What an outlandish statement from an outlandish man, someone who embellished his military record so he could see his name in the papers and create a false reputation of integrity. The red scare of the early 1950's is one of the most scandalous chapters of the recent past, chapter one in the effort to squelch freedom. This all-star TV movie has so many incredible performances (mostly brief cameos, all with important points) that it is hard to single out the strongest. To play Senator Joseph McCarthy, you need an actor who can be completely believable as one of history's greatest bamboozlers, and they cast one of the best choices possible, the Frankenstein monster/monster TV dad, Peter Boyle.
What's amazing is how the script has me accepting the fact that all of these people would be willing to speak with young journalist Heather Menzies in the present day, but somehow, I found it believable. Ruined politicians, scholars, journalists and still active senators all speak with her, impressed by her knowledge of the issues of decades before, and she's pretty impressive. Burgess Meredith got much acclaim and an Emmy for playing Joseph N. Welch whose direct confrontation with McCarthy began a turn in the scare. Patricia Neal also received an Emmy nomination for the scene in which she questions the moral right to fight freedom of speech, her slow annunciation of every word truly commanding.
There are memorable appearances by Robert Symonds and Andrew Duggan as presidents Truman and Eisenhower, with John Forsythe in a major supporting role as a powerful journalist (using a pseudonym) who has some very strong questions for McCarthy that he manipulates answers for. In one of his most subtle performances, John Carradine plays a farmer from McCarthy's home town, while Henry Jones and Wesley Addy play political hopefuls earlier brought down by McCarthy tactics. Even though this was well over two hours, it flies by, so mesmerizing, especially that this was made right after the Watergate scandal, even mentioning young Nixon. The way this flows would certainly appeal to young viewers in the 70's, and going on 50 years later is still just as potent.
What's amazing is how the script has me accepting the fact that all of these people would be willing to speak with young journalist Heather Menzies in the present day, but somehow, I found it believable. Ruined politicians, scholars, journalists and still active senators all speak with her, impressed by her knowledge of the issues of decades before, and she's pretty impressive. Burgess Meredith got much acclaim and an Emmy for playing Joseph N. Welch whose direct confrontation with McCarthy began a turn in the scare. Patricia Neal also received an Emmy nomination for the scene in which she questions the moral right to fight freedom of speech, her slow annunciation of every word truly commanding.
There are memorable appearances by Robert Symonds and Andrew Duggan as presidents Truman and Eisenhower, with John Forsythe in a major supporting role as a powerful journalist (using a pseudonym) who has some very strong questions for McCarthy that he manipulates answers for. In one of his most subtle performances, John Carradine plays a farmer from McCarthy's home town, while Henry Jones and Wesley Addy play political hopefuls earlier brought down by McCarthy tactics. Even though this was well over two hours, it flies by, so mesmerizing, especially that this was made right after the Watergate scandal, even mentioning young Nixon. The way this flows would certainly appeal to young viewers in the 70's, and going on 50 years later is still just as potent.