Exit Stage Left: The Long Goodbye of Ronald W. Reagan (TLIAW)

While I didn't like Reagan's policies, the description of his struggle with Alzheimer's is just heartbreaking, no matter what side of the political spectrum you're on...
 
The Comeback Trilogy (1948 - 1953)

*Excerpt from Ronald Reagan: The Actor! (First published in 2010)*

Reagan's long bout with depression and close brush with death had done a great deal of damage to the actors credibility and power in Hollywood, in many ways sending him back to the starting line. While very few at the time where aware of how bad the situation had become for Reagan before his recovery, his known behavior during his short fall would taint him for the next few years and make securing roles desperately difficult. The one in a million opportunity that would allow Reagan his return to show-business came within a month of his exit from rehab. John Dall, the actor who Alfred Hitchcock cast to appear in his next film "Rope", was injured in an automobile accident while driving home one night. With only two few weeks away from the start of the film's production schedule, Dall simply did not have enough time to recover from the broken arm and deep facial lacerations he suffered. Jimmy Stewart, who Hitchcock had chosen for the lead in the film, heavily suggested Reagan as a potential replacement. Hitchcock, highly skeptical due to the recent talk and Reagan's reputation as a "Good Guy" character, eventually relented due to the tight time constraints that would limit any potential casting searches. After a day of deliberation, he agreed to allow Reagan a chance to audition for the role. Although no film exists of the audition, Reagan was said to have 'hit it out of the park' and an impressed Hitchcock hired him on the spot. Once released, Reagan's performance as Brandon Shaw in the film was singled out as one of the best in the film, with Reagan later going back to say that he was still in the process of recovering from depression. The darkness he had just experienced, serving him well in the role of a calm and collected killer.

Thanks to Stewart, the role would perform leaps and bounds in resurrecting Reagan's stalled career. Although the film would not be received very well by critics and therefore limited the potential effects, the film nevertheless displayed that Reagan could not only act, but that he could deliver something more than a generic good guy protagonist.

In the period from 1948 to 1951, Reagan would make 10 more films for Universal and Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. Most of which were films were in the Western genre and displayed no real distinguishing qualities, with them instead mixing in with the plethora of films in the genre during the time period. What is most notable about this period, is what occurred off of the camera. In 1949, Reagan would be introduced to actress Nancy Davis whose career had recently been derailed by being wrongfully blacklisted, a process designed to prevent supposed communists from working in the industry. Although the issue had been cleared and rectified by the time they met one another, the topic was still one of discussion among those in the industry with the entirety of the practice being called into question. Reagan, after meeting Davis, would be swayed into later openly condemning the practice. An action that would bring criticism from many in the industry at the time, including John Wayne.

Reagan and Davis' friendship soon developed into a romantic relationship, with the two often being seen together at dinners and parties. Nervous about making a similar commitment to the one that had almost destroyed him, Reagan could not bring himself to take it any further. He openly saw other women, as Nancy also saw other men, eventually the romantic end of the relationship ended altogether with the two agreeing to remain close friends.

By the start of 1951, Hitchcock would specifically request Reagan for the part of Bruno Antony in his next major picture "Strangers on a Train". The role would again call on Reagan to embody that of a cold and calculating killer. Appearing alongside him would be Ray Milland, playing Guy Haines, a tennis star trapped in a loveless marriage. In the film it is Reagan's character who commits the murder of Haines' wife and attempts to force Haines into killing his father after Milland's character accidentally agrees to the dangerous proposal. Both Milland and Reagan would be praised for the film, it going down as one of Hitchcock's most successful. Due to its success, it is somewhat surprising that it would be the last time that Reagan and the famous director would contribute to the same project.

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Ronald Reagan as Bruno Antony in Strangers on a Train (1951)

The subsequent success of "Strangers on a Train" cemented Reagan back into the saddle of one of Hollywood's best leading men but the worry of being typecast in the role of a villain worried the recovering actor, who now dealt with the stress of the film making process by jogging and riding horses when available. He sought a return to a good guy role and would find it in relatively short order in the form of Stanley Kramer's High Noon. Surprisingly, Reagan did not need to work hard for the role, as many of Hollywood's leading men had turned down the role of Marshal Will Kayne in the resulting fallout from Carl Foreman's exit from the project caused by his refusal to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee. John Wayne in particular, who had openly criticized Reagan for condemning the practice of blacklisting a year prior, refused the role directly due to Foreman's initial involvement. Future Senator for California Lloyd Bridges (whom Reagan would publicly support in the 1980's) would also appear in the film alongside Reagan, as Kayne's Deputy who refuses to stand with him in the face of the returning criminal threat. Despite the film being drenched in controversy and the plot being ridiculed for potential connections to unpopular political beliefs, the film was one of the biggest successes of 1952 and would earn Reagan his first of 5 Oscar Nominations. Although he would not win the award for Best Actor for High Noon, many in the audience felt it was just as deserved as Marlon Brando who did recieve the award for his role in Viva Zapata!.

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1952 poster for High Noon, the film that won Ronald Reagan his first Oscar nomination

For most in the industry, Ronald Reagan had seemingly exploded outward back into the mainstream with a vengeance having released two back to back hits in quick succession. The finale of Reagan's 'Comeback trilogy' would be a tale that one reviewer would claim to be a "provoking foray into lust and murder", and with Reagan alongside America's most idolized sex symbol Marilyn Monroe on the billing, the film had little choice but to be a success. Filmed in technicolor despite its thematic ties to the noire genre, the film details a wife (Monroe) and her lover attempting to kill her war scarred husband (Reagan), only to have the crime of murder delivered upon her by the very man she wanted dead. Set around the natural splendor of Niagara Falls, the film received a great amount of acclaim simply for the visuals depicted on screen. For many fans of both Reagan and Monroe, the film is almost always set aside in the 'must see' category. All was not perfect however, a good deal of reviews were critical of the plot, with many knocking it for being cliched for the genre.

Nevertheless, the film and subsequent press appearances supporting it, would lead to a short but intense romance igniting between the two leads that would last for several months. Their busy schedules and difference of opinion regarding alcohol, among other things, ultimately ensured that it would be nothing more but a brief experience. In the 1980's, prior to her death from Pancreatic Cancer, Monroe would detail in her own auto-biography that Reagan was among one of her favorite actors to have worked with, and one of the nicest men she had ever met.

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Niagra (1953)


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Reagan and Monroe appearing together in a publicity event in 1953, shortly before the release of Niagra.
 
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