Truman (1995) (TV)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Frank Pierson

Writers (WGA):

David McCullough (book)
Thomas Rickman (teleplay)

Release Date:

9 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

A Simple Man. A Legendary President.

Plot:

Biographical account of America's President for the latter part of WWII. Shows Truman's rise from small-town nobody to leader of the USA...

Plot Keywords:

President | WWII | Election | First Lady | Army General

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 7 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Gary Sinise	...	Harry S. Truman
Diana Scarwid	...	Bess Truman
Richard Dysart	...	Henry L. Stimson
Colm Feore	...	Charlie Ross
James Gammon	...	Sam Rayburn
Tony Goldwyn	...	Clark Clifford
Pat Hingle	...	Boss Tom Pendergast
Harris Yulin	...	Gen. George C. Marshall
Leo Burmester	...	Frank Vassar
Amelia Campbell	...	Margaret Truman
Virginia Capers	...	Elizabeth Moore
John Finn	...	Bob Hannagan
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Eddie Jacobsen
David Lansbury	...	Lt. Jim Pendergast
Remak Ramsay	...	Dean Acheson

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and some war footage.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Certification:

Australia:PG (TV rating) | Iceland:L | UK:PG | Netherlands:6 | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | USA:PG | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Independence, Missouri, USA

Company:

Home Box Office (HBO)

Trivia:

The scenes of Truman's election night were filmed exactly where Harry Truman spent his election night. Truman went to bed on election night with reports predicting his defeat by Dewey at the Elm's Hotel Resort and Spa in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, USA.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When President Truman visits the White House kitchen staff to bring them some birthday cake, he switches on a radio to let them hear news of the end of WWII. The radio comes on the instant the switch is turned- which is incorrect for a radio of that era. Radios in 1945 utilized vacuum tubes. Radios (and later televisions) that used these tubes always took several minutes to "warm up" after being switched on.

Quotes:

Eleanor Roosevelt: Harry, the President is dead.
Harry S. Truman: Mrs. Roosevelt, is there anything I can do for you?
Eleanor Roosevelt: Oh! Is there anything *we* can do for *you*? You are the one in trouble now.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Showbiz Today: (1995-09-07)" (1995)

Terrific Film

I was not particularly interested in seeing this film, but some German friends of mine had rented the videocassette, so I watched it with them. I don't know what the film is like in English, but even in the dubbed German version that we saw, it is tremendously moving. Gary Sinise's performance is masterful, and the film gave me a sense of why many people consider Truman a great American president. What is more, as I watched the film here in Europe with a group of Europeans, the film also made me - and I'm not a particularly patriotic person - extremely proud to be an American citizen.