Reunion at Fairborough

In some ways, I enjoyed "Reunion at Fairborough"...and in other ways, it reminded me of the expression "you can never go back". In other words, it left me with very mixed feelings.

When the film begins, Carl (Robert Mitchum) is feeling blue. He's been forced to retire, his wife had left him and he didn't feel much of a sense of purpose in his life. But when he gets word that his old bomber group from WWII is having a reunion back in England where they were based, he seems to get a new lease on life. Before he goes, however, he wants to find an old buddy and take him along with him. This won't be easy as Jiggs (Red Buttons) is an alcoholic and doesn't seem interested in the trip. But Carl is insistent and he takes his old friend with him.

Once in England, Carl is in for a huge surprise when he looks up his old sweetheart. It seems that Sally (Deborah Kerr) had his baby long ago...and never bothered to tell him. That baby grew up and died...but she produced a daughter.... Carl's granddaughter. But this is not one big happy family reunion. Sally doesn't seem that eager to reignite old passions and the granddaughter is a very idealistic AND obnoxious teen...too obnoxious to make her character likable or relatable. She also is incredibly inconsistent and needlessly rude. What's to come of all this family bonding?

There were some very nice performances in the film...particularly by Mitchum and Barry Morse. But it also seemed to be a mistake including so much of the granddaughter and not enough of her grandmother, Sally. Considering this was the fourth pairing of Mitchum and Kerr, you are confused why this so often seems to take a backseat in the story. More Kerr and less granddaughter would have made for a more enjoyable story. Still, it IS Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr...so it is still a nice time-passer.

By the way, I didn't mind that the script had a granddaughter who was ideologically so dissimilar to her grandfather. It was more how obnoxious and one-dimensional the character was that annoyed me. Her character just wasn't written well and proved unnecessary to the story.

I wasn't even aware of this 30-year-old US TV film from HBO until it was aired recently on the Movie Channel in the UK. I am so delighted to have discovered this bitter-sweet romance, it is an absolute gem.

It is a tale very well told, of renewed comradeship, of rediscovered romance, of tension and understanding between the generations. The emotions are real, the performances superb, especially Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr, who bring a special something to this understated but well-nigh perfect script. The rest of the American and British cast are excellent too, but I thought the standout performance was that of Judi Trott as the idealistic teenage granddaughter.

This film satisfies on so many levels, and I shall be watching my recording of it again, I know. Highly recommended.

This comment belongs in "Trivia" but there are no instructions for initiating that segment of the site.

In the film, the reunion involves WW II veterans of the 323rd Bomb Squadron, which actually existed. It was part of the 91st Bomb Group based at Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire (8th Air Force Station 121) from 1942 to 1945.

The group's emblem was a "Triangle A" on the tail, though the movie shows B-17s from several other groups. The 91st is best known as the organization that flew "The Memphis Belle", which belonged to the 324th Squadron.

I watched this for the first time in 2003, during a time when it seems the whole world was angry at the U.S. for its "militarism." It was fascinating to be reminded that this isn't the first time we were accused of this. The story could have taken place today ... so much has not changed (okay, the lead characters would have been a LOT older!!!).

The story itself was a sweet love story, and the acting is first rate (Red Buttons, as always, is a scene stealer). But the social commentary is what intrigued me and made this movie such a winner.

The star power of Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr carry Reunion At Fairborough for the audiences watching HBO in 1985. Though this film is only a pale reflection of their previous work like Heaven Knows Mr. Allison, The Sundowners, and The Grass Is Greener, these two legends show the 1980s cable HBO viewers what being a screen legend is all about.

Mitchum plays a 60 something with little to look forward to having lost his job, made a failure at his two marriages, and with no prospects is looking toward a bleak future. He hears from Barry Morse who was a sergeant in his old Army Air Corps outfit and they're planning a reunion for the survivors where their base was, in Fairborough across the pond.

While there what better to do than look up an old wartime romance who is shop owner Deborah Kerr. Turns out they had a daughter whom he never knew about and a granddaughter as well. The daughter and her husband were killed in an automobile crash and Kerr has raised granddaughter Judi Trott who certainly was cast because of her red hair so like Kerr's famous scarlet tresses.

The film is Mitchum getting reacquainted with Kerr and getting to know the granddaughter he never knew he had. Trott is quite the radical, she's busy protesting the American air base nearby the old Army Air Corps field and the nuclear weapons there. Trott also doesn't like Americans as a rule, but she can't help liking Mitchum.

Red Buttons is in this film playing one of the enlisted men during war time who is now an alcoholic janitor. It's a wonderful performance of a man who was not blessed with the material success that Mitchum found so fleeting. Buttons really stands out in this film.

So do the old pros Mitchum and Kerr. The two liked and respected each other and it shows through in the work. It's not as good as their big screen films but I'll take them on any old screen.