Point of Order (1964)

Point of Order is compiled from TV footage of the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, in which the Army accused Senator McCarthy of improperly pressuring the Army for special privileges for ... See full summary »

Director:

Emile de Antonio

Stars:

Roy M. Cohn, Joseph McCarthy, John L. McClellan

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Roy M. Cohn	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joseph McCarthy	...	Himself (archive footage)
John L. McClellan	...	Himself - U.S. Senator, Arkansas (archive footage)
Karl E. Mundt	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Sen. Karl E. Mundt)
G. David Schine	...	Himself (archive footage) (as Pvt. G. David Schine)
Stuart Symington	...	Himself - U.S. Senator, Missouri (archive footage)
Joseph N. Welch	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

Point of Order is compiled from TV footage of the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, in which the Army accused Senator McCarthy of improperly pressuring the Army for special privileges for Private David Schine, formerly of McCarthy's investigative staff. McCarthy accused the Army of holding Schine hostage to keep him from searching for Communists in the Army. These hearings resulted in McCarthy's eventual censure for conduct unbecoming a senator.

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Plot Keywords:

senator | congressional hearing | anti communist | senate hearing | cold war era | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Herr ordförande! En ordningsfråga

Company Credits

Production Co:

Point Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #9.2 (1996)

User Reviews

A chilling example how telling a lie often and loudly makes it appear true. Demagogary exposed.

I saw this in 1964 when it was originally released. I waited so long to see it again. Like most good documentaries it focuses on a small theme. The power of this movie comes mainly from its inherent defense against accusations of biased reporting of events, peoples' facial expressions and appearances, words taken out of context and revisionist history. This power was due entirely to the fact that there was no script, no actors, no makeup artists, no retakes and special effects. This movie was cinema veritae. Joe McCarthy, Roy Cohn, Ray Welsch and all the others shown were themselves speaking their thoughts and feelings without varnish.

For those who wondered how Hitler ascended to power, between McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, it could have happened here, Those of us who understand this have a special obligation to protect this country for those who don't see, can't see or don't care. Freedom is very vulnerable. The movie demonstrated this.