In 1915, on the Turkish coast at Gallipoli, a regiment of British soldiers formed from workers on the royal estate at Sandringham obeyed their ill-considered orders to attack. A heavy mist settled in and, eyewitnesses would later report, they just disappeared, becoming the stuff of instant legend.
From this war story, PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre” — officially known now as ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre, for those of you tracking corporate mergers and sponsorships — fashions a powerful two-hour movie that has nothing to do with the Robert Penn Warren novel of the same title, “All the King’s Men.” (8 p.m. Sunday, WTTW-Ch. 11).
In the same war-is-worse-than-hell vein as the Australian films “Breaker Morant” and “Gallipoli,” this tale makes you feel, deeply, the astonishing futility of one of humanity’s favorite means of exercising the self-destructive impulse.
While not quite as graceful or sharply focused as those two films, “All the King’s Men” nonetheless succeeds in planting in the viewer affection for the regiment, especially their older leader, Capt. Frank Beck (David Jason).
These men set off full of poetic thoughts about heroism and honor, and then struggle to sustain them as they hit the Turkish shore and realize what a misguided mess the British Commonwealth effort is.
Back at Sandringham, King George V (David Troughton) and his mother, Queen Alexandria (Maggie Smith), struggle with conflicting emotions, their affection for Beck and his men, their sense of patriotic duty and their knowledge that the British War Office has already been profligate with its troops in conducting World War I.
It’s a classically constructed war movie in the first half, dividing its time between the exuberant youth and their stern leader and the loved ones and royals back home. But as the story of what happens to the regiment returns to England, and the queen orders an investigation, the film turns effectively experimental, moving artfully around in time and perspective.
By the end, “All the King’s Men” is not just an indictment of war, but a rumination on the inequities of class and, especially, on the sustaining power and human necessity of myth.
And Not a Moment Too Soon: The impending return of David Letterman to his “Late Show” desk is welcome news in the late-night talk world. The show that tapes Friday to air Monday (10:35 p.m., WBBM-Ch. 2) comes five weeks after his sudden heart-bypass surgery and will feature talk- and game-show host Regis Philbin as his first guest.
Fans like me, of course, will be thrilled to have him back and are eager to see what Letterman and staff cook up. More interesting still will be to discern the extent to which his illness and absence have helped him win over middle America, the folks who watched Letterman when he first started at CBS and then drifted away to Jay Leno’s puppy dog of a “Tonight Show” — or to bed. The guess here — and the fervent hope — is that this medical emergency becomes one more part of the Letterman comeback that was already under way.
“I’ve kind of told him that I personally believe he has now become a national treasure,” executive producer Rob Burnett said in his news conference announcing the return this week. “He tried to fire me, of course.”
Also exciting is the news that Letterman, said to be recovering well but set to work only partial weeks until he feels fully ready, will bring back a time-honored but long-neglected late-night tradition, that of the guest host. He and Leno this decade have elected to show reruns instead of letting others plant themselves temporarily behind the desk. It came across as a strange and blatant admission of insecurity by two men reportedly making more than $10 million per year, men who have no need to be threatened by good work from a Jon Stewart or Bill Cosby.
In the first week, Cosby will guest host “Late Show” on Tuesday, Philbin on Thursday, with Letterman working the Wednesday show. Enticing was an idea — just an idea — tossed out in the conference for the king himself, Johnny Carson, to do a guest stint. It probably won’t happen — Burnett said his guess was that Letterman wouldn’t want to impose on Carson even by asking — but it is thrilling to imagine.
Carson, of course, made guest hosting a great tradition during his “Tonight” tenure, allowing America to get to know other comics and other rhythms. Even better, it gave us the great “Larry Sanders Show,” an indirect byproduct of star and creator Garry Shandling’s days guesting for Johnny.
It has to be said, too, that the solution the “Late Show” staff came up with in the interim for keeping the show fresh has been terrific. Slapped with a “Backstage” tag, the show has featured these past two weeks stars coming on and talking about Letterman and past “Late Show” appearances, with those interviews then being shown. Especially memorable were Steve Martin (occasioning the repeat airing of the great “Dave and Steve’s Gay Vacation” short), Jerry Seinfeld (pretending Letterman had died) and Julia Roberts. In what is likely the last of them for a while, Friday’s show will feature Tom Arnold talking with Robin Williams and absent-minded zookeeper Jack Hanna.
Golddiggers of 2000: Personal and confidential to the rich guy and the 50 women who were ready to tie the knot with strangers Tuesday night on Fox’s ultra-trashy, beauty pageant-style “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?”: Your parents must be very proud.
May the divorce come quickly and the prenup prove contestable.
