Swing Out, Sweet Land

This program is now available on professional DVD under the title "John Wayne's Tribute to America". The release date is July 31, 2007 but my copy arrived a few days early.

This video runs approximately 80 minutes. The only extras on the disk are the original sponsor commercials and a clip of JW on "What's My Line?". The picture quality is very good for a 37 year old show - crisp and clear (nothing like the faded, blurred quality of a VHS version I purchased on eBay a few years ago).

This is a production typical of the 60's & 70's musical comedy shows but that's what fun for anyone who regularly tuned in to watch Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, etc. It's hokey and as patriotic as a 4th of July special.

An internet search showed that several major book and/or DVD sellers have it. FYI, I have no connection to the company that put it out - I'm just happy to finally have it!

The fact John Wayne comes out and says these tales are "tongue in cheek" goes a long way in these vignettes about America. He admits that some times settlers did not behave correctly, which is nice. Some stereotypes are hard to watch, but we need to remember that 50 years ago what was acceptable may not be acceptable today. The jokes are funny/corny, the tales are fun to watch, and the songs are good to sing along to.

I find it interesting that in 1970 there were people protesting (some of whom are on this variety show) but they still came together with the conservatives like Wayne, Ball, and Ann-Margaret to celebrate America in song, dance, and jokes. Today, it seems people are too firmly identified as "pro" or "con" to come together to celebrate the idea of America. Yet this shows it can be done, there is room for moderates in this world.

We can still be proud.

"Swing Out, Sweet Land" is a very unusual TV special hosted by John Wayne. It's an uber-patriotic show, chock full of history (some woefully wrong), comedy, drama and music.

The context for this is important to keep in mind. In 1970, the USA was divided between conservative, patriotic-minded folks and liberal, hippe-types...or so it seemed at the time. As a result of protests about the Vietnam War, some became more conservative...and this show is a very conservative reaction to the hippie movement. It also shows a lot of the patriotism that would grow through the 1970s as a result of the upcoming Bicentennial.

Today, it just seems VERY dated and, at times, a bit painful to watch (such as Dan Blocker playing an American Indian and most of Bob Hope's jokes).

I think for non-Americans, they'll find this sort of film VERY confusing as this sort of overt patriotism is either unknown to them or held in disdain (such as by German viewers). I don't think there's much that's comparable.

For me, as an American, I still found this a bit passe and overly schmaltzy. No, I am not an America-hating commie...I just don't feel that comfortable with this much patriotism. Plus, as a US History teacher, I hated that much of the history in the show is wrong (such as the purchase of Manhattan, the importance of the Liberty Bell and a few other items from the show). But I DO recommend you see this if you want some insight into the USA circa 1970. You also might want to see it in order to see a who's who of conservative actors and singers...such as Jack Benny, Dean Martin and many others. Oddly, it also has a couple of Canadians (Lorne Green who later became a naturalized US citizen and William Shatner). It also features a few naturalized Americans...people who were born abroad but became US citizens, such as Bob Hope and Ann-Margret.

By the way, one of the participants in the show clearly was NOT a conservative. Tom Smothers was very anti-Vietnam War and was well known for his left-leaning views. Of course, he could have been very patriotic...but his conscience simply couldn't allow him not to speak out against the war. But I am surprised John Wayne let him be on the show.

'Swing Out, Sweet Land' is the deeply annoying title of a variety special that's actually fairly entertaining. Because this special allegedly has something to do with American history, IMDb have listed it as a 'documentary'. Actually, this is a comedy/variety special that presents a series of skits (most of them attempting to be funny, a few of them serious) with modern actors impersonating figures from American history. Oddly, two of the U.S. Presidents depicted here are played by Canadian actors: Lorne Greene as Washington, William Shatner as John Adams. The whole affair was a personal project of John Wayne, and was produced by his company Batjac Productions.

I attended a press screening of this special in London in 1971. A Batjac rep was hoping to persuade British TV producers (one of them my employer) to buy the UK syndication rights. Unsurprisingly, British TV producers were chary to give British audiences a programme dealing entirely with American history, much of it concerning America's War of Independence against Britain. 'Swing Out, Sweet Land' was never transmitted in the UK.

CONTAINS SPOILERS. Most of the humour here is simple displacement of 1970s showbiz personalities into earlier eras. Bob Hope shows up in a tricorn at Valley Forge for Christmas 1776, doing his usual shtick of entertaining the troops (who look surprisingly well-fed, well-dressed and warm ... in what's clearly an indoor set). Ann-Margret, in a mob cap and petticoats, does a dance routine for the enthusiastic soldiers, lifting her skirts surprisingly high for the 18th century. Then Bob Hope sings his usual 'Thanks for the Memories', with Revolution-era lyrics: 'We all hold very dear / that patriot Revere. / He rode all night to aid our plight, but just think of his ... rear!' On the word 'rear', Hope pauses slightly and he gooses Ann-Margret, and she squeals in delight! That's the biggest surprise here.

Phyllis Diller shows up as Belva Lockwood, the first woman to stand for election as U.S. President (1884 & 1888), and also the first woman lawyer to plead a case before the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, Diller's turn here is treated largely as a joke. In fairness to Diller, Belva Lockwood's political campaigns were largely regarded as a joke in the 1880s.

Lorne Greene, in elaborate costume and wig, is seen as President Washington. As he walks away from his advisors, he is confronted by Jack Benny in 18th-century costume but wearing his usual hornrims. Benny tentatively asks Washington if the rumour is true that he once threw a dollar across the Potomac. When Washington confirms this, Benny nervously asks if Washington would be able to identify the dollar. When Washington answers in the negative, Benny replies: 'Good. So I can keep this one, then.' Ha bloody ha.

Dean Martin shows up as the inventor of the cotton gin, just so he can drunkenly belch 'Keep yer cotton-pickin' hands off my gin.' The rule in this special tends to be that white figures in American history will be mocked for cheap laughs, but black figures in American history will be depicted respectfully (though not always effectively).

The most bizarre turn is a dead-earnest skit featuring Red Skelton as a newspaper printer in Philadelphia in 1776, with Tom Smothers as his assistant; I leave it to you to imagine how these two actors look in 18th-century work clothes. They've been hired to run off copies of a new document called the Declaration of Independence. Smothers nervously feels that perhaps they shouldn't print this document; it defies King George, and it might just stir up trouble. Skelton reads off a few passages of the galley proof -- something about freedom and liberty -- and he hands it to Smothers with the verdict 'Print it.' Much as I admire John Wayne's sentiments in producing 'Sing Out, Sweet Land', I found this sequence extremely sententious and a little too pleased with its own boldness. I still have the press kit from the London screening I attended. The text in the press kit attempts to make a great deal of the fact that conservative John Wayne and liberal Tom Smothers had divergent political beliefs, yet were able to work together amicably to make this special. Right, so what? Tom Smothers is a member of the establishment, even if he pretends otherwise, and he wasn't going to rock the boat to compromise this special. The press kit mentions that Wayne and Smothers got along just fine during rehearsals by avoiding politics altogether. 'We talked about sailing,' Smothers is quoted in the press kit.

There's really nothing of great interest in 'Swing Out, Sweet Land' unless you're a fan of one of the performers in this cast ... and even then you'd have to be a completist. The comedy here isn't especially funny. As for the serious stuff: I'd be delighted to watch a special that gives respectful tribute to the subject of America's greatness ... but this special ain't it. I'll rate 'Sing Out, Sweet Land' 4 out of 10, purely for its novelty value.

...and yes, it was theme park quality song-and-dance, variety show with a history outline. But it was not meant to be anything else. It was entertainment. PBS has done more "serious" in-depth, and well-researched history TV documentaries in later years as have the History channel, A & E, etc. But please note that these are just as much entertainment for audiences, otherwise the ratings wouldn't be there, the audience would not be there, and the motivation for the makers (at least enough money to live on) would not be there to make them. I remember this and others like it fondly, perhaps through rose-colored glasses of remembrance. But I also remember (and I don't know why this has stuck in my strange memory) that when it came to a Civil War section some mention was made of current racial unrest and the continuing themes of equality.

I would enjoy seeing it again if only for a glimpse of the celebrities that are gone and seeing a time when such did not hesitate to say patriotic things for fear of being hissed at.