrayal of the fort at West Point way before the site became where the U.S. Military Academy is located.
Wilde is no James Bond type spy, he's got the charm of an 18th century Bond, but he survives on his wits not any gadgets.The focus on this story is Major John Andre who was the go between for Arnold with the British.
Andre is played with the charm and heroic dash that he has come down in history with by Michael Wilding.
He's captured but Arnold escapes and joins the British army in the last year of the Revolution.
A little too late for the Mother country to put his knowledge to good use.Although I liked this film very much I wish a film would come out with Arnold as the central character instead of Andre.
the scarlet coat is about bendict arnold betraying his country but he really isn't in the movie too much the main focus is on major Boulton (cornell wilde) and major Andre (micheal wilding)Wilding steals the movie as a officer and a gentlemen also as a freind to Boulton.
As Boulton tries to uncover who is gustavus the man leaking secerts to the british.Wilde has to deal with the british the suspisous Dr o"dell(George Sanders)who watches his every move and love intrest Anne Francis this is a very enjoyable movie.
Although Cornel Wilde gets top billing as an American double agent, the true star of this film is Major John Andre (Michael Wilding), the British officer who was captured as a spy and hanged for his plot with Benedict Arnold to betray West Point.
Unfortunately the acting is wooden by almost everyone, so a good story and some interesting moral dilemmas are hard to hit home.My one and only favorite American Revolution film is John Ford's classic "Drums Along the Mohawk" (1939).
"The Revolution" (2006), and "John Adams" (2008) are probably one of the best sources about the period.
If you like Pre Revolution 18th Century American history, Michael Mann's breath-taking "Last of the Mohicans" (1992) is a great film from this period, as is King Vidor's "Northwest Passage" (1940)..
It seems rather strange that with the American Revolution being so important that very few films have been made about it...even by Hollywood.
In fact, during the 1930s, Hollywood made tons of films about the British Empire and how magnificent it was...which is rather strange as well!
While "The Scarlet Coat" is not one of the best of them, it is one of the few American Revolution films you can find.The story purports to be true and while I know nothing about Major Boulton (Cornel Wilde), the other events in the movie are based on the true story of Benedict Arnold and his becoming a traitor to the United States' cause.
Boulton is a spy who pretends to be working for the Brits and the film consists of him working hard to determine WHO the British are contacting within the Continental Army.
There is nothing wrong with this movie other than the fact that it is a bit talky AND there's a female relationship in the film that seems unnecessary.
Both those Films are Above Average but Hardly Deserve their Elevated Status as "Classics".This has One Stodgy Scene after Another, the Movie Barely Moves and the Highlights are the Technicolor Cinemascope Postcard Images and some Good, Interesting Dialog.
Anne Francis is a Stunning Beauty but doesn't do much, Cornel Wilde is a Dashing Swordsman but is Robotic if Interested most of the time, but the Standout Performance is Michael Wilding as the Central Character of the Piece Maj. John Andre.The Benedict Arnold Hook is Background and this may have the most Unexciting Action Sequences in a War Film Ever.
John Sturges is a good director & this film shows it.
Still, Sturges brings a solid story to the fore & the camera work on the film is quite stunning.
Karl Tunberg's script is well envisioned by the director.Cornel Wilde's Major John Boulton is a very solid character, a revolutionary whose mission is to spy on the British convincing them he is a Tory & report back to General Washington.
He forms a friendship that is quite compelling with Major John Andre (Michael Wilding).
Both men are in love with Sally Cameron (Anne Francis) which is the triangle the story is built around.Where it doesn't ring true is in how good & ethical these people are.
Still this drama is quite a compelling telling of the treason of Benedict Arnold (Robert Douglas).
Spy Story Focused on Major John Andre.
Most films about the American Revolution don't seem to do well at the box office, and the "The Scarlet Coat" appears to have been no exception.
Instead, "The Scarlet Coat" is really a spy story, centered around the unmasking of Benedict Arnold.
All Americans are aware that Benedict Arnold was an arch- traitor whose name is universally reviled.
That is the subject of "The Scarlet Coat".Unfortunately, however, little is revealed concerning Arnold himself, or his motivations.
The real subject of "The Scarlet Coat" is the relationship between two spies, American Major John Boulton and British Major John Andre.
Despite the fact that the outcome of the war hangs in the balance over the success of their respective enterprises, they are depicted as having been good friends.
Of the men two Andre is presented as being by the far the more interesting character of the two.Among movies about the American revolution, "The Scarlet Coat" stands apart in that it does not depict the British as overbearing tyrants.
As played by Michael Wilding, Major Andre comes off as an intelligent and gallant gentleman, highly regarded by both friends and foes alike.
It is Major Andre's tragic downfall that provides the climax of the film.
A British officer's red coat, purporting to be that worn by Major Andre, is on display in the Inn, though I cannot vouch for it's authenticity.
*Spoiler/plot- The Scarlet Coat, 1955.
In the American colonies during 1780s, a 'Major John Boulton' is recruited by Colonial intelligence as a counterspy who will fake colonial desertion to the British occupying army.
Boulton's mission is to discover the identity of an American traitor with the code name 'Gustavus'.
Boulton wins the friendship and respect of British officer and spy-master, Major John Andre.
While doing so, Boulton discovers that the traitor is none other than American hero and General George Washington's friend, General Benedict Arnold.
*Special Stars- Cornel Wilde, Michael Wilding, George Sanders, Anne Francis, Robert Douglas, John McIntire, Rhys Williams.*Theme- War is a dirty but honorable business.
Interesting bit of historic storytelling from the early 50's during the Cold War.*Based on- The story of General Benedict Arnold..
U.S. release: 19 August 1955.
U.K. release: 23 April 1955.
Australian release: 6 September 1955.
SYNOPSIS: In 1780, Washington places General Benedict Arnold in charge of the garrison at West Point.COMMENT: Although critics blamed director John Sturges for the lack of tension and suspense in this promising story idea, the blame should have been sheeted home to Karl "Fumble-Fingers" Tunberg who allows the film's central character, Benedict Arnold, to simply disappear after an elaborate (and well-written) introduction.
Instead the screenplay focuses on a subsidiary figure, Major John Andre, so pallidly played by Michael Wilding, he allows everyone in sight (except Anne Francis) to steal his scenes.
As for Mr. Wilde, he is forced to struggle with a role that both he and Sturges (and the movie-going public) knew was quite beyond his range.
Despite a lot of money up there on the screen, including its rich production values in costumes, locations and splendid autumnal CinemaScope panoramas, M-G-M was forced to sell "The Scarlet Coat" to exhibitors as a "B" attraction.