A Great American Tragedy

Last updated
A Great American Tragedy
Genredrama
Written by Caryl Ledner
Directed by J. Lee Thompson
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time75 minutes
Original release
Release18 October 1972 (1972-10-18)

A Great American Tragedy is a 1972 American TV movie directed by J. Lee Thompson. [1]

Contents

Plot

A middle-aged aerospace engineer is fired. He is unable to find a new job, his wife forced to go back to work and his marriage starts to break up.

Cast

Reception

The New York Times said "thought and care have gone into" the film but felt "home‐set viewers who have felt the budget pinch aren't likely to bleed for this case of unemployment... Both J. Lee Thompson's direction and Caryl Ledner's writing are best in the rather coolly dispassionate vignettes peeling down the prideful hero, as in one scene at an unemployment office. But Kennedy's moment of truth, a simple decision to buckle down and roll up his sleeves, take a long, exasperating wait that provokes curiosity, hardly sympathy." [2]

The Los Angeles Times said it "ranked among the best work that director J. Lee Thompson, in his TV movie debut, has ever done." [3]

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References

  1. DINAH SHORE STARS IN 'WOMAN' SPECIAL Los Angeles Times 15 Oct 1972: b3.
  2. Thompson, Howard (18 October 1972). "TV Review". New York Times.
  3. TV MOVIE REVIEW: A Tragedy to Identify With Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times 18 Oct 1972: e22.