The newly released movie starring Dennis Quaid as the beloved 40th president Ronald Reagan opens with a dramatic scene depicting the infamous attempt on his life.
The story of Reagan is told through the eyes of Viktor Petrovitch, a KGB analyst. Petrovitch recounts how he studied Reagan and knew early on, even from Reagan’s Hollywood days, that Reagan would be the man to take down the Soviet regime.
Petrovitch had his eye on Reagan from his days as a Hollywood actor. Reagan led a “crusade” against the communist regime long before his days in the White House. Hence, the leaders of the Soviet Communist Party referred to him as “the Crusader.” In fact, Paul Kengor’s “The Crusader” inspired this movie.
Petrovitch studied Reagan from childhood in order to better understand him. Reagan, or “Dutch” as his childhood nickname, grew up in a typical American household with a devoted mother, Nelle, and his father, Jack. His father, Jack, was sadly the all-too-common father figure who lost himself at the bottom of a whiskey bottle.
Long before his days in political career began, Reagan fought the communist dream, even during his days as a Hollywood actor. He led the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) as their president and undermined the Communist Party’s attempt to infiltrate America through Hollywood. Reagan understood what most people had overlooked: the most effective way to infiltrate a nation is through culture and media. If the Communist Party could effectively infiltrate Hollywood through subliminal messaging, then their propaganda would make its way into American minds, masquerading as truth, without most people even noticing their beliefs and mindsets had been altered.
Reagan’s first wife, Jane, did not support his tirades against the communist regime and wanted him to fulfill his career as an actor without any political agendas. After his divorce, Reagan met Nancy, who would quickly become the love of his life. Nancy always supported his political ambitions.
As governor of California, Reagan continued to oppose communist infiltration into American universities, as was seen at universities such as UC Berkley. While Reagan lost his first presidential run to Gerald Ford, he won the second run in 1980 and won re-election as well.
The film depicts the many challenges Reagan faced as president; his second presidential term was his most tumultuous, including the Iran-Contra affair as likely one of the most controversial events of his administration.
Reagan is best known for his greatest accomplishment: successfully negotiating peace talks with Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. Reagan was able to bring Gorbachev to the negotiation table, where, for the first time, the United States and the Soviet Union “were talking with each other, instead of at each other.” These negotiations led to Reagan’s famous speech at the Berlin Wall, dramatically depicted in the film, where he boldly called on the leader of the Soviet Communist Party with a line that shook the western world and would lead to the spread of freedom across Western Europe.
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
While the wall did not actually come down until two years after that speech, Reagan is largely credited with its crumbling.
In 1994, Reagan announced to the nation that he would soon succumb to Alzheimer’s disease.
“In closing let me thank you, the American people for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your President,” said Regan in his letter to the American people. “When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.”
Reagan lived the rest of his days on his beloved ranch near Santa Barbara, California. Today, the Young America’s Foundation preserves the Reagan Ranch and his boyhood home in Dixon, Illinois. The Ranch is the site for many conferences and trainings for high school and college students and supporters and alumni to be trained in the cause so close to Reagan’s heart: “the fight for freedom.”
It is well worth your time and money to go see this unique and riveting retelling of “the Crusader,” the man whose service to our nation’s First Principles led to the fall of the Soviet Union.