Enjoyed viewing this film about an American Soldier who was being returned to his hometown a small city in Georgia. Major Kendall Laird, (John Lithgow) is escorting the remains of this soldier and he has to face the family, Luther Johnson, (Morgan Freeman) and his wife. This procedure usually takes a few days, however, Major Kendall experiences strange behavior by the men who were in combat with this Lt. Johnson, who has been awarded a medal for saving their lives. There is also another problem which involved the burial place for Lt. Johnson because of a racial problem with the town people who do not want a Black person to be buried in their cemetery. There are many twists and turns and this film reveals a very surprising story about what really happened to Lt. Johnson.
11 Reviews
An enjoyable thought-provoking and entertaining TV drama
=G=25 February 2002
"Resting Place" tells of an Army officer (Lithgow) who accompanies the body of a black Vietnam war hero home for burial only to find the cemetery is segregated and the body is shrouded in mystery. A well cast journeyman TV drama, "Resting Place" is a thoughtful and poignant exploration of one man's search for truth among a too divided civilian population and a too unified military unit. Good stuff with a message for everyone.
A soldier is brought home for burial.
brickley22018 June 2011
I was so pleased that I had taped this movie from the television based upon the briefest review in the newspaper as I have the chance to watch this forgotten gem whenever I wish to. Made in 1986 the film is about a US Army Major in 1972 accompanying the body of a young officer to his home town of Rockville for local burial. So what you may think, but the twist is that Major Laird is played by John Lithgow and his charge is the son of Luther and Ada Johnson (Morgan Freeman and CCH Pounder). In Rockville the cemetery is reserved for the white folks and even black military heroes have to rest out of town, according to the local Sheriff. The plot deals with that period in time when there still was prejudice even though there were laws for equal rights. This may seem quite dated now that Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th President of the United States of America, but the story is told with feeling and some very strong acting ability. Without exception, all of the leading characters are portrayed by actors who all went on to prove their true worth. It may be that the subject matter of the movie was not flavour of the month in 1986 but nevertheless it is workmanlike and sincere in its story of good old white society trying to maintain its superiority over emerging black aspirations. Whilst it is not in the same league as 'In the Heat of the Night' or 'Amistad' this well made tale of a fight against prejudice is still worth watching more than once.
above average performances for all involved, especially G.D. Spradlin
dwmorrison13 January 2000
As usual, Hallmark Hall of Fame has done an outstanding job of presenting the factual events of the times. Our world is not always a pleasant place, but as these events show, truth and right generally prevail. I like the fact that this experience was an education for all involved, especially John Lithgow's character.
Slow moving military drama ........
merklekranz22 April 2017
John Lithgow accompanies a Black Lieutenant soldier's body sent home for final resting in rural Georgia. Despite it being 1972, racial prejudice ensues as the soldier is refused burial in the town's all White cemetery. Although prominently featured on the DVD cover, the soldier's Father, Morgan Freeman, has little to do in the film. Things slow down considerably as Lithgow tries to get the truth about how the Lieutenant died, from many fruitless interviews with his Vietnam Unit. Eventually the truth begins to emerge. M. Emmet Walsh's part as a retired Sargent giving advice to Lithgow, seems like little more than time filler. Not a bad film , it just feels like it was stretched to fill a TV slot. - MERK
Good Story
greggcox11 May 2019
Excellent Story !!!
Rmcfg5 May 2010
I just saw this movie recently by way of a DVD that I rented. As the "voice of experience" from having previously served in the US Army in the same duty as John Lithgow's character ... I must say that he did one Hell of a good job! I was totally amazed! I usually associate this actor with roles that are "dumb & goofy" ... but he amazed me by performing in a very serious role. The character traits were perfect. The costumes were on target for that period. It was even filmed on location at an army post in Georgia which is where the fictional story was to have taken place. I especially liked the ending when the combined efforts of the men in the (mostly white) Platoon became the force that turned the tide of southern racism and finally allowed a hero to be buried in a place where he originally had NOT been welcome for no other reason than the color of his skin. I grew up in Georgia and even during that same time period of the early 1970s, there were still small communities where the mindset of certain people was still like the 1950s before Civil Rights had taken effect. But overall, I felt that this film was excellent and really did NOT get the attention that it truly deserved when it was first released. Hallmark should replay this once again.
---LTC Ralph Mitchell, US Army (ret)
---LTC Ralph Mitchell, US Army (ret)
A Brilliant Movie
maralvimmm30 September 2019
A powerful movie shows a unique situation where there was a collective error of people, and goes beyond, also shows a degrading action of racism, something meaningless, a movie that is big and teaches, shows a story that we kept our mouths open, a moving situation that brings us new unexpected situations. A movie I did not know and surprised me, I thought it was great!
The filmmaker is the American, John Korty (1936), I did not know him, but now I became a fan, I want to see more of his works, made many films for TV, stopped directing films in 2009, made a documentary: Miracle in a Box : A Piano Reborn, and rather to TV movies: A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story (TV Movie 1999). I highlight these films more: The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) Farewell to Manzanar (1976) Who Are the DeBolts? and Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? (1977). The protagonist is the great American actor John Lithgow (1945), starred among others in: Total Risk (1993), Love is Strange (2014) and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984). Morgan Freeman, (Invictus 2009) plays an important role too, appears little, but brightens up this movie that I liked too much.
The filmmaker is the American, John Korty (1936), I did not know him, but now I became a fan, I want to see more of his works, made many films for TV, stopped directing films in 2009, made a documentary: Miracle in a Box : A Piano Reborn, and rather to TV movies: A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story (TV Movie 1999). I highlight these films more: The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) Farewell to Manzanar (1976) Who Are the DeBolts? and Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids? (1977). The protagonist is the great American actor John Lithgow (1945), starred among others in: Total Risk (1993), Love is Strange (2014) and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984). Morgan Freeman, (Invictus 2009) plays an important role too, appears little, but brightens up this movie that I liked too much.
Hallmark Hits a Home Run
view_and_review28 July 2020
It's astounding that when we think about segregation 1.) we think about it being ages ago and 2.) we think of schools and water fountains. Then a movie such as "Resting Place" comes along to teach us that segregation was in every imaginable sphere of life, up to and including in death. And that's the central theme of our movie here: a fallen soldier of the Vietnam war not being able to be buried in the cemetery in his home town because it was a "whites only" cemetery. This segregation was occurring 17 years after the Brown v. The Board of Education ruling, and seven years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
That brings us to the movie in question: "Resting Place." Major Laird (John Lithgow) was in charge of making sure Sgt. Dwyte Johnson was given a proper burial. Major Laird accompanied the body to Rockville, GA where he found that Dwyte Johnson would not be allowed to be buried in the local cemetery. How did he even get a plot you may ask. A well-intentioned older white woman, and friend of the Johnson family, named Eudora McCallister (Frances Sternhagen), bought the plot and sold it to the Johnsons.
Even though the Johnson family was rebuffed in typical southern we're-good-folks-but-we-don't-like-you fashion, they would not be defeated. Luther (Morgan Freeman) and Ada Johnson (CCH Pounder) believed that their son, a war hero no less, deserved more than anybody to be buried in his hometown.
Major Laird, to his credit, would not give up either. The movie, while based upon social justice, was also a bit of an investigative movie because, whereas Dwyte Johnson's unit recommended him for a Silver Star, there was something fishy about his death.
I enjoyed this somewhat subdued, yet serious Hallmark movie. John Lithgow and Richard Brooks were excellent. Morgan Freeman and CCH Pounder didn't have huge roles so their impact on the film was minimal besides giving it an air of credibility. Race always has been and always will be a painful, hence troublesome issue, but I appreciate movies such as "Resting Place" for tackling it in an intelligent manner.
That brings us to the movie in question: "Resting Place." Major Laird (John Lithgow) was in charge of making sure Sgt. Dwyte Johnson was given a proper burial. Major Laird accompanied the body to Rockville, GA where he found that Dwyte Johnson would not be allowed to be buried in the local cemetery. How did he even get a plot you may ask. A well-intentioned older white woman, and friend of the Johnson family, named Eudora McCallister (Frances Sternhagen), bought the plot and sold it to the Johnsons.
Even though the Johnson family was rebuffed in typical southern we're-good-folks-but-we-don't-like-you fashion, they would not be defeated. Luther (Morgan Freeman) and Ada Johnson (CCH Pounder) believed that their son, a war hero no less, deserved more than anybody to be buried in his hometown.
Major Laird, to his credit, would not give up either. The movie, while based upon social justice, was also a bit of an investigative movie because, whereas Dwyte Johnson's unit recommended him for a Silver Star, there was something fishy about his death.
I enjoyed this somewhat subdued, yet serious Hallmark movie. John Lithgow and Richard Brooks were excellent. Morgan Freeman and CCH Pounder didn't have huge roles so their impact on the film was minimal besides giving it an air of credibility. Race always has been and always will be a painful, hence troublesome issue, but I appreciate movies such as "Resting Place" for tackling it in an intelligent manner.
Wow really good.
jewelch4 May 2022
Unbelievable just how good this story about the evils of Racism was and is. Stuff like this should never have been allowed to happen. All the actors in this did a very good job. Yes I Highly Recommend this one. James E. Welch Henderson Arkansas 5/4/2022.
Messy Structure
YohjiArmstrong7 May 2011
Warning: Spoilers
RESTING PLACE is a fractured mix of two dramas. It begins as a very conventional American race drama, in which Georgia locals refuse to have a black Vietnam Lieutenant buried in their all-white cemetery. It then morphs into a military-set mystery as the circumstances of the Lieutenant's death are revealed to be suspicious.
This double narrative robs either story of the time needed to develop itself and makes the conclusion feel rushed and unsatisfying. Major characters, like the Lieutenant's parents (Morgan Freeman and C.C.H. Pounder), are abandoned for much of the film's running time. The split between the Georgia town and the local Army base ensures that neither comes alive.
The film begins with a degree of racial subtlety as the local authorities explain their reasons for opposing the burial. Having avoided the racial violence in the South of the late 1960's they don't want to move too far, too fast in this post-Civil Rights Era, for fear of causing it. For once these are concerned citizens, not hate-filled rednecks. The second narrative has promise too. The Lieutenant's death turns out to be the result of a mistake he made that killed some of his men and lost him the trust of his platoon. Consequently in their next firefight he leads but nobody follows, assuring his death. Unfortunately subtlety is thrown out the window as an unconvincing racial subtext is introduced and the Lieutenant's mistake is revealed to have really been made by his radioman (motivated by racism).
Handsome production values and some unusually restrained acting from John Lithgow fail to redeem the inability of the screenplay to combine its two stories.
This double narrative robs either story of the time needed to develop itself and makes the conclusion feel rushed and unsatisfying. Major characters, like the Lieutenant's parents (Morgan Freeman and C.C.H. Pounder), are abandoned for much of the film's running time. The split between the Georgia town and the local Army base ensures that neither comes alive.
The film begins with a degree of racial subtlety as the local authorities explain their reasons for opposing the burial. Having avoided the racial violence in the South of the late 1960's they don't want to move too far, too fast in this post-Civil Rights Era, for fear of causing it. For once these are concerned citizens, not hate-filled rednecks. The second narrative has promise too. The Lieutenant's death turns out to be the result of a mistake he made that killed some of his men and lost him the trust of his platoon. Consequently in their next firefight he leads but nobody follows, assuring his death. Unfortunately subtlety is thrown out the window as an unconvincing racial subtext is introduced and the Lieutenant's mistake is revealed to have really been made by his radioman (motivated by racism).
Handsome production values and some unusually restrained acting from John Lithgow fail to redeem the inability of the screenplay to combine its two stories.
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