The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt
The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt (Directed & produced by Harrison Engle—Signal Hill Entertainment, 1983) This is an exceptional documentary both as a pioneer effort in presidential filmography and in capturing the essence of one of America’s most exceptional personalities.
This award-winning documentary has the rare distinction of first being aired on ABC in prime time, then subsequently shown on the A&E Network and The History Channel. Today it has lost none of its timeliness and vitality.
A decade before the richly-funded The American Experience presidents’ series, master filmmaker Harrison Engle crafted an approach to the Teddy Roosevelt story that was both highly creative and equally credible. Unlike recent presidents, there was little film footage available on the TR era. His ingredients in this delectable biographic bouillabaisse included:
- A cohesive historical story line written by Theodore Strauss and narrated by George C. Scott (who personified the heroic image of General George Patton);
- The stirring music of John Philip Sousa, which highlighted key moments in TR’s life;
- Contemporary film clips and photos and newspaper items that provided topical reality; and
- A cast with Bob Boyd portraying Teddy Roosevelt and a number of Roosevelt family members in minor roles.
Teddy Roosevelt is a complex, controversial character. He has written more books than some of our recent presidents have read. In zoology ornithology, and history he amazed experts with his expert knowledge. After losing his mother and wife the same night, he sought solace in the West, where, as an East Coast tenderfoot, he earned the respect of a tough cowboy crowd.
TR was a mercurial individual who relished the spot light, while struggling with depression. His watch word was “Black care rarely sits behind a rider whose pace is fast enough.” In viewing TITR, one thinks of Scott’s portrayal of Patton: “L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace.” TR, when the secretary of the navy was out of the office, ordered Commodore Dewey to station his fleet in Hong Kong and be prepared to launch an offensive against the Spanish in the Philippines. After war was declared, he organized the Rough Riders, whose performance in Cuba catapulted him into the New York governor’s office later in 1898. He engineered the coup that permitted newly-independent Panama to authorize the building of the Panama Canal, the world’s largest, most complex construction project.
As the documentary illustrates, in many ways TR acted like a kid. On one occasion, the British ambassador advised the Foreign Office: ‘Always remember that the president is about six years old.’ In public TR was masterful at audacious PR. Whether he was worshipped or loathed, he was always page-one news. At home he
was a loving husband and father. The contrast reflected his bipolar personality.
Great men have massive strengths and major weaknesses. This was the case with TR. He turned against men like Howard Taft and Gifford Pinchot, who once had been close colleagues. In a moment of anger, he split the Republican Party and permitted Woodrow Wilson to capture the presidency. During World War I, his strident support for ‘real Americans’ and his demand that hyphenated Americans take a loyalty oath reflected his dark side. The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize was also censured by a Republican Senate in the twilight of his presidency.
The overriding constant in TR’s life was his commitment to conservation. This also is his lasting legacy to America: 23 national parks. 150,000,000 acres of preserved forest land, 230 million acres of protected public land, and countless bird sanctuaries.
The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt touches more of the peaks than the valleys of TR’s eventful life. Star Spangled Banner and Onward Christian Soldiers reflect the upbeat tone of this documentary. Nonetheless, historically Theodore Strauss’s text would withstand the scrutiny of professorial nitpickers.
Engle’s documentary was made during the first term of another Great Communicator. TR and Reagan both preached simple virtues and practiced bold leadership. Personally, I find TITR as relevant today as it was when first viewed on ABC a generation ago.
