Julian Adams plays Robert Adams, a young South Carolina aristocrat who has the misfortune of falling for Eveline McCord, a lovely young lady from the North, just as the Civil War is about to break out.
And so he heads off to war with buddy Benjamin Young and Eveline’s brother, Nelson. He pines for Eveline, wishing she would have agreed to marry him before the fighting started.
But he battles on through the first four years of the war and continues fighting, even as the hopes of the Confederacy fade.
Then he and his friends are captured and land in a Northern prison. While they plot their escape, Eveline and the Adams’ family deals with the hardships of war on the home front as Union troops march through South Carolina, burning homes along the way.
Eveline eventually heads north to her grandfather’s farm where she is briefly united with Robert after his escape from prison.
But even with Northern troops bearing down on Richmond, Robert is determined to return to duty, hoping he and Eveline can still salvage a happy post-war future.
Julian Adams as Robert Adams, finding himself falling for a Yankee girl in The Last Confederate (2005)
Gwendolyn Edwards as Eveline McCord Adams, the girl from Philadelphia in The Last Confederate (2005)
Review:
Surprisingly effective Civil War film considering this was a low-budget family project designed to tell the story of beloved ancestors.
That being the case, you suspect portions of the story might have been whitewashed a wee bit. Like the treatment of slaves in the culture the Southern aristocrats were so determined to preserve.
Still, the movie looks more expensive than it was, some of the action scenes are particularly well done, and the love story draws you in, largely because of a strong performance from pretty Gwendolyn Edwards in what marked her film debut.
And, yes, that cast list is correct. The film includes small roles for Tippi Hedren and Mickey Rooney.
Eric Holloway as Benjamin Young, Adams’ friend and fellow escapee from a Northern prisoner of war camp in The Last Confederate (2005)
Timmy Sherrill as Capt. Griffin, the former captive of the Rebels who now hates everyone in The Last Confederate (2005)
Directed by:
A. Blaine Miller, Julian Adams
Cast:
Julian Adams … Robert Adams
Gwendolyn Edwards … Eveline McCord Adams
Eric Holloway … Benjamin Young
Amy Redford … Sylvia McCord
Joshua Lindsey … Nelson McCord
Tippi Hedren … Mrs. Adams
Mickey Rooney … David McCord
Weston Adams … Grandfather Adams
Bob Dorian … Gov. James H. Adams
Timmy Sherrill … Capt. Griffin
Edwin McCain … Belcher
Elizabeth Nelson Adams … Madame Bonneau
Foster Walker … John Boone
LaChanda Alexander … Elizabeth
Runtime: 96 min.
Mickey Rooney as David McCord in The Last Confederate (2005)
Tippi Heden as Mrs. Adams, finding a letter from long ago in The Last Confederate (2005)
Memorable lines:
Benjamin Young: “Robert, how are we going to find the Army? We don’t know where they are. Hell, we don’t know where we are.”
Robert Adams: “We’re just going to have ask.”
Benjamin: “Great. I’m sure everyone in Pennsylvania is going to want to help us out.”
Robert Adams: “I’d rather wade in blood than submit.”
Eveline: “I wonder if you would be willing to compromise even if it was in your power … Have your even considered the consequences? What will become of this culture you fight for? And, Robert, I have family in the North.”
Robert: “You have to choose between the two sides.”
Benjamin: “Some of us still believe in what we’re fighting for. I saw it in your brother. I see it in Robert. It’s about more than winning the war now. It’s about winning orr lives back. If any of us leave now, what does that say to the ones that die? What does it say?”
Julian Adams as Robert Adams, coming face to face with Yankee guns in The Last Confederate (2005)
Joshua Lindsey as Nelson McCord, informing Robert that Eveline is a northerner in The Last Confederate (2005)
Amy Redford as Sylvia McCord, Nelson’s wife, in The Last Confederate (2005)
Weston Adams as Grandfather Adams, visiting a Civil War era grave in The Last Confederate (2005)
Bob Dorian as Gov. James H. Adams, commander of the Rebel forces Adams joins upon his return in The Last Confederate (2005)
Eveline McCord Adams as Gwendolyn Edwards with Julian Adams as Robert Adams in The Last Confederate (2005)
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