Decoration Day (1990)

Simply A Masterpiece

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

James Garner made a bit of a cottage industry out of appearing in Hallmark Hall of Fame TV-movies. Hallmark productions were always noted for their high quality and portrayal of solid community values.In "Decoration Day" Garner plays a retired Southern judge who is somewhat of a recluse. He is pulled back into the community when a young man gets into trouble, Garner finds a new chance to connect with an interesting woman, and he has to persuade a childhood friend to reconsider his refusal to accept a belated Medal of Honor.Bill Cobbs plays Gee, Garner's childhood friend and a tenant farmer who has had to deal with racial injustice all of his life while his educated white friend Garner has had a much easier and successful path. Both men served in WWII, Gee in a segregated Negro unit. When the Army determines that Gee should receive the Medal of Honor the community is disrupted and people have to re-examine racial attitudes when Gee refuses to accept this most prestigious honor. As you'd expect in a Hallmark production, the topics are dealt with in a quiet, responsible, non-histrionic way. Garner and the cast all deliver.

Although James Garner Is one of my favorites,Bill Cobbs, as In the movie, Is not given the glory he deserves ! This passionate actor deserves accolades ! I don't know how many awards he has received, but he deserves many more ! I've seen him In many second-fiddle roles, Where he could have actually been the leader ! I'm going to follow-up, I need to see more of this great actor's accomplishments. I reiterate, this passionate and compassionate Individual needs to have a script written around him , I bet the right one would raise him over the brim ! I know that he Is an Exceptional Individual, How? Sometimes everyone can tell !

When my then future-husband was heavily into WWII reenacting, he was invited by another reenacting friend to be a extra for the battle scenes that appear in the movie. The "winter" battle was filmed just outside of Atlanta in the summer! The filming was all done at night with fake snow on the ground.He told me that there's a number of "flubs" that appeared in the battle scenes. One of the most glaring is where the young soldiers fires the BAR from the damaged halftrack all the Germans fall over dead even though he only fires 20 rounds. This happened due to the many takes and re-takes that the film did that sapped the reenactors and they all fell over at once when the gun fired! Also, there was supposed to be another sub-plot where James Garner's character was supposed to find the then-wounded army officer who saw what happened when the young soldier killed all the Germans and then drove off. The scene was changed and had a dubbed-over voice saying "I'll get help!" while the Germans initially attack.Over two days of filming for less than 15 minutes of actual air time!

Late in his life when Robert Mitchum was finally receiving accolades for his career work, a reporter asked him why it took so long for such recognition. Mitchum replied, "Because there's nobody else left." The same might be said for James Garner, as people increasingly acknowledge his skill. Like Henry Fonda, Garner makes it look so easy and effortless that one tends to take his work for granted.In "Decoration Day" his character is similar to his laid-back hero in "Murphy's Romance." Garner can play wide emotional ranges as the script may call for, yet smoothly blend nuances to achieve a finely tuned product.Here the entire cast works in fine ensemble fashion, with Bill Cobbs being particularly strong as Gee. Perhaps real-life Purple Heart-winner Garner felt a special connection to this touching story about the aftermath of war.This was another worthy Hallmark production made especially for television.