User Reviews

For some reason during the classic era of Motion Pictures, there were very few films made about the Revolutionary War. That changed though with the coming of the television film, and there have been several miniseries and more movies on the subject. This television is about that mid-April day when the first shot was fired that started the war and the impact that it had on the community around it. It's obvious that the colonists have little chance of winning, and this battle shows the determination to persevere even though some of the younger recruits are very scared when the battle begins.

The film headlines Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones as a patriarch of a family whose son, Chad Lowe, joins him in battle, and becomes a man after initial cowardess and realizing what is at stake if he cowers out. Robert Urich, Susan Blakely and Rip Torn are also featured, and while it's difficult to compare this to real history, it does give a good indication of what these early settlers went through in order to obtain freedom from England and create the United States.

So while I would not consider this a strong educational tool, it does provide enough concrete detail to give us the possibility of everything that occurred, and the details of the battle do seem somewhat legit. The movie is beautifully filmed with a beautiful score and a bit of romance, and one character's early demise does send a shock wave. The idealistic character that Lowe plays questions the reasons that men kill, and that gives us a very liberal view point towards the evils of war. Not a great film but any movie that makes you want to learn more about certain subjects is not all bad.

This 1988 movie covers in detail the early beginnings of the American Revolution specifically the so called "shot heard around the world" when Massachusetts colonists faced British red coats at Lexington on 19 April 1775. The story is told through the eyes of a typical family headed by farmer Moses Cooper (Tommy Lee Jones), his wife Sarah (Susan Oakley) and their 15 year old son Adam (Chad Lowe). The movie quite faithfully follows the view of the events of this day from author Howard Fast. The reluctance of many colonists to fight and feeling of being pushed to war by escalating British aggression was well covered.

A substantial portion of the movie is devoted to a coming of age drama between the authoritarian father and his brooding and rebellious mid-adolescent son, an age old "spreading your wings" confrontation flavored with a teenage love interest with the daughter of a prominent leader in the village that is very well portrayed.

The dramatization of the initial skirmishes of the war are superbly re-created and the rapid evolution of guerrilla war tactics is well shown. The movie does stray into speculation on the source of the famous first shot placing the blame on local veteran of the Anglo Indian wars Solomon Chandler (Rip Torn) which is a matter of intense historical debate.

The movie was an interesting showpiece of the then rising star of Tommy Lee Jones before his A list successes in the '90s so his characteristic intensity is on display. Likewise it was the first lead acting role (and an excellent showing) for 18 year old Chad Lowe (younger brother of the more famous Brat Pack member Rob Lowe) whose portrayal of the rapid boy-to-man journey forged in combat was accurate.

This summary contains spoilers.

For Revolutionary War buffs (yes the species does exist) the pickings in the film industry are pretty slim, this winter's "The Crossing" and this summer's "The Patriot" notwithstanding. Medieval movies are easy to find, WW II movies are everywhere, and Civil War movies are always an on screen favorite. Yet for some reason, the American Revolution is largely ignored by Hollywood.

One of the excellent films in this small genre is April Morning, a Hallmark hall of fame presentation that was aired in 1988. The film focuses on a 15-year-old lad named Adam Cooper who lives in the sleepy little hamlet of Lexington, Massachusetts Bay Colony in April 1775. Life for Adam consists of doing his farm chores, courting his sweetheart Ruth Simmons (Meredith Salenger), daughter of Joseph Simmons (Robert Urich), and desperately trying to win the approval of his gruff, temperamental yet good-hearted father Moses (Tommy Lee Jones - before he was ultra-famous). Other characters include Adam's mother Sarah (Susan Blakely), his Granny (Joan Heney) and local firebrand Solomon Chandler (Rip Torn). Lexington is a quiet town, and would remain so if it didn't have the misfortune of being the halfway point along the main road from Boston to Concord MA, where patriot militia groups have been stockpiling arms and gunpowder. On the night of April 18th 1775, the British launch a secret raid with the goal of surprising Concord and securing the contraband. Col. Francis Smith commands the expedition of 1000+ red coated soldiers. Nothing goes right for the redcoats. The surprise is blown even before the march begins as Paul Revere and his co-riders ride through the countryside and warn every little town, including Lexington.

When the morning of April 19th dawns, 70 or so men are drawn up on the green as the British march through the town. Inexplicably, Maj. John Pitcairn, commanding the advance party, picks a fight with the men, even though they do not block his path. He demands their dispersion and the surrender of their weapons. Refused, he forms a line of battle and advances on the minutemen. Someone, somewhere fires a gunshot. To this day his (or, for all we know, her) name is unknown. For dramatic purposes, the movie has Chandler pulling the trigger. Believing themselves under attack, the soldiers charge and shoot down Lexingtonians left and right. 10 are killed and 8 wounded. Moses is one of the fatalities, Adam, Joseph and Solomon running for their lives.

The English reform, and continue their already much-delayed march to Concord. Solomon predicts that "It'll be easier for them to go down that road then it will be for them to come back." He's right. The soldiers find almost nothing of value in Concord, the contraband having been recently removed. After skirmishing with more militia there, the British return to Boston via the same route they came. What follows is an English slaughter. The road is practically walled with farmers with guns, whipped up into a bloodthirsty and lethal rage by the carnage at Lexington. The colonists, including Adam, Solomon, and Joseph fire on the redcoats from every tree, rock, fence, and bush. The British take most of the casualties, but not all. By the time the day is out, Solomon is dead, and Adam and Joseph return to Lexington, quite aware that quiet peaceful days are gone forever for Lexington, Massachusetts, and the 13 colonies.

To the best of my knowledge this movie stands with Disney's ancient "Johnny Tremain" as the only two films to depict the beginning of the Revolutionary War. True, the body count at Lexington wasn't much, but for starting a war, it was enough.

The battle sequences are well set up and photographed, one of the most striking audile effects being the drums of the advancing English force, which we hear through the trees for a full minute and a half before the lobsterbacks come into view. The steady increase of fear in the militia is palpable. So too are all the details of the mighty British host preparing to advance. From the rasp and clank of bayonets being fixed to the shouts of hurrah, every effort was made to make the British army look as scary and mechanical as possible.

Tommy Lee Jones and Chad Lowe both went on to successful careers, and this movie proves that they had their acting chops down long before they were famous (April Morning Pre-dates Life goes on and Under Siege). This movie also serves as notches in the acting guns of Urich and Torn.

Meredith Salenger of "The Journey of Natty Gann" and more recently "Lake Placid" is lovely and wholesome as Ruth, and portrays her character with an excellent blend of support, worry, faith, and horror for the two men in her life - her father Joseph and Adam. Ruth is what any man who is forced into a war so desperately wants to come home to. The fact that Ms. Salenger is not as recognizable in the movie world as her costars of this film are is proof to me that there is not enough justice in Hollywood.

This movie is a treat for all fans of history, Lowe, and Jones. Contrary to what this database says, it IS available on home video, if you look hard enough. Check out your nearest Blockbuster or Movies Unlimited and find the guy/girl who most looks like he knows what he's doing. They'll probably be able to set you up. It's worth the search.

Synopsis: On "April Morning," April 19 1775, a shot fired on Lexington green changed the world forever.

The prosecution of Robert Goldstein for the movie Spirit of 1776 put down the Revolution in the theatre. Literature has produced greats in the genre but only a short list of motion pictures embraces a subject with issues which remain contemporary.

American leftist Howard Fast produced several notable novels on the Revolution: April Morning about the Battles of Lexington and Concord, The Unvanquished about the disastrous Battle of Brooklyn, "The Crossing" about the battle of Trenton and Citizen Thomas Paine about the apostle of democratic revolution.

Two of Fast's critically acclaimed books were made into movies: The Crossing and April Morning. Neither movie version drew large audiences.

Often compared to Red Badge of Courage, April Morning dawns over the sleepy hamlet of Lexington where 15-year-old Adam Cooper's main concern is the chores on the family farm, courting his girl and hanging out with his friends. Creeping toward the quiet town, is a red coat column bound to destroy the patriot's caches of arms at Concord.

Forewarned the local militia musters some men to stand on the green. Inexplicably, Major John Pitcairn, commanding the advance party, orders the militia to disperse. Refused, the British advance on the minutemen. A shot rings out. Firing begins.

When the smoke clears, 10 locals are killed and 8 more wounded. Adam and his friends are sent packing. As English lines continue the march to Concord, Adam's friend Solomon predicts "It'll be easier for them to go down that road then it will be for them to come back." After skirmishing with militia at Concord, the British return to Boston down a road walled with angry farmers whipped up into a rage by the incursion. Redcoats face hostile fire according to legend from every tree, rock, fence, and bush.

The British take casualties, but inflict not a few on their aroused adversary clinging to the protection of the bush. A more mature Adam returns home with the painful knowledge that peaceful joys are over.

The battle sequences are well staged with the drums of the advancing British beating a terrifying warning of the approach of the mighty British host whose clanking bayonets and the accompanying huzzahs send a soul splitting chill.

While the movie takes some liberties with actual historical events, the over arching story is real history. I thought that this version of the battle was even-handed. It did not demonize the British or the colonists.

While there were times I caught myself saying to the main character "oh grow up" I would quickly realize that his reactions were very human and realistic to his age and experiences. I thought his and the supporting cast performances were very believable. This movie asks us the audience to grapple with the same difficult questions that the characters face: fear, courage, just-war, the right to kill another human being.

This TV film is based on events that were developed on April 19, 1775. The first battle of the American War of Independence was in Lexington on the northside of Boston. The British sent about 800 troops to take control of stores at Concord and arrest two men that were rebels. The rebels were warned by a man named Paul Revere, because they were warned more troops under command of a Major encountered the party of about 50 Minutemen. The Minutemen were a small group that were highly trained elite forces. There were 2-3 other parties there waiting for orders to attack. When the Commander did say to open fire no one did anything but stood there. Since nothing was happening a Commander named Pitcairn ordered his troops to open fire killing eight Minutemen, the situation had the other parties shocked to their feet and retreated. A couple days later the British ambushed Concord where the fight had taken place and killed 49 Americans and 73 British along with 174 British wounded and 39 Americans wounded.

The movie alone was a good experience and showed how many people you can lose with wanting power. I feel like the fighting was unnecessary but I would guess back in the day it was either die for what you wished you would've fought for. The setting of the movie had many make-up costumes that were close enough to how it was back in the day. Since the movie was about war there were graphic and gore scenes. What was important about this movie was that it makes the American War very personal to many people. Maybe no one had to die that day but we know that that would've been very unlikely. I was impressed by how the movie was made and how graphic the movie itself was due to how long the American War was. The costumes made it 10x better along with the quality of the movie.

The movie April Morning was a very fun and interesting experience to watch. It helped me learn a lot about how it was in the past and that most people had it very hard unless you were wealthy. The war was very unnecessary but it proved a point to the ones that wanted the war which would be the Commander and Major themselves. What has happened in the past would be left but not forgotten. There are rarely any wars in this time of place but I hope that this does not keep going on and that people understand, power isn't everything. I would recommend this movie to High School students that have history because it is a good experience and movie to watch. Based on this movie it shows that the idea of war is hard on the families of those who fight in them. Wars show nothing changes when it's your family facing the fight for freedom no matter what the time period. This movie was a good movie and proved many true big facts about what had happened in the past when it occurred in 1775. Two thumbs up.