1776 movie review essay

1776 Movie Review

1776 was indeed a movie that revolves around the life of just how America gained freedom. Peter Stone wrote the screenplay, and Peter H. Hunt directed the film. William Daniels’ John Adams had attempted to persuade the delegates to sign the Declaration of Independence1. He was adamant about anything because he wanted freedom of England’s authority, while Donald Madden’s character, John Dickinson, preferred to stay under their influence since it was more straightforward (Hogeland, 2021). Due to the apparent timings, the movie featured several story gaps. The film is titled 17762, yet it was released in 1972. This indicates who made the film in the early 1900s and that world has changed since 1776. Because of the setting, the movie contained a lot of things that weren’t feasible.

The movie featured exact details concerning the adoption of the Treaty of Independence from inception to conclusion. The founding fathers, including John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, battled for complete independence. The video underlined such concepts using real-life examples such as Abigail Adams’ correspondence to her husband, John. This included various facts regarding how John Adams was considered left out and disrespected in those writings. The Brinkley text mentioned in chapter 6 that John had been an irritating man who was already fussing and that they didn’t give him the president but had little alternative because Hamilton was despised. The movie was frighteningly precise, to the point that the characters resembled one other (Sun, Guo, Yang, Fang, Guo, Zhang, & Burke, 2019).

All scenes showed each event preceding the adoption of the Treaty of Revolution in great detail within every film stage. The place they were utilizing in the movie looked like Carpenters Hall, where the Constituent Assembly met in real life. From the beginning to the film’s completion, they used the same room and split it up precisely as it was in real life (Spottiswoode, 2020). While General George Washington was fighting the British on the battlefield, the 13 colonies debated whether or not to secede from England. The most vocal proponents of freedom were John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. Dr. Lyman Hall 3 comes to advocate Georgia while Richard Henry Lee travels to Virginia Colony to endorse freedom. He is questioned about his views on sovereignty from the minute he arrives. Dickinson called it treason, while Adams believed it was the best course of action. When Lee returned from Virginia, the argument over independence erupted. Abigail Adams wrote John letters regarding what was going on at home during this debate (Chervinsky, 2020).

The tale revolves around three primary themes: teamwork, courage, and integrity. Together, Adams, Franklin, and Jefferson fought to gain America’s independence from British Rule. They always lost hope, but even when many would be on the verge of giving up, Adams’ nagging caused them to remember why they arrived in Philadelphia and because they so much wanted freedom (Narrett, 2020). The protagonists were unconcerned by the age gap separating them. Despite this, they continued to act like children. Their infantile notions of freedom had gotten the best of them. They remained strangers in a strange land, yet they still battled for what they thought was legally mine.

In conclusion, despite the numerous mistakes, the film was enjoyable. Because it was written by a former high school teacher who didn’t even know any better somewhere at the time, it’s reasonable that there are numerous errors. H was a little child. In my perspective, they idealized the film a little too much. They would never have done it, in my opinion. They had historical truths, but Jefferson’s journalist’s block due to his inability to see his wife was too dramatic. He could have written the Emancipation proclamation without his wife there, and I believe they should never have produced that scenario.

Hogeland, W. (2021). 3 Two Revolutions?(1771–1776). In Founding Finance (pp. 42-71). University of Texas Press.

Sun, Z., Guo, Q., Yang, J., Fang, H., Guo, G., Zhang, J., & Burke, R. (2019). Research commentary on recommendations with side information: A survey and research directions. Electronic Commerce Research and Applications , 37 , 100879.

Spottiswoode, R. (2020). A Grammar of the Film. In A Grammar of the Film . University of California Press.

Chervinsky, L. M. (2020). The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution . Harvard University Press.

Narrett, D. (2020). IMPERIAL CRISIS, REVOLUTION, AND A NEW NATION, 1763–1803. A Companion to US Foreign Relations: Colonial Era to the Present , 1-25.

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Resources about the United States Declaration of Independence

Presenting the facts: 1776.

With the current success of Hamilton: An American Musical , the concept of a musical based on the founding generation makes complete sense. But when 1776 first opened on Broadway, it was (pardon the pun) revolutionary. Sherman Edwards was a former history teacher who merged his knowledge of early American history with his talent for songwriting to create a musical focused on the Continental Congress in the months leading up to July 4, 1776.

The libretto for 1776 includes a Historical Note by the Authors, which begins as follows: "The first question we are asked by those who have seen—or read— 1776 is invariably: 'Is it true? Did it really happen that way?' The answer is: Yes." Edwards and Stone list "those elements of [the] play that have been taken, unchanged and unadorned, from documented fact," followed by dramatic changes that fall into one of five categories: "things altered, things surmised, things added, things deleted, and things rearranged." We use Edwards' descriptions of facts and fictions as our guide, adding commentary and corrections along the way. So, sit down, open up a window, and learn about what's fact and what's fiction in 1776.

Here is the Cast of Characters in 1776 's version of the Continental Congress:

President : John Hancock New Hampshire: Dr. Josiah Bartlett Massachusetts: John Adams Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins Connecticut: Roger Sherman New York: Lewis Morris, Robert Livingston New Jersey: Reverend John Witherspoon Pennsylvania: Benjamin Franklin, John Dickinson, James Wilson Delaware: Caesar Rodney, Colonel Thomas McKean, George Read Maryland: Samuel Chase Virginia: Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson North Carolina: Joseph Hewes South Carolina: Edward Rutledge Georgia : Dr. Lyman Hall

The only fully-represented delegation is Delaware; every other colony/state is represented by far fewer men than in reality. For example, Pennsylvania's delegation is just three men: the pro-independence vote (Franklin), the anti-independence vote (Dickinson), and the undecided vote (James Wilson). This is an oversimplification of the actual delegation in Congress in late June: the pro-independence votes (Franklin and James Wilson), the anti-independence votes (Dickinson, Charles Humphreys, Thomas Willing, and Robert Morris), and the undecided vote (John Morton). On July 2nd, Morton decided in favor of independence, and Morris and Dickinson abstained from voting, turning Pennsylvania from a "nay" to a "yea". To find out exactly how many delegates were in Congress in the summer of 1776, see another musically-inspired blog: No John Trumbull .

Adams and Richard Henry Lee were among the most vocal supporters of independence in Congress, so it is not surprising that the resolution to declare independence came from one of these men. In fact, when Lee brought his resolution to Congress, it was seconded by Adams. However, Adams and Franklin never sent Lee to the Virginia House of Burgesses, as they do in 1776. In fact, Lee didn't go to Virginia in May 1776 at all. His June 7 resolution comes from instructions that were sent to him and his fellow delegates by the House of Burgesses on May 15.

Click to watch a clip of "The Lees of Old Virginia"

The water fountain is also seen during the opening credits of Friends .

Lee mentions General Lighthorse Harry Lee, but that Lee didn't earn his nickname until 1778.

Other FFVs (First Families of Virginia) include the Braxtons, Carters, Harrisons, Jeffersons, Nelsons, and Washingtons.

It is true that Rodney had skin cancer on his face and wore a scarf to cover it, though whether it was a green scarf is unconfirmed. It is worth noting that Rodney was actually taller than the actor who portrays him in the movie version of 1776 (William Hansen); John Adams described Rodney in 1774 as "the oddest looking Man in the World... tall—thin and slender as a Reed—pale—his Face is not bigger than a large Apple. Yet there is Sense and Fire, Spirit, Wit and Humour in his Countenance."

William Franklin was the only son of Benjamin Franklin to survive to adulthood, born to an unidentified woman around 1730 and raised by Benjamin and his common-law wife Deborah. William had his own illegitimate son, William Temple Franklin, while living in London in 1762. The following year, William Franklin was appointed as Royal Governor of New Jersey; he would be the last colonial governor of New Jersey. As the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain strained, so too did the relationship between Benjamin, who supported independence, and William, who was a Loyalist. In January 1776, William Franklin was placed under house arrest, and in mid-June, the Provincial Congress of New Jersey ordered the formal arrest of Governor Franklin as "an enemy to the liberties of this country." He was imprisoned in Connecticut for two years. Though Benjamin Franklin's relationship with William never recovered, he remained quite close with his grandson, Temple, who served as his secretary.

In his autobiography, John Adams recorded that Hopkins' "Custom was to drink nothing all day nor till Eight O Clock, in the Evening, and then his Beveredge was Jamaica Spirit and Water. ... Hopkins never drank to excess, but all he drank was immediately not only converted into Wit, Sense, Knowledge and good humour, but inspired Us all with similar qualities."

It is true that Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston made up the Committee tasked with drafting the Declaration of Independence. There is no evidence that Sherman or Livingston were ever considered for the role of principal author, as they are in the song "But, Mr. Adams". We also know that Robert R. Livingston did not leave for the stork (which conveniently rhymes with "York"), but for the New York Convention. Edwards drew inspiration from Adams' autobiography , which describes his reasons for choosing Jefferson to draft the document.

Jefferson learned to play the violin when he was young, and it believed that he used that talent to woo Martha, who sang and played the harpsichord. A Hessian officer who visited Monticello in 1780 wrote , "As all Virginians are fond of music, he is particularly so. You will find in his House an Elegant Harpsichord Piano forte and some Violins. The latter he performs well upon himself, the former his Lady touches very skilfully and who, is in all Respects a very agreable Sensible and Accomplished Lady."

Click to watch a clip of "He Plays the Violin"

One of the most notable fictions in 1776 is Martha Jefferson's visit to Philadelphia. Thomas and Martha are depicted as newlyweds, madly in love; in actuality, the Jeffersons had been married for four years. Thomas longed to return home to his wife, but for a more dire reason. Martha never visited Philadelphia and was certainly in no condition to travel in the summer of 1776, having just suffered a miscarriage. Though Thomas likely destroyed their correspondence after Martha's death in 1782, we know from his other writings that Martha's health weighed on him in June and July 1776. On July 29, Jefferson wrote to Richard Henry Lee, imploring him to return to Philadelphia to serve in the Virginia delegation: "For god's sake, for your country's sake, and for my sake, come. I receive by every post such accounts of the state of Mrs. Jefferson's health, that it will be impossible for me to disappoint her expectation of seeing me at the time I have promised... I am under a sacred obligation to go home."

Just as John Adams begs Abigail to "Come to Philadelphia", the real Adams was anxious to see his family, or better yet bring them to Philadelphia. In May 1776, he wrote to Abigail, "I have some Thoughts of petitioning the General Court for Leave to bring my Family, here. I am a lonely, forlorn, Creature here."

For this imagined trip, Edwards incorporated details from the trip that Adams, Franklin, and Edward Rutledge made to Staten Island in September 1776 for their summit with Lord Howe . On September 9, Adams recorded that, "At Brunswick, but one bed could be procured for Dr. Franklin and me, in a Chamber little larger than the bed, without a Chimney and with only one small Window."

Jefferson's Notes of Proceedings in the Continental Congress explains that, "the clause... reprobating the enslaving the inhabitants of Africa, was struck out in complaisance to South Carolina & Georgia, who had never attempted to restrain the importation of slaves, and who on the contrary still wished to continue it. our Northern brethren also I believe felt a little tender under those censures; for tho' their people have very few slaves themselves yet they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to others." Edwards puts these words into Edward Rutledge's mouth in the song "Molasses to Rum" (see below).

New York, courteously , abstained from the vote for independence on July 2nd and the vote confirming the Declaration of Independence on July 4th.

It is true that Rodney rode through the night in order to arrive in Philadelphia just in time to break Delaware's one-to-one vote on independence. But Adams did not tell Thomas McKean to "ride down into Delaware and fetch back Caesar Rodney!", as he does in 1776.

After using the element of time to show how slowly Congress was moving in June 1776, it makes sense that July 2nd, July 4th, and August 2nd were conflated, so that the play can quickly transition from debating independence itself to debating the document, to signing the document. The actors' final pose is meant to mirror Robert Edge Pine's unfinished painting, "Congress Voting Independence" (ca. 1784-1788) — not the more famous "Declaration of Independence" painting by John Trumbull.

Congress Voting Independence, Robert Edge Pine, ca. 1784-1788

Dickinson was absent from the vote on July 2nd, and did not sign the Declaration of Independence. Within days of July 4th, Dickinson was serving as Brigadier General in the Pennsylvania Associators, the local militia.

In The Declaration of Independence: The Evolution of the Text , Julian Boyd explains the change from inalienable to un alienable as follows: "This alteration may possibly have been made by the printer rather than at the suggestion of Congress. The Rough Draft reads 'inalienable' without any indication of change made in Congress. None of the copies made by Jefferson has the form 'unalienable'... The copy printed by Dunlap and inserted in the Rough Journal of Congress is the first official copy that has the form 'unalienable,' though it will be noticed that the copy taken by John Adams used that spelling. Both forms were apparently current in the eighteenth century but, since this is the only change in Jefferson's spelling made by Congress—or by any of the Committee—and since none of Jefferson's copies indicate a change made by Congress, it may possibly be that we are indebted to John Dunlap, or a faulty proofreader, for this one." Combine this analysis with the likelihood of one of the members of the Committee of Five supervising Dunlap's first printing (as they were instructed to do by Congress), and you get John Adams working with John Dunlap to insert his preferred spelling. But all of this is conjecture, and as Boyd notes, both spellings were technically correct at the time.

A few more corrections and fun facts:

Ben Franklin and the Turkey

"The Egg" was actually a last minute addition to the play. The official poster had already been created, and Edwards took inspiration from the artwork for a new, lighter number in Act 2.

Washington's Dispatch about Lewis Morris

Near the end of Act 2, a dispatch from George Washington sways Lewis Morris of New York to sign the Declaration even though New York had, courteously , abstained from voting for it. In reality, Lewis Morris had left Congress sometime in June and was serving as brigadier general of the Westchester County militia in New York in July 1776. He didn't sign the Declaration until after he returned to the Continental Congress in September. It is true that Morris's estate, Morrisania, was vandalized by the British after the Battle of Long Island, and had to be rebuilt after the war. It is also true that Morris's children, specifically his three oldest boys, fought in the Revolution.

William Daniels is John Adams.

No, not literally. But Daniels, arguably the star of 1776 , has portrayed John Adams and his family members multiple times. After 1776 , he played John Adams again in The Rebels in 1979. His first television appearance was as a young John Quincy Adams in A Woman for the Ages in 1952. In 1976, he played an older John Quincy Adams in the PBS miniseries The Adams Chronicles . He also played Samuel Adams in the 1978 TV movie, The Bastard .

There are several references to 1776 in Daniels' later work. In an episode of St. Elsewhere set in Philadelphia, his character, Dr. Marc Craig, walks past Independence Hall and remarks, "I don't know what it is about this place, every time I'm here, I feel like singing and dancing." Daniels' character on Boy Meets World , Mr. Feeny, teaches at John Adams High School in Philadelphia.

Saltpetre and Pins

John and Abigail really did correspond about these products. In a letter dated April 5, 1776 and mailed with the "Remember the Ladies" letter of March 31st, Abigail wrote, "You inquire whether I am making Salt peter. I have not yet attempted it, but after soap making believe I shall make the experiment." Similarly, in July 1775, Abigail wrote, "Not one pin is to be purchased for love nor money".

How does the dialogue in 1776 compare to the real life speeches and writings of these characters?

John Hancock, Scene 1: "I now call the Congress' attention to the petition of Mr. Melchior Meng, who claims twenty dollars' compensation for his dead mule. It seems the animal was employed transporting luggage in the service of the Congress."

"The Committee of Claims reported, that there is due, ... To Melchior Meng, for twenty one days hire of this waggon and horses, carrying money to Virginia, the sum of £15" - Journals of the Continental Congress, 6 June 1776

Abigail and John Adams, "Yours, Yours, Yours": "I am, as I ever was, and ever shall be—Yours... Yours... Yours..."

"I am as I ever was and ever shall be Yours, Yours, Yours" - John Adams, Letter to Abigail Adams , 16 February 1780

Abigail Adams, "Yours, Yours, Yours": "I live like a nun in a cloister, / Solitary, celibate, I hate it."

"I have been like a nun in a cloister ever since you went away, have not been into any other house than my Fathers and Sisters, except once to Coll. Quincys." - Abigail Adams, Letter to John Adams , 12 November 1775

John Adams, Scene 4: "It doesn't matter. I won't appear in the history books, anyway—only you. Franklin did this, Franklin did that, Franklin did some other damned thing. Franklin smote the ground, and out sprang George Washington, fully grown and on his horse. Franklin then electrified him with his miraculous lightning rod, and the three of them—Franklin, Washington, and the horse—conducted the entire Revolution all by themselves."

"The History of our Revolution will be one continued Lye from one End to the other. The Essence of the whole will be that Dr Franklins electrical Rod, Smote the Earth and out Spring General Washington. That Franklin electrified him with his Rod — and thence forward these two conducted all the Policy Negotiations Legislation and War ." - John Adams, Letter to Benjamin Rush , 4 April 1790

George Washington (Dispatch read by Charles Thomson), Scene 5: "Oh, how I wish I had never seen the Continental Army. I would have done better to retire to the back country and live in a wigwam."

"I have often thought how much happier I should have been, if, instead of accepting of a command under such Circumstances I had taken my Musket upon my Shoulder & enterd the Ranks, or, if I could have justified the Measure to Posterity, & my own Conscience, had retir'd to the back Country, & lived in a Wig-wam..." - George Washington, Letter to Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Reed , 14 January 1776 Edward Rutledge, Scene 7: "Then what's that I smell floatin' down from the North—could it be the aroma of hy -pocrisy? For who holds the other end of that filthy purse-string, Mr. Adams? Our northern brethren are feelin' a bit tender toward our slaves. They don't keep slaves, no-o, but they're willin' to be considerable carriers of slaves—to others! They are willin', for the shillin'..."

"our Northern brethren also I believe felt a little tender under those censures; for tho' their people have very few slaves themselves yet they had been pretty considerable carriers of them to others." - Thomas Jefferson, Notes of Proceedings in the Continental Congress

John Adams, "Is Anybody There?": "I see / Fireworks! / I see the Pageant and Pomp and Parade! / I hear the bells ringing out / I hear the cannons' roar!"

"It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more." - John Adams, Letter to Abigail Adams , 3 July 1776

John Adams, "Is Anybody There?": "Through all the gloom, / Through all the gloom, I can / See the rays of ravishing light and / Glory!"

"Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory." - John Adams, Letter to Abigail Adams , 3 July 1776

John Adams: "Good God!"

"Good God! where are the Rights of English Men! where is the spirit, that once exalted the souls of Britons and emboldened their [faces] to look even Princes and Monarchs in the face." - John Adams, Draft of an essay , ca. January 1761

"Good God! What shall We say of human Nature? What shall We say of American Patriots? or rather what will the World Say?" - John Adams, Letter to Charles Lee , 13 October 1775

"Good God! Is this a public Man sitting in Judgment on Nations? And has the American People so little Judgment, Taste and Sense to endure it?" - John Adams, Letter to Abigail Adams Smith , 26 September 1802

"Good God! Is a President of the U.S to be Subject to a private Action of every Individual? This will Soon introduce the Axiom that a President can do no wrong; or another equally curious that a President can do no right." - John Adams, Letter to Thomas Jefferson , 1 May 1812

By Emily Sneff

Last | Presenting the Facts

View the discussion thread.

Retro Review – 1776 (1972)

Happy Fourth of July to all of our American readers (and a happy regular day to all our international readers)! Today happens to commemorate many important days in our country’s history, from the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the day the Union Army won the Battle of Gettysburg. While certainly the concepts of American national identity and liberty have faced much scrutiny in recent years, the holiday remains a wonderful chance to celebrate freedom with family over food and high explosives!

This year, I also wanted to celebrate the birth of my nation by bringing some extra attention to a particular film that I’ve fallen in love with of late!

Content Guide

Violence/Scary Images: None. Language/Crude Humor: Some heavy language throughout including D*** and G**. Drug/Alcohol References: Rhode Island’s representative is depicted as an alcoholic constantly asking for rum. Sexual Content: Nothing inappropriate depicted, although there are numerous references to sexuality and sexual frustration throughout the film. Spiritual Content: The majority of the characters are implicitly religious although religion isn’t a major plot point. Other Negative Content: Some crass content and discussion ill-suited for very young viewers. Positive Content: Themes of self-sacrifice, bravery, intelligence and wisdom.

1776 feels like a film from a completely different epoch than the one we live in now. Not only is it quieter, more simplistic, more patriotic, and more earnest than almost any film in the last fifty years, but it’s also a movie that feels like it shouldn’t have even been made in the decade it came out. In 1972, Hollywood was just entering the phase of the American New Wave, releasing films like The Godfather, Deliverance, Solaris, Aguirre: Wrath of God, and Fritz the Cat , pushing cinema in a much darker and more cynical direction. 1776 competed that year against the critically acclaimed, and VERY dark, musical Caberet which contrasted the decadence of the Weimar Republic with the rise of Nazism. This was at a time when bleak disaster films and vigilante flicks like The Poseidon Adventure, Joe Kidd , and The Mechanic were THE most popular entertainment. This movie was released in theaters while Watergate was being investigated by The Washington Post. It notably precedes the Reagan-esc optimism of films like Star Wars , Superman , and Rocky by half a decade.

Yet there 1776 stands as this oddball patriotic musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It’s a film with the look and pace of an early 1960s big-budget musical that looked like it could sit alongside something corny like Yankee Doodle Dandee or South Pacific . Naturally, it was a box office bomb, barely making half its $6 million budget back upon release. It was also pretty heavily savaged by critics who called it “unremarkable” and even “an insult to the real men”, filled with “dreadful” performances, according to major critics like Roger Ebert and Vincent Canby.

Watching it for the first time last year, I was taken aback by how deeply this film was savaged by the culture around it. I’ve watched it at least three times now and every time I watch this film I find 1776 to be a movie that blossoms and grows more endearing. Admittedly, part of that has to do with the novelty. There aren’t very many films about the American Revolution out there besides Drums Along the Mohawk , HBO’s John Adams and The Patriot . Very few films have ever tried to directly depict the Founding Fathers as they were. One of the only examples I can think of in recent memory was Lin Manuel Miranda’s musical Hamilton (which itself is heavily based on 1776 and references it multiple times).

1776 itself is based on the Broadway musical of the same name that premiered in 1969 to riotous success, over 1200 performances, and three Tony Awards. Jack L. Warner, of Warner Brothers fame, bought the rights to the film adaptation and quickly set about adapting it for the big screen. I can’t speak for the qualities of the stage version of the show as I’ve neither seen the 1997 revival tour nor the upcoming 2021 Broadway revival. That said, I could definitely see it being a bit more laid back than the filmed version.

The film of 1776 can be rather breakneck and whimsical for a topic such as the revolutionary war. The film is set just on the eve of the Revolution in June of 1776. The Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775 have put the two nations in a state of war with one another but the thirteen colonies had yet to technically form themselves into a legally distinct entity, even as George Washington was busy digging in his troops into New York City in preparation for a massive British siege.

The Continental Congress itself in Philadelphia is a mess. Dozens of irritated representatives spend their days arguing minutia and refusing to agree with one another over vitally important matters of state. John Adams, the representative from Massachusetts, spends his days aggressively trying to convince Congress to officially declare the United States’ independence from Britain but without an unanimous vote from every colony. And there are plenty of reasons why each colony would NOT want independence. The southern colonies are wary of northern hegemony and want to maintain their economic monopoly through slavery. Additionally, news from the front of war is very negative and it sounds likely that General Washington will lose the Battle of New York, resulting in anyone caught standing by him being publicly executed for treason against the crown.

The reputations, wealth, and lives of every member of the colonies are at stake and there’s no guarantee that standing up for principal will ultimately save the fledgling United States. Yet John Adams is determined to try and declare his new nation’s independence anyway on the off chance that it will be the spark that inspires the colonies.

Struggling to rally Congress and convince the most skeptical representatives among them, Adams convinces them to allow him an opportunity to write up a potential declaration that would serve as the ideological foundation for a new nation on which Congress ought to vote on. With limited time and emotions running high, Adams assigns the job of writing this document to Virginia’s young, enigmatic and quiet representative Thomas Jefferson while he and representative Benjamin Franklin conspire how to persuade the southern states to their side.

As a drama, I find 1776 to be enrapturing as it lets the yarn of each character and their VERY OBVIOUS faults unfurl before the audience. William Daniels as John Adams delivers an amazing lead performance, one that’s vital to serving as the emotional core of the story and doubles as an amazing antithesis for how the characters ultimately accomplish the task of achieving independence for their country. John Adams is, to put it delicately, an unpleasant and disagreeable person. Seemingly the only person who wants to be around him is his estranged wife, Abigail Adams, who desperately misses having a husband to return home to every night. As a result, the story ends up being a drama of alliances and double-crosses. Adams, being the most aggressively pro-revolution patriot in congress, can only achieve his desired outcome and return home to his wife if he learns to rely on others and place his trust in other people’s ability to stand up for what’s right.

So much of this sets up 1776 to be such a bleak and emotionally overwhelming film, but in reality it’s a tremendously whimsical and joyous movie. There’s a youthful exuberance to the film that captures the soul of a young nation early in its experiment. Benjamin Franklin captures it beautifully in my favorite quote of the film :

“Never was such a valuable possession so stupidly and so recklessly managed than this entire continent by the British crown. Our industries discouraged, our resources pillaged, worst of all our very character stifled. We’ve spawned a new race here… rougher, simpler, more violent, more enterprising, less refined. We’re a new nationality. We require a new nation.”

All of the characters we meet are young, energetic, snappy, educated and frustrated people in the prime of their youth. They’re thirsty to prove themselves as equally as they are eager to—to put it gently—spend their evenings at home with their wives (sexual frustration being a surprising, frequent and weird motif throughout 1776 ).

Most of the songs are bubbly and goofy, reflecting the young enthusiasm and pride of this fledgling generation. Representative Richard Lee prances into his first scene on a horse singing a song about the glorious Lee family and rhyming every word with Lee/-ly. Thomas Jefferson’s wife sings a song about how she fell in love with his violin skills. John Adams repeatedly gets into arguments with his wife during songs where he imagines seeing her.

When the film does get serious, there’s a fascinating and haunting weight to it. You see the fear and uncertainty in the characters’ eyes as they realize the fate of the Republic will fall onto their decision, there and then. When John Adams realizes that he has to sacrifice the abolition of slavery to achieve independence, you feel the sadness of the realization of what that decision will ultimately cost less than a century later. The film ends with the famous signing of the Declaration of Independence and even then ending is quite dark and uncertain, as these characters don’t know what the future holds past July 4th, 1776.

Historically speaking, of the 56 signers, nine died in combat, five were captured and tortured by the British, and at least a dozen had their homes destroyed. Many were financially ruined by the revolution or lost their beloved family members in combat. The ominous bleakness of the final shot of this movie isn’t uncalled for.

There’s incredible humanity on display in 1776 that captures something quintessentially fascinating about the Founding Fathers as they were on the eve of the American Revolution. Even setting aside the novelty of seeing John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin on the big screen, I can’t help but admire just how much the film managed to capture in this relatively whimsical and colorful comedy. For all it romanticizes and likely downplays some of the less savory aspects of the founding father’s very well-documented hypocrisies, 1776 does the work to make these flawed people and their flawed actions relatable. We’re shown just how and why these men came to the conclusions they did, shown just how uniquely brilliant they were, and we are led to admire just how brave they had to be to sign their name on a document that would shortly get many of them killed.

I can’t help but feel a film like 1776 is overdue a cultural reexamination!

+ Wonderful musical soundtrack + Solid performances from the major actors + Great balance of whimsical fun and serious themes

- Some excessively corny performances and goofy characterizations - Occasionally stagey set design

The Bottom Line

1776 didn't get much love in 1972 but maybe there's a more welcoming audience in our cynical times now! It's a wonderful musical and whatever flaws you can place against it as a film, it's an intoxicatingly novel and fun piece of cinema that is well worth your holiday viewing, especially if you're already a fan of its spiritual successor, Hamilton.