All the President's Men (1976)

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

Carl Bernstein (book) &
Bob Woodward (book) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 April 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

At times it looked like it might cost them their jobs, their reputations, and maybe even their lives.

Plot:

Reporters Woodward and Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Nixon's resignation.

Plot Keywords:

Nixon | Watergate | Reporter | Journalist | White House

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Carl Bernstein
Robert Redford	...	Bob Woodward
Jack Warden	...	Harry Rosenfeld
Martin Balsam	...	Howard Simons
Hal Holbrook	...	Deep Throat
Jason Robards	...	Ben Bradlee
Jane Alexander	...	Bookkeeper
Meredith Baxter	...	Debbie Sloan
Ned Beatty	...	Dardis
Stephen Collins	...	Hugh Sloan
Penny Fuller	...	Sally Aiken
John McMartin	...	Foreign Editor
Robert Walden	...	Donald Segretti
Frank Wills	...	Frank Wills
F. Murray Abraham	...	Arresting Officer #1
David Arkin	...	Eugene Bachinski
Henry Calvert	...	Bernard L. Barker
Dominic Chianese	...	Eugenio R. Martinez
Bryan Clark	...	Arguing Attorney (as Bryan E. Clark)
Nicolas Coster	...	Markham
Lindsay Crouse	...	Kay Eddy (as Lindsay Ann Crouse)
Valerie Curtin	...	Miss Milland
Gene Dynarski	...	Court Clerk
Nate Esformes	...	Virgilio R. Gonzales
Ron Hale	...	Frank Sturgis
Richard Herd	...	James W. McCord, Jr.
Polly Holliday	...	Dardis' Secretary
James Karen	...	Hugh Sloan's Lawyer
Paul Lambert	...	National Editor
Frank Latimore	...	Judge
Gene Lindsey	...	Alfred D. Baldwin
Anthony Mannino	...	Arresting Officer #2
Allyn Ann McLerie	...	Carolyn Abbott
James Murtaugh	...	Congress Library Clerk
John O'Leary	...	Attorney #1
Jess Osuna	...	Joe, FBI Agent
Neva Patterson	...	CRP Woman
George Pentecost	...	George
Penny Peyser	...	Sharon Lyons
Joshua Shelley	...	Al Lewis
Sloane Shelton	...	Bookeeper's Sister
Lelan Smith	...	Arresting Officer #3
Jaye Stewart	...	Male Librarian
Ralph Williams	...	Ray Steuben
George Wyner	...	Attorney #2
Leroy Aarons	...	Financial Editor
Donnlynn Bennett	...	Reporter
Stanley Bennett Clay	...	Assistant Metro Editor (as Stanley Clay)
Carol Coggin	...	News Aide
Laurence Covington	...	News Announcer
John Devlin	...	Metro Editor
John Furlong	...	News Desk Editor
Sidney Ganis	...	L.A. Stringer
Amy Grossman	...	Reporter
Cynthia Herbst	...	Reporter
Basil Hoffman	...	Assistant Metro Editor
Mark Holtzman	...	Reporter
Jamie Smith-Jackson	...	Post Librarian (as Jamie Smith Jackson)
Barbara Lipsky	...	Reporter (as Barbara Litsky)
Doug Llewelyn	...	White House Aide
Jeff MacKay	...	Reporter
Irwin Marcus	...	Reporter
Greg Martin	...	Reporter
Ron Menchine	...	Post Librarian
Christopher Murray	...	Photo Aide
Jess Nadelman	...	Assistant Metro Editor
Noreen Nielson	...	Reporter
Florence Pepper	...	Message Desk Receptionist
Barbara Perlman	...	CRP Receptionist
Louis Quinn	...	Salesman
Peter Salim	...	Reporter
Shawn Shea	...	News Aide
Marvin Smith	...	Reporter
Pam Trager	...	Reporter
Carol Trost	...	Ben Bradlee's Secretary
Richard Venture	...	Assistant Metro Editor
Bill Willens	...	Hippie
Wendell Wright	...	Assistant Metro Editor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Spiro Agnew	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Warren Burger	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Walter Cronkite	...	Himself (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Cara Duff-MacCormick	...	Tammy Ulrich (uncredited)
Thomas Eagleton	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gerald Ford	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Kleindienst	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Clark MacGregor	...	Himself (voice) (archive footage) (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Robert S. Mills	...	TV Reporter (uncredited)
Pat Nixon	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rick O'Donnell	...	CIA Agent (uncredited)
Del Rager	...	CIA Agent (uncredited)
John Randolph	...	John Mitchell (voice) (uncredited)
Ronald L. Ziegler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Alan J. Pakula

Writing credits
Carl Bernstein		(book) &
Bob Woodward		(book)
William Goldman		(screenplay)

Produced by
Jon Boorstin	....	associate producer
Michael Britton	....	associate producer
Walter Coblenz	....	producer

Original Music by
David Shire

Cinematography by
Gordon Willis		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert L. Wolfe

Casting by
Alan Shayne

Production Design by
George Jenkins

Set Decoration by
George Gaines

Makeup Department
Fern Buchner	....	makeup artist
Don L. Cash	....	makeup artist (as Don Cash)
Romaine Greene	....	hairdresser
Lynda Gurasich	....	hairdresser
Gary Liddiard	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
E. Darrell Hallenbeck	....	executive production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bill Green	....	first assistant director
Kim Kurumada	....	second assistant director
Art Levinson	....	first assistant director
Charles Ziarko	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Matty Azzarone	....	assistant property master
Guy Bushman	....	assistant property master
Mike Higelmire	....	lead man
Roger Irvin	....	construction foreman
Robert I. Jillson	....	assistant art director (as Bob Jillson)
Robert Krume	....	construction coordinator
Alan Levine	....	property master (as Allan Levine)
Bill MacSems	....	property master (as Bill Mac Sems)
George Szeptycki	....	draughtsman (as J. George Szeptycki)
Edward T. McAvoy	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Rick Alexander	....	re-recording mixer (as Dick Alexander)
Clint Althouse	....	boom man
Milton C. Burrow	....	supervising sound editor
Les Fresholtz	....	production sound mixer
Les Fresholtz	....	re-recording mixer
Chris McLaughlin	....	boom man
Arthur Piantadosi	....	re-recording mixer (as Art Piantadosi)
James E. Webb	....	production sound mixer (as Jim Webb)

Special Effects by
Henry Millar	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Howard Bingham	....	stillman
Ray De La Motte	....	first assistant camera (as Ray de la Motte)
Ralph Gerling	....	camera operator
Carl R. Gibson Jr.	....	best boy (as Carl Gibson Jr.)
Louis Goldman	....	stillman
George Holmes	....	gaffer
Larry D. Howard	....	best boy electric (as Larry Howard)
Frank Lambers	....	crab dolly grip
Bob Rose	....	key grip
Peter Salim	....	second assistant camera
Ron Vargas	....	second assistant camera
Bernie Abramson	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
Isabel Halliburton	....	casting consultant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jules Melillo	....	assistant costumer
G. Perez	....	assistant costumer
Bernie Pollack	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Carroll Timothy O'Meara	....	assistant editor (as Tim O'Meara)
Steve Potter	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Nicholas C. Washington	....	music editor
Dan Wallin	....	scoring mixer (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Eddie Baken	....	transportation captain
Craig Pinkard	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Rebecca Britton	....	production coordinator
Steve Bussard	....	researcher
Eve Christopher	....	production staff
Phil Geyelin	....	production staff
Jill Gifford	....	production staff
Karen Hale Wookey	....	script supervisor (as Karen Wookey)
Jack Hirshberg	....	production publicist
Buck Holland	....	production assistant
Erika Koppitz	....	production coordinator
Ronnie Kramer	....	production coordinator
Marge Leonard	....	production staff
John Bard Manulis	....	production staff (as John Manulis)
Stuart Neumann	....	production staff
Joanna Ney	....	unit publicist
Dan Perri	....	title designer
Tammy Pittman	....	production staff
Ken Ryan	....	auditor
Liz Shea	....	production staff
Lois Smith	....	publicity consultant
Shirley Street	....	production staff
Steve Vetter	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures
• Wildwood (as Wildwood Enterprises)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1976) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1976) (France) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (DVD)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (VHS)
• Varus Video
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• DeForest Research  research (as de Forest Research, Inc)
• National Park Service, The  various locations courtesy of
• Pacific Title  titles
• Washington Post  acknowledgement

Runtime:

138 min | Spain:125 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 | USA:R (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating after appeal) (certificate #27119) | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:12 | Brazil:10 | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Finland:S | Iceland:L | Norway:12 (1976) | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered the break-in at the Watergate complex, plays himself.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Bob Woodward first appears in court to cover the appearance of the men caught at Watergate, the voice of actor George Wyner was dubbed over the voice of the first lawyer Woodward is actually talking to in the scene.

Quotes:

Debbie Sloan: This is an honest house.
Bob Woodward: That's why we'd like to see your husband.
Carl Bernstein: Facing certain criminal charges that might be brought against some people that are innocent, we just feel that it would be...
Bob Woodward: It's really for his benefit.
Debbie Sloan: No, it's not.
Bob Woodward: No, it's not.
Hugh Sloan Jr.: Debbie, tell them to come in.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sweeney 2 (1978)

Soundtrack:

Concerto in C for two trumpets

The Watergate scandal from the reporters' perspective

This dramatization of how it was discovered that the burglary of the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D. C. was funded and directed by the Nixon White House is a lot better than it has any right to be. Given the tedious, non-glamorous and frankly boring leg- and phone-work that is often the lot of the investigative reporter, it is surprising that this is a very interesting movie even if you don't care two beans about the Watergate scandal. In fact, this is really more about how the story was put together than it is about the scandal itself. It is also a lot less political than might be expected.

It stars Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and they are good, with excellent support from Jason Robards (Oscar as Best Supporting Actor) playing Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee, and Jane Alexander as an innocent caught up in the machinations. But what makes the movie work is the Oscar-winning script adapted from the Woodward and Bernstein best seller by that old Hollywood pro, William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969, Misery 1990, etc.). What he does so very well, even though we know the outcome, is to establish and maintain the tension as Woodward and Bernstein run all over town chasing leads and misdirections. He accomplishes this by putting just enough varied obstacles in the path of our intrepid reporters, notably the Washington bureaucracy and the understandably cautious senior editors at the Post.

The direction by Alan J. Pakula (Comes a Horseman 1978, Sophie's Choice 1982, etc.) focuses the scenes nicely, keeps the camera where it belongs, and highlights the story with a shadowy Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook), skitterish sources, and a vivid recreation of a top American newspaper at work. I was especially enthralled to see the interactions among the reporters, the editors and the sources. I thought they all looked and sounded authentic, Redford's good looks having nothing to do with the story, which was right, and Hoffman's flair for the intense reigned in, which was necessary. The diffidence of Alexander's character and the soft pushiness of Woodward and Bernstein were tempered just right. Bradlee's stewardship of the story and his ability to take a calculated risk seemed true to life.

Some details that stood out: Redford's hunt and peck typing contrasted with Hoffman's all fingers flying; the talking heads on the strategically placed TVs, reacting (via actual video footage) to the developing story--deny, deny, deny! of course. The thin reporter's spiral notebooks being pulled out and then later flipped through to find a quote. The bright lights of the newsroom looking expansive with all those desks as though there were mirrors on the walls extending an illusion. The seemingly silly tricks to get a source to confirm: just nod your head; I'll count to ten and if you're still on the line... And you know what I liked best? No annoying subplot!

The rather abrupt resolution with the teletype banging out the leads to a sequence of stories that led to President Nixon's resignation had just the right feel to it, especially for those of us who have actually experienced the goosepimply sensation that comes with watching a breaking story come in over the teletype. The quick wrap-up surprised me, but delighted me at the same time.

Bottom line: an excellent movie that wears well, a fine example of some of Hollywood's top professionals at work some thirty years ago. #30