I never saw “Mac Arthur” the movie. Wasn’t that Gregory Peck? Can’t imagine him convincingly playing a no-nonsense general.
Yes, Gregory Peck played the role.
MacArthur had an ego the size of Gibraltar. He was a shameless self-promoter. And he was NOT a team player, though he was a very good administrator, which may sound contradictory. As a military strategist, though, he was average. Halsey was far superior in that regard.
I thought Peck played it fairly well. Peck is capable of playing a commanding role. But, I think George C. Scott played Patton much better. I recall watching a documentary about the making of the Patton movie, where Scott actually studied the man, his accomplishments, his problems within the Army and actually tried to be him. Scott really tried to do a little more than be an actor in this film, which is why I think it’s better.
Patton was a better movie. I don’t think that either life or either personality is necessarily that much more fascinating than the other, but more work was clearly put into researching Patton’s life and making it into a better movie.