The Lavender Scare

Name: The Lavender Scare
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2019-06-07
Duration: 1 h 17 min
Rating: 7.5
Cast: Glenn Close, David Hyde Pierce, Cynthia Nixon

20172017
1h 17min

With the United States gripped in the panic of the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deems homosexuals to be "security risks" and orders the immediate firing of any government employe... Read allWith the United States gripped in the panic of the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deems homosexuals to be "security risks" and orders the immediate firing of any government employee discovered to be gay or lesbian. It triggers a vicious witch hunt that lasts for forty y... Read allWith the United States gripped in the panic of the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deems homosexuals to be "security risks" and orders the immediate firing of any government employee discovered to be gay or lesbian. It triggers a vicious witch hunt that lasts for forty years and ruins thousands of lives, while thrusting an unlikely hero into the forefront of ... Read all

7.5/10

143

Director
- Josh Howard
Writer
- David K. Johnson(book)
Stars
- Glenn Close(voice)
- David Hyde Pierce(voice)
- Cynthia Nixon(voice)

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

Awards
- 11 wins & 1 nomination

Videos3

The Lavender Scare - Official Trailer

Joe Biden, Joe Lieberman, Barack Obama, and Franklin Kameny in The Lavender Scare (2017)

Franklin Kameny in The Lavender Scare (2017)

Josh Howard and Franklin Kameny in The Lavender Scare (2017)

See production, box office, & company info

With the United States gripped in the panic of the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deems homosexuals to be "security risks" and orders the immediate firing of any government employee discovered to be gay or lesbian. It triggers a vicious witch hunt that lasts for forty years and ruins thousands of lives, while thrusting an unlikely hero into the forefront of what would become the modern LGBT rights movement.

Genre
- Documentary
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Connections
Features Boys Beware (1961)

Top review

10/10

Essential Documentary for U.S. History Classes

I found this to be a riveting account of the purge of gays and lesbians from employment in the U.S. government. Many committed suicide. This purge went on from the 1950's-1990's. At one point, the push to eliminate gays, became more important than Joe McCarthy's "Red Scare".

Excellent cross-section of interviews with men and women who lost their livelihood from the machinations of government officials (who also participate in the narration).

High school and college history classes should have Lavender Scare as part of their curriculum. Our evolution into a real Democracy, has left a bloody path, indeed.

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