Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Robert Forster | ... | John Cassellis | |
Verna Bloom | ... | Eileen | |
Peter Bonerz | ... | Gus | |
Marianna Hill | ... | Ruth | |
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Harold Blankenship | ... | Harold |
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Charles Geary | ... | Harold's Father |
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Sid McCoy | ... | Frank Baker |
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Christine Bergstrom | ... | Dede |
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William Sickingen | ... | News Director |
Robert McAndrew | ... | Pennybaker | |
Marrian Walters | ... | Social Worker | |
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Beverly Younger | ... | Rich Lady |
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Edward Croke | ... | Plain-clothesman |
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Doug Kimball | ... | Newscaster |
Peter Boyle | ... | Gun Clinic Manager |
John Cassellis is the toughest TV-news reporter around. His area of interest is reporting about violence in the ghetto and racial tensions. But he discovers that his network helps the FBI by letting it look at his tapes to find suspects. When he protests, he is fired and goes to the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Written by Mattias Thuresson
This film is a mixture of documentary footage and conventional narrative.
It tells the story of a tough news camera-man (Robert Forster) who falls for a young widow (Verna Bloom) and befriends her thirteen-year-old son, against the back-drop of the riots in Chicago in 1968.
The film utilises both professional actors and non-professionals, to very good effect. In fact there are scenes, such as the riot sequences, where there is a genuine sense of danger.
The main flaw in the film is that the love story is not well-handled and often quite dull, the far more interesting events are happening elsewhere.
This is a deeply political work and is savagely critical of the callous and cynical media, which distorts people's perceptions of the world.
Worth watching for anyone interested in the sixties, political cinema or American independent film.
Great soundtrack too.