Fifth of July

Episode aired Mar 9, 1982
2h 10m

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

150

YOUR RATING

Comedy Drama Romance Sci-Fi

Ken Talley is 32, strong, goodlooking and a Vietnam vet with both legs shot off seven years earlier. He is somewhat cynical. His lover Jed is bigger and stronger, a gardner, a good listener.... Read allKen Talley is 32, strong, goodlooking and a Vietnam vet with both legs shot off seven years earlier. He is somewhat cynical. His lover Jed is bigger and stronger, a gardner, a good listener. On Independence Day 1977 Ken's home in Lebanon Missouri is visted by the others. Much of ... Read allKen Talley is 32, strong, goodlooking and a Vietnam vet with both legs shot off seven years earlier. He is somewhat cynical. His lover Jed is bigger and stronger, a gardner, a good listener. On Independence Day 1977 Ken's home in Lebanon Missouri is visted by the others. Much of their past relationships, pre- and post-Vietnam, must be pulled up and examined before any... Read all

Directors
- Kirk Browning
- Marshall W. Mason
Writer
- Lanford Wilson
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.1/10

150

YOUR RATING

Directors
- Kirk Browning
- Marshall W. Mason
Writer
- Lanford Wilson
Stars

5User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos5

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Trivia
The original Broadway production of "The Fifth of July" by Lanford Wilson opened at the New Apollo Theater on November 5, 1980, ran for 511 performances and was nominated for the 1981 Tony Award for the Best Play. Swoosie Kurtz (winner of the 1981 Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Play), Jeff Daniels, Jonathan Hogan, Danton Stone and Joyce Reehling reprise their roles in the filmed production.

User reviews5

Review

Featured review

10/10

It's rare to see a play done well as a film, but this one does the original justice.

Playwrights are understandably nervous when their works are turned into films. But in the capable hands of the original stage director, Marshall W. Mason, this Showtime production of Wilson's play comes across with all the intimate care and character of the play. The cast recreates their roles from the Circle Rep production of 1980, including Richard Thomas and Jeff Daniels as gay lovers and Swoozie Kurtz as a delightfully dizty country singer. For audiences unfamiliar with Wilson's work (including Hot l Baltimore and Talley's Folly), this film is an excellent introduction to one of our best American playwrights. In 2001 many of the cast of "Fifth of July" reunited in Independence, Kansas, to recreate their roles in the play as well as several other plays of Mr. Wilson, including "Hot L Baltimore," "Talley's Folly," and "Burn This" at the William Inge Theatre Festival's tribute to the playwright who was honored with the Inge Award for Achievement in American Theatre.