| The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams | |
| Director: | A. Blaine Miller |
| Producer: | Weston Adams Julian Adams Billy Fox Steve Purcell Robert Filion |
| Starring: | Julian Adams Amy Redford Mickey Rooney Tippi Hedren Weston Adams Eric Holloway Gwendolyn Edwards Joshua Lindsey Edwin McCain Bob Dorian |
| Cinematography: | Shawn Lewallen |
| Editing: | Billy Fox Steve Purcell |
| Music: | Atli Örvarsson |
| Studio: | Solar Filmworks |
| Distributor: | ThinkFilm |
| Runtime: | 96 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams is a 2007 American war film starring Julian Adams, Amy Redford, Gwendolyn Edwards, Eric Holloway, Joshua Lindsey, Mickey Rooney and Tippi Hedren. The movie, released in 2007 by ThinkFilm, centers on the life of Captain Robert Adams II and his Northern bride, Eveline McCord, and received 10 awards on the film festival circuit. The film was produced by Weston Adams, Julian Adams and Billy Fox. The film was titled Strike the Tent by the filmmakers, and on the film festival circuit, and was changed by the distributor before the release.
The love story of Confederate Captain Robert Adams II and a northern girl, Eveline McCord. The story begins with Captain Adams falling in love with Eveline, a governess from Pennsylvania who moved to South Carolina to work for Robert's first cousin, Governor James Hopkins Adams. As they fall in love in antebellum South Carolina, Captain Adams is launched into the outbreak of the American Civil War, despite the protests of Eveline. The film follows Adams through battles in Virginia, and his capture and subsequent imprisonment in the Federal Military Prison in Elmira, New York. The film was written and produced by the descendants of Robert and Eveline.
The film addresses the issue of slavery in a number of scenes. One in particular shows Adams encountering an African American woman in the woods at night who has just buried her child. She tells Adams “You’ve made a hard bed for yourself, and now you’ve got to lie in it.” Another scene shows Eveline speaking with the character of Elizabeth about her coming freedom and what she will do.
The film premiered at the 2005 Long Island International Film Expo.[1] It was given a limited release, opening in theaters in Los Angeles, Nashville, Houston, Columbia, S.C., Charleston, S.C. and other cities.
Michael Ordoña said in the Los Angeles Times that the film's "unapologetically romantic views of war and the Old South leave a bitter aftertaste".[2] Paul Welcom of L.A. Weekly called it "a vanity project of the most indulgent order".[3]
The Last Confederate: The Story of Robert Adams was released on DVD in 2007, courtesy of ThinkFilm.[4] Bonus features include a featurette, outtakes, and deleted scenes.