Give 'em Hell, Harry! [VHS]

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Give 'em Hell, Harry! [VHS] Review

One of the more unusual Oscar nominations in Hollywood history was James Whitmore for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1976 for "Give 'Em Hell, Harry!" Whitmore's performance as Harry S Truman (remember the "S" does not stand for anything so it does not have a period after it as an initial) was captivating enough that Margaret Truman Daniel told the press, "My God, it's my father," so the nomination was not unusual because it was undeserved. But the "film" he was nominated for was a filmed stage performance. Whitman was doing the one-man show of the play by Samuel Gallu and it was decided to record it for television (Peter Hunt directed the stage production while the film was under the direction of Steve Binder).

It is hard to believe that when Harry Truman left the White House he had the lowest approval rating of any president on record (polling was not done before World War II obviously or Herbert Hoover would lead the list). But by the time he died Harry Truman had risen considerably in the estimation of his fellow citizens who saw politicians the likes of Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon in the White House. An honest, plain spoken man like Harry Truman, who never wanted to be president in the first place, suddenly had a great deal of appeal.

The drama is broken down into two acts (plays have intermissions you know). The first covers Truman's strange path to the presidency, starting with him in the "Oval Room" of the White House before taking us in turn to the United States Senate in 1937, the front yard of the Truman home in Independence, the Vosages Mountains of France during World War I, Jackson County Court House in 1931, Sedlia in 1940 and Lee's Summit, Missouri in 1924 as Truman faces down a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan. The second act focuses on the high points of his years in the White House, starting with the meeting with General Douglas MacArthur on Wake Island in 1950 and his speech attacking Joseph McCarthy as Symphony Hall in Boston in 1952, before going back to his famous Whistle Stop Campaigns in the election of 1948 aboard "The Ferdinand Magellan" and the "Victory Special." We end with a walking press conference in Washington, D.C., circa 1948-52 before Truman retires from private life.

Whitmore certainly gets the Truman smile down and you will not be surprised that they manage to work in the famous shot of Truman holding up the headline of the "Chicago Daily Tribune" which erroneously announced "Dewey Defeats Truman," complete with the flashing light-bulbs. By the way, did you know that the famous shot is actually an extremely cropped photograph? You do not think of famous shots as being cropped, but this one, like the flag raising at Iowa Jima, are in that category.

Even those who know of Truman only from the little that they have read about him in the history books will be captivated by the man Whitmore reveals in his wonderful performance. They will even appreciate the value of cussing under certain circumstances, such as troops starting to run when they come under German artillery attack or a newspaper critic writing something not nice about your daughter in the newspaper. After a while you will forget that it is not Harry Truman but James Whitmore, turning in one of the finest one-man performances seen since Hal Holbrook nailed the mark with his Mark Twain (We saw Holbrook doing "Mark Twain Tonight!" earlier this year and what is so impressive is that he has dozens of bits down and he picks which ones to do each day and as the performance goes along).

The stage version of "Give Em Hell, Harry!" is still performed and the last I heard Kevin McCarthy ("Invasion of the Body Snatchers") was doing it on tour and if you ever get a chance to see "Give 'Em Hell, Harry!" or any other one-man show, give yourself a treat and go see it. The one-man show has become a rarity these days, but I have yet to see one that was not worth the watching. ovations.

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