Give 'em Hell, Harry! | |
---|---|
Directed by | Steve Binder Peter H. Hunt (stage production) |
Written by | Samuel Gallu |
Produced by | Bill Sargent Joseph E. Bluth |
Starring | James Whitmore |
Cinematography | Ken Palius |
Edited by | Steve Binder |
Music by | Pearl Kaufman |
Production companies | Permut Presentations Theatrovision |
Distributed by | Theater Television |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $230,000 |
Box office | $11,000,000 [1] or $4 million [2] |
Give 'em Hell, Harry! is a biographical play and 1975 film, written by playwright Samuel Gallu. Both the play and film are a one-man show about former President of the United States Harry S. Truman. Give 'em Hell, Harry! stars James Whitmore, and was directed by Steve Binder and Peter H. Hunt.
The title comes from an incident that took place during the 1948 presidential election campaign. In Bremerton, Washington, Truman delivered a speech attacking the Republicans. During the speech, a supporter yelled out, "Give 'em Hell, Harry!" Truman replied, "I don't give them Hell. I just tell the truth about them, and they think it's Hell." Subsequently, "Give 'em Hell, Harry!" became a lifetime slogan for Truman supporters.
The play previewed in Hershey, Pennsylvania, followed by its official opening at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D. C. Its April 17, 1975, premiere was hosted by Truman's daughter Margaret, and attended by President Gerald Ford. The play then went on to a six-city tour, during which it was videotaped for film on the stage of the Moore Theatre in Seattle, using a live editing process called Theatrovision. [3] It was also recorded and released by United Artists Records.
Although the play has been regularly revived, it did not make its New York debut until July 2008 at St. Luke's Theatre. Clifton Truman Daniel portrayed his grandfather in the title role in several performances in 2023. [4]
Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Academy Awards | Best Actor | James Whitmore | Nominated | [5] |
Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Nominated | [6] | |
Grammy Awards | Best Spoken Word Recording | Won | [7] |
Give 'em Hell, Harry! is only the third film to have its entire credited cast (Whitmore) nominated for an Oscar, the first two being Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1966, for which almost all members excluding the extras were nominated, and Sleuth in 1972. [8]
John Uhler Lemmon III was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leading The Guardian to label him as "the most successful tragi-comedian of his age."
The 1948 United States presidential election was the 41st quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 1948. In one of the greatest election upsets in American history, incumbent Democratic President Harry S. Truman defeated heavily favored Republican New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, and third-party candidates, becoming the third president to succeed to the presidency upon his predecessor's death and be elected to a full term.
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Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap.
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Mary Margaret Truman Daniel was an American classical soprano, actress, journalist, radio and television personality, writer, and New York socialite. She was the only child of President Harry S. Truman and First Lady Bess Truman. While her father was president during the years 1945 to 1953, Margaret regularly accompanied him on campaign trips, such as the 1948 countrywide whistle-stop campaign lasting several weeks. She also appeared at important White House and political events during those years, being a favorite with the media.
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The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is a graduate fellowship in the United States for public service leadership. It is a federally funded scholarship granted to U.S. undergraduate students for demonstrated leadership potential, academic excellence, and a commitment to public service. It is administered by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, an independent federal agency based in Washington, D.C.
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