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Lethal Weapon
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Lethal Weapon
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Richard Donner
Produced by
Richard Donner
Joel Silver
Written by
Shane Black
Starring
Mel Gibson
Danny Glover
Gary Busey
Music by
Michael Kamen
Eric Clapton
Cinematography
Stephen Goldblatt
Edited by
Stuart Baird
Production
company
Silver Pictures
Distributed by
Warner Bros.
Release date
March 6, 1987 (1987-03-06)
Running time
110 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$15 million
Box office
$120.2 million[1]
Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action film directed by Richard Donner, produced by Joel Silver, and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In Lethal Weapon, a pair of mismatched LAPD detectives – Martin Riggs (Gibson), a former Green Beret who has become suicidal following the death of his wife, and Roger Murtaugh (Glover), a 50-year-old veteran of the force – work together as partners.
The film was released on March 6, 1987. Upon its release, Lethal Weapon grossed over $120 million (against a production budget of $15 million) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing. It spawned a franchise that includes three sequels and a television series.
Contents
[hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
3.1 Development
3.2 Martial arts
4 Music
5 Release
5.1 Awards
5.2 Critical reception
5.3 Home media
5.4 Alternate versions
6 Reboot
7 References
8 External links
Plot[edit]
Shortly after his 50th birthday, LAPD Homicide Sergeant Roger Murtaugh is partnered with Sergeant Martin Riggs, a transfer from narcotics. Riggs is a former Special Forces soldier who lost his wife in a car accident three years prior, has turned suicidal, and has been taking his aggression out on suspects, leading to his superiors requesting his transfer. Murtaugh and Riggs quickly find themselves feuding with each other.
Murtaugh is contacted by Michael Hunsaker, a Vietnam War buddy and banker, but before they can meet, Murtaugh learns that Hunsaker's daughter, Amanda, apparently committed suicide by jumping from her apartment balcony. Autopsy reports show Amanda to have been poisoned with drain cleaner, making the case a possible homicide. Hunsaker tells Murtaugh that he was concerned about his daughter's involvement in drugs, prostitution, and pornography, and was trying to get Murtaugh to help her escape that life.
Murtaugh and Riggs attempt to question Amanda's pimp, but find a drug lab on the premises, leading to a shootout. Riggs kills the pimp and saves the life of Murtaugh, who starts to tolerate his new partner. Though the case seems closed, Riggs is aware that the only witness to Amanda's apparent suicide was Dixie, another prostitute who was working away from her normal streets. They attempt to question Dixie at her home, but it explodes as they approach it. Riggs finds parts of a mercury switch from bomb debris, indicating a professional had set the bomb; children who had been nearby witnessed a man approach the house with a tattoo similar to Riggs', and Murtaugh suspects Hunsaker knows more than he has told him.
The two approach Hunsaker before Amanda's funeral, where he reveals that he had previously been part of "Shadow Company," a heroin-smuggling operation run by former special forces operators from the Vietnam War, masterminded by retired General Peter McAllister and his right-hand man, Mr. Joshua. Hunsaker had been laundering the money, but wanted to get out, and when McAllister found out he'd contacted Murtaugh, the general had Amanda killed. As they talk, Joshua arrives in a helicopter and kills Hunsaker. Shadow Company attempts to kill Riggs in a drive-by shooting, but he is saved by a bullet-proof vest. Murtaugh and Riggs fake his death to gain the upper hand.
Shadow Company later kidnaps Murtaugh's daughter Rianne and demand Murtaugh turn himself over to them for her return. Murtaugh and Riggs plan an ambush at the exchange at El Mirage Lake with Riggs providing sniper support, but Riggs is caught by McAllister and all three are taken to an unknown location. Murtaugh and Riggs are tortured for information, but Riggs manages to overpower his captors, frees Murtaugh and Rianne, and they escape to find themselves at a busy nightclub used as a front for Shadow Company. Their cover blown, McAllister and Joshua attempt to escape separately. Joshua manages to get away, but McAllister ends up crashing his car on Hollywood Boulevard and is killed when hand grenades in the car detonate. Murtaugh and Riggs race to Murtaugh's home, knowing Joshua will be after his family. They arrive in time to stop him, and Riggs beats him in a violent fist fight on the front lawn. As officers arrive to take Joshua away, he breaks free and grabs a gun, but both Murtaugh and Riggs pull their guns and shoot him dead.
After visiting his wife's grave, Riggs spends Christmas with the Murtaughs, having become best friends with Murtaugh and bonding with the rest of the family. Riggs also gives Murtaugh a symbolic gift: an unfired hollow-point bullet which he had been saving to commit suicide, as he does not need it anymore.
Cast[edit]
Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs
Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh
Gary Busey as Mr. Joshua
Mitchell Ryan as Peter McAllister
Tom Atkins as Michael Hunsaker
Darlene Love as Trish Murtaugh
Jackie Swanson as Amanda Hunsaker
Traci Wolfe as Rianne Murtaugh
Damon Hines as Nick Murtaugh
Ebonie Smith as Carrie Murtaugh
Steve Kahan as Captain Murphy
Mary Ellen Trainor as Dr. Stephanie Woods
Ed O'Ross as Mendez
Lycia Naff as Dixie
Jimmie F. Skaggs as Drug Dealer #1
Jason Ronard as Drug Dealer #2
Blackie Dammett as Drug Dealer #3
Al Leong as Endo
Jack Thibeau as McCaskey
Grand Bush as Boyette
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Recent UCLA graduate Shane Black wrote the screenplay in mid-1985. Black stated that his intention was to do an "urban western" inspired by Dirty Harry where a violent character "reviled for what he did, what he is capable of, the things he believed in" is eventually recruited for being the one that could solve the problem. The protagonists would be everymen policemen, "guys shuffling in a town like Los Angeles searching for something noble as justice when they're just guys in washed and worn suits seeking a paycheck".
According to Black, his original first draft of the script was very different and much darker than the final film. It was 140 pages long and both the plot and characters were different, and action scenes were also much bigger. The ending of the script contained a chase scene with helicopters and a trailer truck full of cocaine exploding over Hollywood Hills with cocaine snowing over the Hollywood sign. Black hated this first draft and initially discarded it but later picked it up again and re-wrote it into the new drafts that were eventually used for filming.[2]
His agent sent the Lethal Weapon script to various studios, being rejected before Warner Bros. executive Mark Canton took a liking to it.[2] Canton brought along producer Joel Silver, who loved the story and worked with Black to further develop the script. Director Richard Donner also brought in writer Jeffrey Boam to do some uncredited re-writes on Black's script after he found parts of it to be too dark. Boam mostly added some more humor into the script, and later did a complete re-write of Shane Black and Warren Murphy's rejected script for the second film. He also wrote the script for the third film and an unused draft for the fourth film.[3]
After the script was purchased for $250,000, studio production executives offered it to director Richard Donner, who also loved it. Leonard Nimoy was one of the choices considered for directing, but he did not feel comfortable doing action films, and he was working on Three Men and a Baby at the time.[4] With those key elements in place, the search began for the right combination of actors to play Riggs and Murtaugh.
Mel Gibson was invited by Richard Donner as he was interested in working with the actor after Ladyhawke. Casting director Marion Dougherty first suggested teaming Gibson with Danny Glover, given Murtaugh had no set ethnicity in the script.[2] She arranged for Gibson to fly in from his home in Sydney while Glover was flown in from Chicago, where he was appearing in a play, to read through the script. According to a June 2007 Vanity Fair magazine article, Bruce Willis was considered for the Riggs role. This is referenced in the spoof of the Lethal Weapon films, Loaded Weapon 1. Bruce (as John McClane) appears after the villains attack the wrong beach residence, looking for the protagonist.
According to Donner, "It took about two hours and by the time we were done, I was in seventh heaven. They found innuendoes; they found laughter where I never saw it; they found tears where they didn't exist before; and, most importantly, they found a relationship — all in just one reading. So if you ask about casting... it was magical, just total dynamite."
Explains Gibson, "This particular story was a cut above others I had passed on, because the action is really a sideline which heightens the story of these two great characters. I picture Riggs as an almost Chaplinesque figure, a guy who doesn't expect anything from life and even toys with the idea of taking his own. He's not like these stalwarts who come down from Mt. Olympus and wreak havoc and go away. He's somebody who doesn't look like he's set to go off until he actually does."
The draw for Glover was equally strong. Fresh from his success as Mister in The Color Purple, he felt the role of Roger Murtaugh offered a whole new range of character expression and experience. "Aside from the chance to work with Mel, which turned out to be pure pleasure, one of the reasons I jumped at this project was the family aspect. The chance to play intricate relationships and subtle humor that exist in every close family group was an intriguing challenge, as was playing a guy turning 50. Murtaugh's a little cranky about his age until everything he loves is threatened. His reawakening parallels Riggs'."
Both actors were signed by early spring 1986. Gibson and Glover then flew home to pack, and, returning to Los Angeles, began an intensive two months of physical training and preparation. Meanwhile, the crucial role of Joshua was settled when Gary Busey asked for a chance to read for the part. An established star since his Academy Award-nominated performance in The Buddy Holly Story, Busey had not auditioned for a film in years. "I had butterflies," he said. "I'd never played a bad guy. And no one had seen me since I'd lost 60 pounds and got back into shape. But I decided to take the initiative in order to have the opportunity to work with Dick, Joel, Mel and Danny. I'm constantly looking for someone to pull the best performance out of me and any of those guys could. They even talked me into dyeing my hair!" In his E! True Hollywood Story biography, Busey says he was hired to play Joshua because they were looking for someone big and menacing enough to be a believable foe for Mel Gibson. Busey also credits the film for reviving his failing film career.
Stunt coordinator Bobby Bass planned and supervised all phases of Gibson's and Glover's intense pre-production training; physical conditioning, weight workouts, and weapons handling and safety. Bass also used his own military experiences to bring a greater depth of understanding to the Riggs character. To familiarize the actors with the specialized skills and sensibilities acquired by undercover cops, arrangements were made for Gibson and Glover to spend time in the field accompanying working L.A.P.D. officers. Throughout filming, technical advisers from the L.A.P.D. as well as the L.A. County Sheriff's Department worked closely with Donner and the actors to ensure authenticity.
Martial arts[edit]
Cedric Adams was the first expert brought in. "Adams thought the best possible way to show just how lethal Riggs really is — is to show his mastery of a form of martial arts never before seen onscreen," said Donner. Adams taught the actors the movements of Capoeira.[5] A second technical advisor, Dennis Newsome, brought jailhouse rock to the fight sequence.[6] The third technical advisor was Rorion Gracie, who specialized in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.[7]
Music[edit]
Main article: Lethal Weapon (soundtrack)
Michael Kamen, who just completed work on Highlander, composed the score for Lethal Weapon. The guitar part of Riggs' theme was performed by Eric Clapton. Kamen and Clapton had worked together on the music for the 1985 BBC TV series Edge of Darkness (the feature adaptation of which would later, by coincidence, star Mel Gibson). The saxophone part of Murtaugh's theme was performed by David Sanborn. The Christmas song "Jingle Bell Rock", performed by Bobby Helms, is played during the film's opening credits. Honeymoon Suite's song, "Lethal Weapon," is played during the film's end credits without being credited.[citation needed]
Release[edit]
Awards[edit]
Released on March 6, 1987, Lethal Weapon was No. 1 at the box office for three weeks before Blind Date supplanted it.[8][9] It grossed $120.2 million worldwide and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing (Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore and Bill Nelson) (losing to The Last Emperor).[10] It is widely considered to be one of the best buddy cop films of all time, influencing numerous "buddy cop" films such as Tango & Cash, Bad Boys and the Rush Hour series.
Critical reception[edit]
The film holds a score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 51 reviews; the average score is 7 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The most successful installment in a phenomenally successful franchise, Lethal Weapon helped redefine action movies for the 1980s and 1990s".[11] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[12]
Variety wrote, "Lethal Weapon is a film teetering on the brink of absurdity when it gets serious, but thanks to its unrelenting energy and insistent drive, it never quite falls."[13] Richard Schickel of Time called it "Mad Max meets The Cosby Show", saying that it works better than expected.[14] Richard Harrington of The Washington Post described it as "a vivid, visceral reminder of just how exciting an action film can be".[15] At The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "The film is all fast action, noisy stunts and huge, often unflattering close-ups, but it packs an undeniable wallop."[16] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four out of four stars, saying Donner "tops himself".[17]
Home media[edit]
Lethal Weapon has been released on VHS and DVD numerous times, along with a single Blu-ray Disc release. The first DVD was released in 1997 and featured the film's theatrical version. The Director's Cut was released in 2000. Since then, numerous sets have been released that contain all four films in the series (featuring the same DVDs).[18] The theatrical version was also released on Blu-ray in 2006.[19]
Alternate versions[edit]
An alternate opening and ending were both filmed and can be seen on the Lethal Weapon 4 DVD. The alternate opening featured Martin Riggs drinking alone in a bar where he is accosted by a couple of thugs who attack him for his money, but are easily subdued by Riggs. Director Richard Donner felt the film should open with a brighter look at Riggs, and replaced the bar scene with the scene in which Riggs awakens in his trailer. The alternate ending featured Riggs telling Murtaugh not to retire. Without even thinking about the possibility of sequels, Donner decided that Riggs and Murtaugh's relationship as one of friendship, and filmed the ending that appears in the completed film.
In addition to the film's theatrical release, an extended Director's Cut version was released later on DVD. The Director's Cut version is longer (117 minutes) than the original theatrical release version (110 minutes), and features additional scenes. One extended scene depicts Riggs dispatching a sniper who had been firing at children in a playground. In another scene, Riggs picks up a street-walking prostitute, but instead of having sex with her, he takes her home to watch The Three Stooges on TV, thus illustrating his loneliness following the death of his wife.
Reboot[edit]
On January 19, 2011, Warner Bros. announced plans to reboot the Lethal Weapon franchise without Gibson and Glover. The new franchise was set to feature the same characters but a brand new cast.[20] Will Beall was hired to write the script.[21] A television version premiered in September 2016 on Fox starring Clayne Crawford as Martin Riggs and Damon Wayans as Roger Murtaugh.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Lethal Weapon (1987)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
^ Jump up to: a b c Psycho Pension: The Genesis of Lethal Weapon (Documentary)|format= requires |url= (help). Lethal Weapon Collection, disk 5: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. 2012.
Jump up ^ Deans, Laurie (January 13, 1989). "LA CLIPS Lethal Weapon II script defused". The Globe and Mail.
Jump up ^ Gibberman, Susan R. (1991). Star trek: an annotated guide to resources on the development, the phenomenon, the people, the television series, the films, the novels, and the recordings. McFarland & Co. p. 393. ISBN 0899505473.
Jump up ^ Gerard Taylor (24 April 2007). Capoeira: The Jogo de Angola from Luanda to Cyberspace. Blue Snake Books. pp. 184–. ISBN 978-1-58394-183-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
Jump up ^ Thomas A. Green; Joseph R. Svinth (11 June 2010). Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation. ABC-CLIO. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-1-59884-243-2. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
Jump up ^ Active Interest Media, Inc. (June 1992). Black Belt. Active Interest Media, Inc. pp. 11–. ISSN 0277-3066. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
Jump up ^ "'Lethal Weapon' Is No. 1 At Box Office for Week". The New York Times. 1987-03-11. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
Jump up ^ "'Lethal Weapon' Is No. 1 At Box Office for Week". The New York Times. 1987-03-11. Retrieved 2010-10-25.
Jump up ^ "The 60th Academy Awards (1988) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
Jump up ^ "Lethal Weapon (1987)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
Jump up ^ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
Jump up ^ "Lethal Weapon". Variety. 1986-12-31. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
Jump up ^ Schickel, Richard (1987-03-23). "Cinema: Bone Crack LETHAL WEAPON". Time. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
Jump up ^ "Lethal Weapon". Washington Post. 1987-03-06. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
Jump up ^ Maslin, Janet (1987-03-06). "FILM: 'LETHAL WEAPON,' A THRILLER WITH GIBSON". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (1987-03-06). "Lethal Weapon". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2016-10-07 – via RogerEbert.com.
Jump up ^ Movies & TV. Amazon.com (2009-09-09). Retrieved on 2011-06-04.
Jump up ^ Lethal Weapon Blu-ray. Blu-ray.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-04.
Jump up ^ Vejvoda, Jim. "Lethal Weapon Reloads for Reboot". IGN.
Jump up ^ "Lethal Weapon, The Wild Bunch and The Dirty Dozen remakes announced". Metro.
External links[edit]
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Hexachlorophosphazene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Hexachlorophosphazene
Names
IUPAC name
Hexachlorotriphosphazene
Other names
Triphosphonitrilic chloride
Phosphonitrilic chloride, Hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene
2,2,4,4,6,6-hexachloro-2,2,4,4,6,6-
hexahydro-1,3,5,2,4,6-Triazatriphosphorine
Identifiers
CAS Number
940-71-6 Y
3D model (JSmol)
Interactive image
ChemSpider
190959 Y
ECHA InfoCard 100.012.160
PubChem CID
220225
InChI[show]
InChI=1S/Cl6N3P3/c1-10(2)7-11(3,4)9-12(5,6)8-10 Y
Key: UBIJTWDKTYCPMQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Y
InChI=1/Cl6N3P3/c1-10(2)7-11(3,4)9-12(5,6)8-10
Key: UBIJTWDKTYCPMQ-UHFFFAOYAJ
SMILES[show]
N1=P(N=P(N=P1(Cl)Cl)(Cl)Cl)(Cl)Cl
Properties
Chemical formula
N3Cl6P3
Molar mass 347.66 g/mol
Appearance colorless crystals
Density 1.98 g/mL at 25 °C
Melting point 112 to 115 °C (234 to 239 °F; 385 to 388 K)
Boiling point decomposes
Solubility in water
decomposes
Solubility in chlorocarbons soluble
Structure
Dipole moment
0 D
Hazards
Main hazards mild irritant
Flash point Non-flammable
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
N verify (what is Y N ?)
Infobox references
Hexachlorophosphazene is an inorganic compound with the formula (NPCl2)3. The molecule has a cyclic backbone consisting of alternating phosphorus and nitrogen atoms. It can be viewed as a trimer of the hypothetical compound N≡PCl2. Hexachlorophosphazene together with the related (NPCl2)4 are precursors to inorganic polymers called polyphosphazenes.
Contents
[hide]
1 Synthesis
2 Inorganic rings
3 "Inorganic rubber"
4 See also
5 References
Synthesis[edit]
The reaction of PCl5 and NH4Cl affords substances with the empirical formula PNCl2.[1] Purification by sublimation gives mainly the trimer and tetramer (PNCl2)4. Slow sublimation under vacuum at approximately 60 °C affords the pure trimer, (PNCl2)3, free of the tetramer. These rings were described by Liebig in 1832[2][3] in his study of the reaction of PCl5 and NH3:
n PCl5 + n NH4Cl → 1/n (NPCl2)n + 4n HCl
Reactions are typically conducted in chlorobenzene solution.
Inorganic rings[edit]
Chemists have long known of rings containing carbon, e.g. benzene, pyridine, and cyclohexane. Related cyclic compounds lacking in carbon have also been studied. Hexachlorophosphazene is one such inorganic ring. Other well known inorganic rings include borazine, S4N4, and the cyclic siloxanes.
"Inorganic rubber"[edit]
Hexachlorophosphazene is a precursor to poly(dichlorophosphazene) or "inorganic rubber", whose discovery is attributed to H. N. Stokes in 1896.[2][4][5] Upon heating to ca. 250 °C, the trimer undergoes ring-opening polymerization to give the linear polymer (PNCl2)n. Subsequent replacement of the chloride centers by other groups, especially alkoxides, yields many polyphosphazenes, some with commercial uses.
See also[edit]
octachlorophosphazene (PNCl2)4[2]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Holleman, A. F.; Wiberg, E. "Inorganic Chemistry" Academic Press: San Diego, 2001. ISBN 0-12-352651-5.
^ Jump up to: a b c H. N. Stokes (1895), On the chloronitrides of phosphorus. American Chemical Journal, vol. 17, p. 275.
Jump up ^ Liebig-Wöhler, Briefwechsel vol. 1, 63; Ann. Chem. (Liebig), vol. 11 (1834), 146.
Jump up ^ H. N. Stokes (1896), On Trimetaphosphimic acid and its decomposition products. American Chemical Journal, vol. 18 issue 8, p. 629.
Jump up ^ Mark, J. E.; Allcock, H. R.; West, R. “Inorganic Polymers” Prentice Hall, Englewood, NJ: 1992. ISBN 0-13-465881-7.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to hexachlorophosphazene.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hexachlorophosphazene&oldid=812721374"
Categories:
Chlorides
Nitrogen heterocycles
Inorganic compounds
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Phosphorus heterocycles
Six-membered rings
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An Officer and a Gentleman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
For the musical, see An Officer and a Gentleman (musical).
An Officer and a Gentleman
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Taylor Hackford
Produced by
Martin Elfand
Douglas Day Stewart
Written by
Douglas Day Stewart
Starring
Richard Gere
Debra Winger
David Keith
Louis Gossett Jr.
Music by
Jack Nitzsche
Cinematography
Donald E. Thorin
Edited by
Peter Zinner
Production
company
Lorimar Productions
Distributed by
Paramount Pictures
Release date
August 13, 1982 (1982-08-13)
Running time
122 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$6 million[1]
Box office
$131 million[2]
An Officer and a Gentleman is a 1982 American romantic drama film[3] starring Richard Gere, Debra Winger, and Louis Gossett Jr., who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film, making him the first African American to do so. It tells the story of Zack Mayo (Gere), a United States Navy Aviation Officer Candidate who is beginning his training at Aviation Officer Candidate School. While Zack meets his first true girlfriend during his training, a young "townie" named Paula (Winger), he also comes into conflict with the hard-driving Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant (Gossett Jr.), the drill instructor training his class.
The film was written by Douglas Day Stewart and directed by Taylor Hackford. Its title is an old expression from the Royal Navy and later from the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice's charge of "conduct unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman" (from 1860). The film was commercially released in the U.S. on August 13, 1982. It was well received by critics, with a number calling it the best film of 1982. It also was a financial success, grossing $130 million[2] against a $6 million budget.[1]
Contents
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
3.1 Locations
3.2 Casting
3.3 Props
3.4 Ending
4 Release
5 Reaction
5.1 Box office
5.2 Reception
5.3 Awards
6 Soundtrack
6.1 Track Listing (Original Record)
7 Adaptations
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
Plot[edit]
Zachary "Zack" Mayo is preparing to report to Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS). As he is doing so, he has brief flashbacks of his childhood. After the death of his mother, who committed suicide, an adolescent Zack was sent to live with his only living relative, his father Byron Mayo, who is stationed in US Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines. The elder Mayo, a Navy Chief Petty Officer/Chief Boatswain's Mate, made no attempt to hide his heavy drinking and hiring of prostitutes from a young Zack. When Zack said he needed help, Byron said he did not ask to get married nor be a father, because he is always out on sea all the time. But seeing the look on his face, he decides to let him stay with him. Mostly Zack became a Navy brat and travelled with his father.
The flashbacks advance to the present, where Zack has just graduated from college and informs his father he will be going to AOCS. Byron, who hates officers, tells Zack that his dream of becoming an officer is as unrealistic as hoping to become president. Despite his father's discouragement, Zack is determined to go through with his childhood dreams of becoming a Navy pilot as well as prove to him that he can make it and in the end Byron would have to "salute" Zack. Upon arrival at AOCS, Zack and his fellow AOCs are shocked by the harsh treatment they receive from their head drill instructor, Marine Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley. Foley makes it clear that the 13-week program is designed to eliminate OCs who are found to be mentally or physically unfit for commission as an ensign in the U.S. Navy, which will earn them flight training worth over $1,000,000. Foley warns the male candidates about the "Puget Sound Debs"—young women in the area who dream of marrying a Naval Aviator to escape their dull, local lives. Foley claims they scout the regiment for OCs, and will feign pregnancy or even stop using birth control to become pregnant to trap the men.
Zack becomes friends with fellow candidates Topper Daniels, Sid Worley, Emiliano Santos Della Serra, Lionel Perryman, and Casey Seeger. Zack and Sid meet two local young women—factory workers—at a Navy Ball. Zack begins a romantic relationship with Paula Pokrifki, and Sid with Lynette Pomeroy. Meanwhile, Daniels drops out of the program after he almost drowns in the dunker crash-escape exercise.
Foley rides Zack mercilessly, believing he lacks motivation and is not a team player, though Foley also sees potential in Zack. When Zack's side business of selling pre-shined shoes and belt buckles is discovered, Foley hazes him for an entire weekend in an attempt to make him DOR ("Drop on Request", AOCS term for requesting termination of one's training), but Zack refuses to give in. Foley then tells Zack that he will simply have him thrown out. Upon hearing this, Zack is frightened and breaks down and tells Foley that he has no options in civilian life. Satisfied that Zack has come to a crucial self-realization, Foley lets up on him.
Zack and Paula spend the next weekend together, and she takes him home for dinner to meet her family. Her stepfather behaves strangely, and when Zack asks why, Paula shows him an old picture of her biological father. He was an AOC who had an affair with her mother but deserted her following his commissioning and refused to marry her when she became pregnant with Paula.
Zack is close to breaking the record time for negotiating the obstacle course, but Casey faces disqualification when she cannot negotiate the 12-foot-high wall (3.7 m). Zack abandons his attempt to break the course record in order to coach Casey over the wall, and she makes it.
Zack attends dinner with Sid and his parents and learns that Sid has a long-time girlfriend back home. Sid plans to marry her after he receives his commission. Meanwhile, Lynette has been dropping hints to Sid that she may be pregnant. Sid agonizes over this possibility, especially when Lynette tells him she will not have an abortion. After having a severe anxiety attack during a high-altitude simulation in a pressure chamber, Sid realizes he joined the officer training program out of a sense of obligation to his family, especially to the older brother who died as a Naval officer, and he Drops On Request, "DOR"s meaning he voluntarily resigns. He leaves the base without saying goodbye, so Zack and Paula go out to look for him.
Sid goes to Lynette's house and proposes marriage. She is elated until he tells her he DORed, and she would not be marrying a Naval Aviator after all. Disgusted, Lynette turns him down and admits she was never pregnant with his child. She says she thought he understood she wants to marry an aviator, escape from her small town, and live an exciting life overseas with the status of an aviator's wife. She berates him for dropping out and gives back the engagement ring he bought her. Crushed, Sid goes to the motel where he and Lynette spent his free weekends, asks for their old room, and begins drinking.
Zack and Paula arrive at Lynette's shortly after Sid leaves, and ask about Sid's whereabouts. Zack curses Lynette for trying to trick Sid, and he and Paula rush off to search for him. Zack goes to the motel and is heartbroken when he finds Sid has committed suicide out of grief. Paula tries to comfort Zack, admitting she loved him from day one and her guilt over failing to stop Lynette's scheme, but he rejects her and heads back to base with the intent to DOR himself. Foley will not let him quit so close to graduation and feels bad about what happened to Sid. Zack challenges Foley to an unofficial martial arts bout. Although Zack eventually appears to take control of the fight, Foley wins by kicking Zack in the groin and then tells him he can quit now if he still wishes to do so.
Zack shows up for graduation and is sworn into the Navy with his class. Following naval tradition, he receives his first salute from Foley in exchange for a US silver dollar. While tradition calls for the drill instructor to place the coin in his left shirt pocket, Foley places the coin in his right pocket, acknowledging that Zack was a special candidate. Zack thanks him for not giving up on him and tells him he would never have made it without the hardships Foley delivered. While leaving the base, he sees Foley initiating a set of new AOCs who are in the same position he was 13 weeks prior.
Zack, now Ensign Mayo with orders to undertake flight training, seeks out Paula at the factory where she works and declares his love to her. He picks her up and walks out with her in his arms to the applause of her co-workers, including Lynette.
Cast[edit]
(in credits order)
Richard Gere as Aviation Officer Candidate Zack Mayo
Debra Winger as Paula Pokrifki
David Keith as AOC Sid Worley
Robert Loggia as Chief Petty Officer Byron Mayo (Zack's father)
Lisa Blount as Lynette Pomeroy
Lisa Eilbacher as AOC Casey Seeger
Louis Gossett Jr. as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley, USMC
Tony Plana as AOC Emiliano Della Serra
Harold Sylvester as AOC Lionel Perryman
David Caruso as AOC Topper Daniels
Victor French as Joe Pokrifki (Paula's stepfather)
Grace Zabriskie as Esther Pokrifki (Paula's mother)
Tommy Petersen as Young Zack
Elizabeth Rogers as Betty Worley
John Laughlin as Troy
Ed Begley Jr. as Altitude Chamber Instructor (voice)
Production[edit]
Locations[edit]
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The film was shot in late 1981 on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, at Port Townsend and Fort Worden. The U.S. Navy did not permit filming at NAS Pensacola in the Florida panhandle, the site of the actual Aviation Officer Candidate School[4] in 1981. Deactivated U.S. Army base Fort Worden stood in for the location of the school, an actual Naval Air Station in the Puget Sound area, NAS Whidbey Island. However, that installation, which is still an operating air station today, was and is a "fleet" base for operational combat aircraft and squadrons under the cognizance of Naval Air Force Pacific, not a Naval Air Training Command installation.
A motel room in Port Townsend, The Tides Inn on Water Street (48°06′38″N 122°45′54″W / 48.1105°N 122.765°W / 48.1105; -122.765), was used for the film.[5] Today, there is a plaque outside the room commemorating this (although the room has been extensively refurbished in the interim). Some early scenes of the movie were filmed in Bremerton, with ships of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in the background.
The "Dilbert Dunker" scenes were filmed in the swimming pool at what is now Mountain View Elementary School (Port Townsend Jr High School during filming).[5] According to the director's commentary on the DVD, the dunking machine was constructed specifically for the film and was an exact duplicate of the actual one used by the Navy. As of 2010, Mountain View Elementary is closed and is now home to the Mountain View Commons, which holds the police station, food bank and the YMCA, the latter of which holds the pool.
The filming location of Paula Pokrifiki's house was 1003 Tremont in Port Townsend.[5] As of 2009, the house was shrouded by a large hedge, and the front porch had been remodeled. The neighboring homes and landscape look identical to their appearance in the film, including the 'crooked oak tree' across the street from the Pokrifiki home. This oak tree is visible in the scene near the end of the film in which Richard Gere returns to the home to request Paula's help in finding his friend Sid. In the film, the plot has Paula living a ferry ride away from the naval base. In reality, Paula's home is located approximately 8 blocks from Fort Worden.
Lynette Pomeroy's house was located on Mill Road, just west of the main entrance of the Port Townsend Paper Corp. mill. The house no longer exists, but the concrete driveway pad is still visible.
The interior of the USO building at Fort Worden State Park was used for the reception scene near the beginning of the film.
Battery Kinzie, scene of "I got nowhere else to go!"
The concrete structure used during the famous Richard Gere line "I got nowhere else to go!" is the Battery Kinzie located at Fort Worden State Park. The scene was filmed on the southwest corner of the upper level of the battery. The 'obstacle course' was constructed specifically for the film and was located in the grassy areas just south and southeast of Battery Kinzie.
The decompression chamber was one of the only sets constructed for the film and as of 2013, it is still intact in the basement of building number 225 of the Fort Worden State Park. It can be seen through the windows of the building's basement.
Building 204 of Fort Worden State Park was used as the dormitory and its porch was used for the film's closing 'silver dollar' scene.
The blimp hangar used for the famous fight scene between Louis Gossett Jr. and Richard Gere is located at Fort Worden State Park and as of 2013 is still intact, but has been converted into a 1200-seat performing arts center called the McCurdy Pavilion.
The filming location for the exterior of 'TJ's Restaurant' is located at the Point Hudson marina in Port Townsend. The space is now occupied by a company that makes sails. The fictional "TJ's" is an homage to the Trader Jon's bar in Pensacola, Florida, as a naval aviator hangout until it closed later in November 2003. For years, it was traditional for graduating Aviation Officer Candidate School classes to celebrate their commissioning at "Trader's."[citation needed]
Casting[edit]
Originally, folk music singer and occasional actor John Denver was signed to play Zack Mayo. But a casting process eventually involved Jeff Bridges, Harry Hamlin, Christopher Reeve, John Travolta, and Richard Gere.[6][7] Gere eventually beat all the other actors for the part. John Travolta had turned down the role, as he did with American Gigolo (another Richard Gere hit).[7][8]
The role of Paula was originally given to Sigourney Weaver,[9] then to Anjelica Huston[9] and later to Jennifer Jason Leigh, who dropped out to do the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High instead.[10] Eventually, Debra Winger replaced Leigh for the role of Paula. Rebecca De Mornay,[10] Meg Ryan,[9] and Geena Davis[9] auditioned for the role of Paula.
In spite of the strong on-screen chemistry between Gere and Winger, the actors didn't get along during filming. Publicly, she called him a "brick wall" while he admitted there was "tension" between them. Thirty years later, Gere was complimentary towards Winger when he said that she was much more open to the camera than he was, and he appreciated the fact that she presented him with an award at the Rome Film Festival.[11]
Taylor Hackford kept Louis Gossett Jr. in separate living quarters from other actors during production so Gossett could intimidate them more during his scenes as drill instructor.[12] In addition, Gossett was advised by US Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Buck Welscher.[12]
Props[edit]
Richard Gere rides a 750cc T140E Triumph Bonneville. Two T140E Bonnevilles were supplied by Dewey's Cycle Shop in Seattle. One had Receipt no.16787 dated April 8, 1981, as sold to Paramount Pictures. In the United Kingdom, Paramount successfully linked with Triumph Motorcycles (Meriden) Ltd to do a mutual promotion. Triumph's then-chairman, John Rosamond, in his book Save The Triumph Bonneville! (Veloce 2009), states it was agreed cinemas showing the film would be promoted at their local Triumph dealer, and T140E Triumph Bonnevilles supplied by the dealer would be displayed in the cinema's foyers.
Ending[edit]
Richard Gere balked at shooting the ending of the film, in which Zack arrives at Paula's factory wearing his naval dress whites and carries her off the factory floor. Gere thought the ending would not work because it was too sentimental. Director Taylor Hackford agreed with Gere until, during a rehearsal, the extras playing the workers began to cheer and cry. When Gere saw the scene later, with a portion of the score (that was used to write "Up Where We Belong") played at the right tempo, he said it gave him chills. Gere is now convinced Hackford made the right decision.[13] Screenwriter Michael Hauge, in his book Writing Screenplays That Sell, echoed this opinion: "I don't believe that those who criticized this Cinderella-style ending were paying very close attention to who exactly is rescuing whom."
Release[edit]
Two versions of the film exist. The original, an uncensored R-rated cut and edited-for-broadcast television cut (which first aired on NBC in 1986) are nearly identical. The main difference is that the nudity and a majority of the foul language are edited out when the film airs on regular television. However, the group marching song near the beginning of the film and Mayo's solo marching song are not voiceover edits; they are reshoots of those scenes for television. Also, the sex scene between Mayo and Paula is cut in half, and the scene where Mayo finds Sid's naked body hanging in the shower is also edited.
Reaction[edit]
Box office[edit]
An Officer and a Gentleman was an enormous box office success and went on to become the third-highest-grossing film of 1982, after E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial and Tootsie.[14] It grossed $3,304,679 in its opening weekend[15] and $129,795,554 overall at the domestic box office.[16] It sold an estimated 44 million tickets in the US.
Reception[edit]
An Officer and a Gentleman was well received by critics and is widely considered one of the best films of 1982.[17][18][19] The film holds an 81% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews, with the consensus: "Old-fashioned without sacrificing its characters to simplicity, An Officer and a Gentleman successfully walks the fine line between sweeping romance and melodrama".[20] It received rave reviews from critics, most notably from Roger Ebert, who gave it four stars. Ebert described An Officer and a Gentleman as "a wonderful movie precisely because it's so willing to deal with matters of the heart...it takes chances, takes the time to know and develop its characters, and by the time this movie's wonderful last scene comes along, we know exactly what's happening, and why, and it makes us very happy."[21]
Rex Reed gave a glowing review where he commented: "This movie will make you feel ten feet tall!" The British film critic Mark Kermode, an admirer of Taylor Hackford observed, "It's a much tougher film than people remember it being; it's not a romantic movie, it's actually a movie about blue-collar, down-trodden people."
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions—#29[22]
2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs:
"Up Where We Belong"—#75[23]
2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers—#68[24]
Awards[edit]
Film Award wins:
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor—Louis Gossett Jr.
Best Music, Original Song—"Up Where We Belong", Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie (music), Will Jennings (lyrics). Producer Don Simpson complained, "The song is no good. It isn't a hit," and unsuccessfully demanded it be cut from the film. "Up Where We Belong" later became the number one song on the Billboard charts.
BAFTA Film Award for Best Original Song—"Up Where We Belong", Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie (music), Will Jennings (lyrics)
Award of the Japanese Academy for Best Foreign Language Film
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture
Academy Award nominations:
Best Actress—Debra Winger
Best Music, Original Score
Best Film Editing
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.
Other Award wins:
"Up Where We Belong" vocalists Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes earned a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Duo or Group [25]
Soundtrack[edit]
The soundtrack was released on August 13, 1982 and reached #38 on the Billboard 200, it stayed on the chart for 23 weeks and top 50 for one week.[26][27] The CD version doesn't include some of the instrumental selections that were available on the original record.[28]
"Up Where We Belong" was released as a single and became a global hit peaking at number one in the US, Canada, and Australia, and reaching the top 10 in many other countries.
Track Listing (Original Record)[edit]
Song
Lyrics by
Performed by
"Up Where We Belong" Will Jennings Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
"Theme from 'An Officer and a Gentleman" Jack Nitzsche and Buffy Sainte-Marie Lee Ritenour
"Treat Me Right" D. Lubahn and Pat Benatar Pat Benatar
"Hungry for Your Love" Van Morrison Van Morrison
"Be Real" D. Sahm Sir Douglas Quintet
"Tush" B. Gibbons, D. Hill and F. Beard ZZ Top
"Tunnel of Love" M. Knopfler Dire Straits
"Feelings" Morris Albert Morris Albert
"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" Irwin Levine and L. Russell Brown Greg Pecknold
"Anchors Aweigh" Charles A. Zimmerman, George D. Lottman and Alfred Hart Miles
"Moon River" Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer
"Big Money Dollars" John Thomas Lenox
"Gamelan Gong: Barong Dance" David Lewiston
"The Plains of Mindanao" Bayanihan 7
"Galan Kangin" Gong Kebyar, Sebatu
"Love Theme From 'An Officer And A Gentleman" Lee Ritenour Lee Ritenour
"The Morning After Love Theme" Jack Nitzsche Jack Nitzsche
Adaptations[edit]
The Takarazuka Revue adapted the movie as a musical in 2010 in Japan (Takarazuka Grand Theater; Tokyo Takarazuka Theater). The production was performed by Star Troupe and the cast included Reon Yuzuki as Zack Mayo, Nene Yumesaki as Paula Pokrifki and Kaname Ouki as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley.[29]
A stage musical, with book by Douglas Day Stewart and Sharleen Cooper Cohen and songs by Ken Hirsch and Robin Lerner, directed by Simon Phillips, opened on May 18, 2012 at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, Australia.[30] The production received mixed reviews[31] and closed after six weeks.[32]
See also[edit]
Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. 198, ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
^ Jump up to: a b "Box Office Information for An Officer and a Gentleman". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
Jump up ^ "An Officer and a Gentleman". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. May 22, 2013. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ "Fun Trivia".
^ Jump up to: a b c "An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)". Washington film locations. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
Jump up ^ Perlman, Jake (August 8, 2014). "Was Jeff Bridges really supposed to play Batman and Indiana Jones?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Omar, Aref (October 24, 2014). "TOP PICKS: Officers and gentlemen". New Straits Times. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ Kinser, Jeremy (September 1, 2012). "Richard Gere Accepted American Gigolo Role Because of Gay Subtext". The Advocate. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Naglazas, Mark (May 16, 2012). "Officer's stage salute". The West Australian. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b "An Officer and a Gentleman (Movie)". April 16, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
Jump up ^ http://filmfestivaltraveler.com/film-arts/film-arts-interviews/2071-actor-richard-gere-re-views-qan-officer-and-a-gentlemanq-a-his-career
^ Jump up to: a b Klemesrud, Judy (August 20, 1982). "The making of a new D.I.: Director separated Gossett, Gere to sustain intensity". The Lakeland Register. pp. 1–2C.
Jump up ^ "Gere begged director not to shoot romantic scene". PR Inside. April 29, 2007.
Jump up ^ "1982 Domestic Grosses". Box Office Mojo.com. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Box Office and Business Information for An Officer and a Gentleman". IMDb.com. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Box Office Information for An Officer and a Gentleman". Box Office Mojo.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
Jump up ^ "The Greatest Films of 1982". AMC Filmsite.org. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
Jump up ^ "The Best Movies of 1982 by Rank". Films101.com. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
Jump up ^ "Most Popular Feature Films Released in 1982". IMDb.com. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
Jump up ^ "An Officer and a Gentleman Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on June 14, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
Jump up ^ "An Officer and a Gentleman Movie Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
Jump up ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions" (PDF). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
Jump up ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs" (PDF). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
Jump up ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers" (PDF). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-08-19.
Jump up ^ "1982 Grammy Award Winners". Grammy.com. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
Jump up ^ "Album Chart for 1982-12-18 | Music Charts Archive". musicchartsarchive.com. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
Jump up ^ ""An Officer And A Gentleman" Album by Soundtrack | Music Charts Archive". musicchartsarchive.com. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
Jump up ^ "Track listing (CD) as seen on Amazon". Archived from the original on 2007-01-27. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
Jump up ^ "Takarazuka".
Jump up ^ Paul Chai, "Review: 'An Officer and a Gentleman'", Variety, May 22, 2012.
Jump up ^ "Review Roundup: An Officer and a Gentleman in Sydney", BroadwayWorld.com, May 20, 2012 (summary and links to other reviews).
Jump up ^ Adam Fulton, "Show won't go on: musical fails to deliver on world premiere fanfare", The Australian, June 12, 2016.
External links[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to: An Officer and a Gentleman
An Officer and a Gentleman on IMDb
An Officer and a Gentleman at the TCM Movie Database
An Officer and a Gentleman at AllMovie
Louis Gossett Jr. Wins Supporting Actor in An Officer and a Gentleman: 1983 Oscars on YouTube
An Officer and a Gentleman at Rotten Tomatoes
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South Carolina in the American Revolution
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Lord Charles Montagu, South Carolina Governor
Prior to the American Revolution, the British began taxing American colonies to raise revenue. South Carolina residents were outraged about the 1767 Townshend Acts that taxed tea, paper, wine, glass, and lamp oil. To protest the earlier 1765 Stamp Act, South Carolina sent wealthy rice planter Thomas Lynch, 26-year-old lawyer John Rutledge, and Christopher Gadsden to the 1765 Stamp Act Congress, held in New York. Other taxes were removed in 1766, but tea taxes remained. Soon South Carolinians confiscated the tea that arrived at Charleston Harbor and stored it in the Exchange and Customs House. It was later sold to help pay for the Revolution.
Many of the South Carolinian battles fought during the American Revolution were with loyalist Carolinians and the part of the Cherokee tribe that allied with the British. This was to General Henry Clinton's advantage, whose strategy was to march his troops north from St. Augustine and sandwich George Washington in the North. Clinton alienated Loyalists and enraged Patriots by attacking a fleeing army of Patriot soldiers who posed no threat. Enslaved Africans and African Americans chose independence by escaping to British lines where they were promised freedom.[1]
Combined Continental Army and state militia forces under the command of Major General Nathanael Greene regained control of much of South Carolina by capturing the numerous interdependent chain of British held forts throughout the State, one-by-one, until the British and Loyalists were surrounded in Charles Town and completely dependent on food supplies by sea. After preliminary peace terms had been agreed, the British evacuated Charles Town on December 14, 1782, a day now officially designated as "South Carolina Independence Day". Greene was awarded a Congressional Medal and numerous other official awards from the State of South Carolina for his leadership in liberating the state and for restoring an elected government. In 1787, John Rutledge, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and Pierce Butler went to Philadelphia where the Constitutional Convention was being held and constructed what served as a detailed outline for the U.S. Constitution.
Contents
[hide]
1 Prewar causes
2 Early conflicts
3 Siege of Charleston
4 General Clinton's mistakes
5 Tides turn for the Americans
6 The Constitution
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
Prewar causes[edit]
Main article: American Revolution
John Rutledge had many roles in South Carolina's history throughout the American Revolution
After Parliament began taxing the North American colonies to raise revenue to make up the costs of the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion, to protest the Stamp Act, South Carolina sent wealthy rice planter Thomas Lynch, 26-year-old lawyer John Rutledge, and Christopher Gadsden to the Stamp Act Congress. Gadsden, leader of the pro-Independence "Liberty Boys," is often grouped with James Otis and Patrick Henry as the prime agitators for American independence by historians. Gadsden designed the "Don't Tread on Me" flag, first used on December 3, 1775 on the Alfred, featuring a rattlesnake with 13 rattles representing each colony.
In 1767 the Townsend Acts made new taxes on glass, oil, wine, tea, paper, and other goods. Gadsden led the opposition and although Britain removed the taxes on everything except tea, Charlestonians mirrored the Boston Tea Party by dumping a shipment of tea into the Cooper River. Other shipments were allowed to land, but they rotted in Charles Town storehouses.
Delegates from twelve colonies, all of the Thirteen Colonies except for Georgia, came together for the First Continental Congress in 1774. Five South Carolinians, including those who represented the colony in the Stamp Act Congress, headed for Philadelphia, and Henry Middleton served as president for part of Congress. The following January the South Carolina colonial assembly was disbanded by Royal Governor Lord William Campbell, and it was reformed as an extralegal Provincial Congress. During this meeting and following meetings, in June 1775 and March 1776, the South Carolinians created a temporary government to rule until the colony had settled things with Britain. John Rutledge was voted "president" of the state which was called the "General Assembly of South Carolina" (the term "Republic" or "Republic of South Carolina" was never used.)
Most Loyalists came from the Upcountry, which thought that domination by the rich, elitist Charles Town planter class in an unsupervised government was worse than remaining under the rule of the British Crown. Judge William Henry Drayton and Reverend William Tennent were sent to the Back Country to gain support for the "American Cause" and Lowcountry's General Committee and Provincial Congress, but did not have much success. In September 1775, the Royal Governor dissolved the last-ever Royal Assembly in South Carolina and left for the safety of the British warship Tamar in the Charleston Harbor.
Early conflicts[edit]
British General Henry Clinton
Throughout the course of the American Revolutionary War, over 200 battles were fought within South Carolina, more than in any other state. On November 19, 1775, Patriot forces of the Long Cane Militia fought Loyalists in the first battle of Ninety Six, resulting in the death of James Birmingham, the first South Carolinian and southerner of the war. Colonel Richard Richardson led a large party of Whigs into the Upcountry to arrest Loyalists and to assert the power of the revolutionary General Committee over the entire colony.
Britain's strategy was to take advantage of strong Loyalist support in the South, begin a military drive in Charles Town, and perhaps sweep through the Upcountry, North Carolina, and Virginia while gathering men to take on Washington in the North. Under Colonel William Moultrie, the South Carolinians defeated the Royal Navy in the Battle of Sullivan's Island on June 28, 1776 and brought the Patriot Continental Army a major victory. In Philadelphia, the news reached delegates of the Second Continental Congress a few days later and emboldened them to write and sign the Declaration of Independence. The battle at Sullivan's Island also caused the British to rethink their strategy and leave the South for approximately three years.
The new state legislature met the next December to complete the state constitution made the previous October, de-establishing the Anglican Church. In the Upcountry, the British had convinced the Cherokee to fight on their side. Although the British officer in charge of the operation had told the Cherokee to attack only Patriot soldiers in organized groups, soon murder and cabin burnings were widespread on the frontier. The Whigs Andrew Williamson, Andrew Pickens, and James Williams, who had been battling Loyalists in the Upcountry, launched a successful campaign against the Cherokee. In 1777 they ceded their remaining lands to the South Carolina government. On February 5, 1778 South Carolina became the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States. In 1780, the British returned to South Carolina.
Siege of Charleston[edit]
Main article: Siege of Charleston
In 1780, the British, stalemated in the north and facing pressure from home to end the war, embarked on a plan of action that would come to be known to historians as "The Southern Strategy." They planned to trap George Washington's troops by pushing their troops up from the South while Washington defended himself in the North. The British landed a major expeditionary force south of Charleston, landing on John's Island, moving to James Island, and then besieging Charles Town. General Benjamin Lincoln defended the city during a two-month siege, but was forced to surrender almost all the Continental forces in the Carolinas to General Clinton. Henry Middleton, once president of the Continental Congress, was forced to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown as prisoner.
General Washington begged Governor John Rutledge and the rest of the state's council to leave Charles Town while there was still time, and they did. Rutledge traveled around the state, printing proclamations and other state papers on a printing press he had with him, and sending numerous letters demanding that the Continental Congress send the Continental Army to relieve South Carolina.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton" by Sir Joshua Reynolds
The British quickly established control over the coast, making posts at the other port cities of Beaufort and Georgetown. It was during this time that many enslaved African Americans managed to escape to their lines. The African Americans wanted freedom, and the British promised them that. Approximately 25,000 African Americans, one-quarter of the enslaved population, escaped to the British during the war to achieve freedom.[2]
The British followed their coastal occupation by establishing posts upcountry where they could establish control by coordinating with local Tories.
Responding to Rutledge's pleas and the British threat to the whole southern flank, Washington sent an army of Continentals under General Gates, but were defeated at Camden on August 16, 1780 and the remnant of the army retreated northward in record time.
Just before the battle of Camden, Gates met with Francis Marion, a militia officer who had escaped parole at the defeat of Charleston because of an accidental injury, which caused him to be out of town at the surrender. Marion had a small group of rag-tag militia men with him, whose appearance evoked derision from the Continentals. Gates saw Marion as an embarrassment and got rid of him by giving him orders to scout the British, and destroy boats, bridges and other items that might be useful to the British.
Marion left, obeying his orders, and missed the battle. The following day, by order of Governor Rutledge, and by invitation of the troops, he accepted command of the Williamsburg militia at the confluence of Lynches River and the Pee Dee River. This band, joined together with a few other militia men from around the state became known as Marion's Brigade (Marion was eventually commissioned general). Marion had not yet heard the news of Gates' defeat at the time. The next day a small militia under Thomas Sumter was surprised and completely routed at Fishing Creek; Sumter barely escaped with his life. At this point Marion had the only viable Patriot army left in the South. From that time until the arrival of General Nathanael Greene, the war's outcome in the south depended entirely on the militia, and the militia gradually turned the tide.
The war was not only a clash of arms, but a battle for the sympathy of the population. After leaving Gates, Marion began a new and unheard of policy, as he destroyed boats the British might use, and commandeered food, horses and other property from the settlers. He had his troops issue receipts for each item to the owners. His gentlemanly actions quickly made Marion a hero, and garnered support for his brigade. Many of these receipts were redeemed after the war, with the new state government usually paying in full.
General Clinton's mistakes[edit]
General Clinton thought that South Carolina was a Loyalist colony that had been bullied into revolutionary actions by a small minority. His idea was to increase British presence in the entire state and bring back the confidence of moderates in the area so that they would fight for the British. Clinton alienated Loyalists by spending all of the money on extra arms and soldiers rather than doctors.
American Colonel Abraham Buford and his body of Virginia patriots had set south in hopes of defending Charles Town, but turned back when they realized they were too late. British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton was unwilling to let the rebels escape back to the North and chased after them, another act that alienated more loyalists. Tarleton caught up with them on May 29, 1780 near the present town of Lancaster, and Americans were told to surrender, but refused. They still marched forward with full knowledge that Tarleton was fast approaching. In the Battle of Waxhaws the Americans were routed by Tarleton and his men, who suffered minimal casualties. Due to confusion in the battle, quarter was refused, and a number of Americans who had surrendered were killed. This spawned the battle cry that Southern patriots would use for the rest of the war, "Tarleton's quarter!"
The second British blunder was Clinton revoking the Carolinians' paroles. He broke his promise that, if the Carolinians who surrendered did not actively seek to harass the British government, he would leave them and their paroles alone. On June 3, he proclaimed that all prisoners of war could either take up arms against their fellow Americans or be considered traitors to the Crown. Many soldiers, whose pride had already been bruised, reasoned that if they were going to have to take the chance of getting shot again, they might as well fight on the side they wanted to win.
The third British mistake was burning the Stateburg home and harassing the incapacitated wife of a then inconsequential colonel named Thomas Sumter. Because of his fury toward this, Sumter became one of the fiercest and most devastating guerrilla leaders of the war, becoming known as "The Gamecock". The Lowcountry partisans fighting under Marion and Upcountry partisans fighting under Andrew Pickens (whose home had also been burned) plagued the British by using guerilla warfare in the mountains, woods, and swamps of the state.
Tides turn for the Americans[edit]
On October 8, 1780, at Kings Mountain, American Colonel Isaac Shelby led a body of North and South Carolinians and attacked British Major Patrick Ferguson and his body of American loyalists on a hilltop. America's first major poet, William Cullen Bryant, described the homefield advantage that led to the Patriot victory in one of his poems. This was a major victory for the Patriots, especially because it was won by militiamen and not trained Continentals. It provided a great swing of momentum for the moderate "Overmountain Men" who had grown tired of British brutality. Kings Mountain is considered to be the turning point of the revolution in the south, because it squashed any significant further recruitment of Loyalists, and compelled Cornwallis to temporarily abandon North Carolina.
That December, General Nathanael Greene arrived with an army of Continental troops. When Greene heard of Tarleton's approach, he sent Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and his backwoodsmen over the Appalachian Mountains to stop him. On January 17, 1781, the two forces met at a grassy field with widespread hardwoods, reeds, and marsh in a well-known Cattle grazing area called Cowpens. Pickens and his guerilla soldiers joined Morgan directly before the battle. Morgan still felt they were not strong enough to take on Tarleton's trained troops and wanted to cross a river that would separate them from the British and secure them a chance to retreat. Pickens convinced Morgan that staying on the British side of the river would force his men to fight it out in what some historians consider the best-planned battle of the entire war. The Patriots defeated the British and later victories at Hobkirk's Hill and Eutaw Springs would further weaken the British.
FIghting continued throughout 1781 in the backcountry, where patriot and loyalist militias alike looted homes and killed civilians. One of the most infamous is William "Bloody Bill" Cunningham's "Bloody Scout," who terrorized homes and massacred dozens of Whigs.
In December 1782, the British evacuated Charles Town. The overjoyed residents changed the name to "Charleston" because it sounded "less British."
The Constitution[edit]
In 1787, John Rutledge, Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and Pierce Butler went to Philadelphia where the Constitutional Convention was piecing together the Constitution. Thirty years old, Charles Pinckney had long been a critic of the weak Articles of Confederation. Although he was wealthy by birth and quite the epicurean, Pinckney became the leader of democracy in the state. On May 29, 1787, he presented the Convention with a detailed outline for the United States constitution, and John Rutledge provided valuable input. Pierce Butler, a major slaveholder who lost numerous slaves during the war who escaped to the British, included a constitutional clause for the return of fugitive slaves.
The federal, and Federalist-leaning, Constitution was ratified by the state in 1787. The new state constitution was ratified in 1790 without the support of the Upcountry. The Lowcountry elite, who had only a quarter of the state's white inhabitants, still ruled the state as they controlled three-quarters of South Carolina's wealth, much of it in enslaved African Americans.
During the 1780s, Charleston physician David Ramsay published two of the first histories of the American Revolution: The History of the Revolution of South-Carolina (1785) and The History of the American Revolution (1789).
See also[edit]
Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Ramsay's History of South Carolina two volumes later published in one volume. Newberry, S.C., W. J. Duffie, 1858. p. 272 states that 25,000 slaves escaped to join the British Army during the Revolutionary War. Colonel Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee placed the number of slaves who went to the British side at more than 20,000 in his Memoirs of the Revolutionary War in the Southern Department, Volume II, p. 456. These numbers have been estimated to be between 20 and 25 per cent of the slave population of the state at the time. William Jay in Miscellaneous writings on slavery, Volume 3, 1853, p. 460 gives the slave population of South Carolina in 1790 as 107,00 to show the magnitude of the number of slaves who fled to the British side in the Revolutionary War. Digital History Explorations Revolutionary War places the percentage of escaped slaves in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War at about 25 per cent.
Jump up ^ Digital History
Further reading[edit]
Klein, Rachel. Unification of a Slave State: The Rise of the Planter Class in the South Carolina Backcountry, 1760-1808. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990.
Olwell, Robert. Masters, Slaves, and Subjects: The Culture of Power in the South Carolina Low Country, 1740-1790. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998.
Ramsay, David. The History of South-Carolina: From Its First Settlement in 1670, to the Year 1808. Charleston: David Longworth, 1809.
Weir, Robert M. Colonial South Carolina: A History. New York: KTO Press, 1983.
External links[edit]
Bibliography of the Continental Army in South Carolina compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History
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