This picture catapulted the then unknown Richard Todd to International stardom after his terrific performance as Lachie in The Hasty Heart – alongside Patricia Neal and Ronald Reagan who had come over to England-  not too long after the War –  to make this film.

It went very well in America and here – and on the back of this Richard Todd got major roles in three  films for Walt Disney – all made here – and a One a Year contract with 20th Century Fox.

This photograph above – shows Richard Todd chatting to Patricia Neal and Vincent Sherman on the set at Elstree

The Hasty Heart is the  work of author John Patrick, who also wrote  The Teahouse of the August Moon – something that until today I had not realised.

The Hasty Heart ran on Broadway from  1945  for 204 performances with  a cast that  starred Richard Basehart, Anne Burr and John Lund on stage.

It is a story about a wounded  soldier played in the film by Richard Todd who doesn’t know it,  but will die within a matter of weeks and nurse Patricia Neal moves him in with some other convalescent soldiers including an American, Ronald Reagan and tells them to go easy with him.

However Lachie  is  a bitter angry man, with no family or friends to speak of .

Richard Todd got his first break in The Hasty Heart.  He was of course  a real life war hero who had parachuted in to Pegasus Bridge with Major John Howards soldiers – so in playing this part he brought a wealth of experience of someone who had been there.  Richard Todd got an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and his competition included, John Wayne for Sands of Iwo Jima, Kirk Douglas for Champion, and Gregory Peck for Twelve O’Clock High. The eventual winner though was Broderick Crawford in All the King’s Men.

Patricia Neal also got her first really good part as the compassionate nurse.  Also a veteran contract player with Warner Brothers who left the movies for another career, Ronald Reagan got some of the best notices of his career. The Hasty Heart is definitely one of the three films most identified with him in, the others being Knute Rockne – All American, and of course –  King’s Row.

These three actors – and the supporting ones, certainly did there very best in this film – making it a very very good one.

Richard Todd receives a Golden Globe for The Hasty Heart – above Pictured along with Mercedes McCambridge.

They were in the film ‘Lightning Strikes Twice’ about this time.

Richard Todd chats with Olivia deHavilland and she receives a Golden Globe – above