Truman (1995) (TV)

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:

Atomic Weapons | Oval Office | Senator | Train | White House

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:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG (TV rating) | UK:PG | 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:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Incorrectly regarded as goof: "Harry Truman was left-handed but the film shows Gary Sinese writing right-handed." Truman was born naturally left-handed, but he was raised to be right-handed. Truman in fact wrote right-handed, and there are many photos of Truman showing him at his desk with a pen in his right hand.

Quotes:

Boss Tom Prendergast: I've got a job for you.
Harry S. Truman: Well, that's mighty nice of you. What's the job, dog-catcher?
Boss Tom Prendergast: How would you like to run for Congress?
Harry S. Truman: Well, Jesus Christ and General Jackson. The answer's yes.

The right man in the right place at the right time

The world must be very grateful that Truman was president when it really mattered. Seemingly totally unqualified and a wild accident of history Truman was elevated to the presidency by the death of FDR. Only the year before did FDR have the foresight to replace his liberal vice-president Henry Wallace with Truman and what a great move that turned out to be. If Wallace had been president the communist Stalin might have walked all over him at Potsdam.

Gary Sinise is now one of my 2 favorite actors, the other being Clint Eastwood. A chameleonlike performance by him.

I do have one objection to this film. Truman's 1948 against governor Dewey was probably the single most negative campaign ever. Dewey was compared with Hitler and the republicans with the Nazi's, however Truman's plain speaking and his honesty won him the election everyone (but himself) thought he would lose.

10 out of 10