**_A TV newscaster gets dirt on a Supreme Court nominee_**
Is the compromising information true? What causes the mysterious death of a key person in the investigation? Will journalist Paul Savage air the rumor and potentially destroy the nominee’s career and possibly ruin his marriage? Such questions are the driving force of this talky television drama/lowkey thriller.
Martin Landau plays the reporter and Barbara Bain his producer. They were married in real life and appeared together in Mission Impossible and would also work together on the soon-to-come Space: 1999. Unfortunately, their 36-years marriage would come to an end in 1993.
This was intended to be a pilot for an ensuing series but failed to sell and so was released as a standalone exposition-heavy movie. It has several highlights beyond the two aforementioned stars:
Michele Carey has a fairly juicy role and she’s stunning. She happened to be one of the most winsome women in the industry in the late ’60s/early ’70s, as can be observed in movies like John Wayne’s “El Dorado” and Elvis’ “Live a Little, Love a Little,” as well as Westerns “Dirty Dingus Magee” and the underrated “The Animals,” aka “Five Savage Men.”
Secondly, this was Spielberg’s third and last television movie before making it on the big screen. He actually wasn’t interested in directing the flick but was essentially forced to by a bigwig at Universal.
Thirdly, Will Geer appears as an aged, wealthy man who uses his position to manipulate the powers that be, including blackmail. He is perhaps best remembered as Granda Walton, so you wouldn’t think that he could play a nefarious mogul who holds playboy-styled parties at his mansion, but he does.
Lastly, there’s an amusing gimmick concerning the main character that bookends the movie (and, at the time, potential series): The newscaster always makes it to the studio at the last possible minute.
It runs 1h 13m and was shot from Dec-Jan 1971-1972 in Los Angeles and Universal Studios.
GRADE: C+/B-
