American Experience (TV Series) Truman: Part I (1997) User Reviews

Fine biography in the "American Experience" series...

[Doylenf · 8/10 · 12 February 2008]

This TRUMAN biography gets first rate treatment from the "American Experience" producers, following Truman from his boyhood years in Missouri to the Washington years, first as a senator and then Vice-President to Franklin D. Roosevelt, a job which, unfortunately, left him totally unprepared for what happened when Roosevelt suddenly died in office while WWII was not yet over.

Truman is the man who had to make the delicate decision regarding the A-bomb--a man who had been kept unaware of all the "Top Secret" meetings that went on without his knowledge about the impending use of the Atomic bomb on Japan. The bio also deals effectively with his private life, his wife Bess, his daughter Margaret (with singing ambitions), and the re-election that wasn't supposed to happen, according to the press who already declared Thomas E. Dewey the winner when early headlines went to press.

Fascinating bio is a "must" for history fans and any student of American history, with a good deal of information about the WWII era and the post-war happenings. Highly recommended.

Solid Biography.

[rmax304823 · 8/10 · 5 November 2010]

David Grubin has done a splendid job of writing and directing this two-part documentary on the life and presidency of Harry S Truman. To look at Truman, to see this smallish, plainly dressed, plain-spoken, unimaginative, failed haberdasher wearing ugly period suits with wide lapels, one might think, "How dull can you get?" And, in truth, there wasn't anything outrageous about him, except perhaps his middle initial, which stood for nothing and doesn't even get a period. Yet here was a guy of no consequence who rose to the presidency and became a shaker and mover after shedding some of the small-town values he grew up with.

He was born in Missouri in modest circumstances, flubbed every job he took, married above his station, and upon entering local politics worked for Big Bill Pendergast, who more or less ran things. Independence was in a border state and more Southern than Midwest. Everything of course was still segregated. You could still hear a slight regional accent in Truman's speech later in life.

He inherited the presidency at the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, one of the most popular Chief Executives in the nation's history, elected to the highest office four times. FDR was a national hero, who was seen as having brought us out of the depression and taken us through World War. Anybody who follows THAT act is bound to fail, no matter how many times he's failed before.

But Truman is now viewed with some admiration, partly because he committed troops against the communist invasion of South Korea, and partly -- I think -- because he so eagerly violated our current concepts of political correctness, which seem to many to be drying the life out of our vocabulary. In giving an impassioned speech, Truman shifted from talking about "the Chinese" to "the yellow peril" and finally to "the heathen Chinee," or maybe it was "the Chinks" -- I forget. (That's not in the film but it's in Merle Miller's biography of Truman.) When the music critic of the Washington Post panned a recital by Truman's daughter, the president wrote him a scathing note, threatening him with black eyes and a broken nose, and advising him to carry an athletic supporter with him. When the coal miners' union went on strike, Truman set about trying to draft them all into the Army.

Most of that would be thought of as excessively willful but he also had the self-possession and common sense that's associated with Missouri -- "The Show-Me State." He desegregated the Armed Forces, fired the country's most respected general when that general urged the use of nuclear bombs on China, and initiated peace talks with the North Koreans when it became clear that the game was not worth the candle.

The film gives you a reasonably complete picture of the man, combining newsreel footage with talking heads who, for the most part, were on the spot with Truman. It's made clear that Truman disliked communists, and for good reason, but I'd have like to know more about his attitude towards Senator McCarthy, who made a career out of animating that hatred in the public. The final impression is that of a president who was unprepossessing, practical, and did what he thought he had to do. He was usually proved right about what he had to do. Not a spectacular president but a decent man who got us through some difficult times.

Harry Truman: A President for All Seasons ****

[edwagreen · 10/10 · 1 June 2008]

Outstanding biography of our nation's 33rd president.

While it was becoming apparent that Harry Truman was failing at everything he did, when it came to the presidency, he succeeded more than anyone could imagine.

The documentary showed how Truman went into politics thanks to Boss Pendergast. It depicted the dilemma that Truman found himself in. Wanting to do right as the county commissioner but tied to the strings of this malevolent boss.

Truman may have been a footnote in senate history had it not been for his work on showing corruption in defense in the 1940s. The work that he did on the committee certainly caught the eye of President Roosevelt. Though it is said that Roosevelt didn't think much of Sen. Truman, it is hard to believe that despite Roosevelt's failing health, that he didn't care who the Democratic bosses picked as his running mate in 1944. We have to say thank the Lord for the bosses. Had Vice President Henry Wallace been renominated for V.P., this country would have been in a lot of difficulty.

What a tumultuous presidency Truman would have with the threatened railroad strike, use of the a-bomb to end World War 11, Berlin blockade and Korea.

When Truman left office in 1953, his approval rating was 32%. History has judged him a lot better than that.

An excellent biography of a complex and highly flawed man...

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 16 October 2011]

While I've seen biographies on Harry Truman before, this one surprised me because he came off as such an incredibly flawed and ill-prepared man. Now I am not saying he was a bad man or a horrible president--but he sure didn't seem very presidential throughout most of his life.

The story of Truman's early life consists of a series of failures. Harry was a bookish and wimpy child--and there was little to indicate he'd grow into an important man. He never dated until in his mid-20s, only dated one lady (Bess)--and she repeatedly refused his proposals. He was forced to quit his job as a bank teller to go to work on the family farm--which was nearly bankrupt. And, once he married, he invested in several schemes that resulted in lost fortunes and a bankrupt business. His wife also HATED to go anywhere but home (even when he was President, she mostly stayed home in Missouri!) and he was forced to live with his domineering mother-in-law. Yes, he was truly an unimpressive man.

His prospects improved a bit with WWI. Though his eyesight SHOULD have resulted in his being labeled unfit for service, he cheated to pass the eye test and received a commission. There, he served well but by the end of the war he was only a lower grade officer. But, this was soon parlayed into political office--but this also meant enjoying the patronage of a VERY corrupt state system.

After serving a couple terms as judge, Truman was able to get elected as a US Senator--a bit step, that's for sure. But, because of his association with sleazy state politics, he was pretty much ignored for the first couple years in Washington. Only when he gained a reputation as a reformer did he quickly gain prestige--but but when he was soon named to the ticket as the Vice President, he simply didn't believe it and was not prepared. And yet, FDR won his fourth term--and was dead within three months. And now, the unprepared man was President of the US--and was responsible for not just winning the war but winning the peace. This repeated failure suddenly was the most important man on the planet! Also talked about in the film was a lengthy discussion of the atomic bomb and Truman's decision to use it. As the film correctly asserts, Truman really had no choice but to use it and the decision was a simple one--it would end the war. So, despite people second-guessing in the 1980s and 90s and beyond, it was the only real choice at the time--the American public was sick of the war and it would end it quickly and dramatically.

Overall, an expertly crafted two-part episode on the life of Truman--exactly what you'd expect from "The American Experience"--a show that did some other wonderful multi-part documentaries on Preisdents Nixon, FDR and Lyndon Johnson. See this--as well as part two.