Men of Crisis: The Harvey Wallinger Story (1971) (TV)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen (writer)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Unreleased Film | Political | McCarthyism | Richard Nixon | Satire

Cast

Woody Allen	...	Harvey Wallinger
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Ackroyd
Wil Albert
Conrad Bain
Court Benson
Milo Boulton
Harold Chidhoff
Jean David
Jean De Baer		(as Jeanne De Baer)
Richard M. Dixon	...	President Richard M. Nixon
Abe Drazen
Dan Frazer
Reed Hadley	...	Narrator
Graham Jarvis
Mitchell Jason
Diane Keaton	...	Renata Wallinger
Tom Lacy
Louise Lasser
Tom Rosqui
Lee Wallace

Runtime:

25 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

WNET Channel 13 New York

Trivia:

By 1971, Woody Allen had sworn off doing television work but decided to do this special as a contribution to PBS. When this special was yanked before airing because of pressure from the Richard Nixon White House - it was a satire of then National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger - Allen cited the incident as an example of why he "sticks to movies".

A gem

This is a little seen short film written, directed, and starring Woody, as the title character, Harvey Wallinger--close personal confidant of Pres Nixon. Using skillfully edited footage, Woody inserts himself amid real documentary footage of Nixon and Agnew. Some of the material is unbelievable--where ever did he get it? It also stars two of Woody's staples--Diane Keaton and Louise Lasser, and they are hilarious as well. It holds up to repeat viewings very well, and in fact one joke (involving the NY Times) is so funny that i laugh out loud every time i hear it. Woody's absolute disgust with Nixon comes through, and overall this special seems a tad more nasty than i think the Woodman is known for, which (to me) makes it even funnier. One of Woody's funniest movies, even if it is only about a half hour long. Find it on Ebay if you can!