''Citizen Cohn'' is a 1992
cable film covering the life of
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...
's controversial chief counsel
Roy Cohn.
James Woods
James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in '' The Trial of the ...
, who starred as Cohn, was nominated for both an
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
and a
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
for his performance. ''Citizen Cohn'' also stars
Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker (born February 12, 1936) is an American character actor and a life member of the Actors Studio. He established himself as an action star with supporting roles as a mysterious cowboy drifter in ''Guns of the Magnificent Seven'' (196 ...
(as McCarthy),
Ed Flanders
Edward Paul Flanders (December 29, 1934 – February 22, 1995) was an American actor. He is best known for playing Dr. Donald Westphall in the medical drama series '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988). Flanders was nominated for eight Primetime Em ...
(as Cohn's courtroom nemesis
Joseph Welch),
Frederic Forrest (as writer
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (' ...
), and
Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson Hingle (July 19, 1924 – January 3, 2009) was an American character actor who appeared in stage productions and in hundreds of television shows and feature films. His first film was '' On the Waterfront'' in 1954. He often pl ...
(as Cohn's onetime mentor
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...
). It was directed by
Frank Pierson
Frank Romer Pierson (May 12, 1925 – July 22, 2012) was an American screenwriter and film director.Byrge, Duane (July 23, 2012). rank Pierson, Former Movie Academy President, Writer and Director, Dies at 87.''The Hollywood Reporter''Yardley, Wi ...
. The movie was filmed on location in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...
.
Synopsis
The film spans Cohn's life from childhood through his initial rise to power as McCarthy's right-hand man in the
Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), stood up in March 1941 as the "Truman Committee," is the oldest subcommittee of the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (formerly the Committee on Governme ...
hearings and his eventual public discrediting a month before his death in 1986 from
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...
. It is told mostly in
flashback as Cohn lies dying at a hospital in
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which ...
,
hallucinating that his many enemies (from
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...
to
Ethel Rosenberg, a convicted
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
spy he sent to the
electric chair
An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...
) are haunting him. It concerns aspects of Cohn's life such as his
closeted
''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other ( LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexu ...
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
and the measure of his culpability in the "
Red Scare
A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which a ...
" of the 1950s. While the movie portrays Cohn in a decidedly unsympathetic light, it also depicts episodes in his life, such as the death of his beloved mother, in which he showed a more humane, compassionate side.
Cast
*
James Woods
James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for his work in various film, stage, and television productions. He started his career in minor roles on and off- Broadway. In 1972, he appeared in '' The Trial of the ...
as
Roy Marcus Cohn
*
Joe Don Baker
Joe Don Baker (born February 12, 1936) is an American character actor and a life member of the Actors Studio. He established himself as an action star with supporting roles as a mysterious cowboy drifter in ''Guns of the Magnificent Seven'' (196 ...
as
Sen. Joseph McCarthy
*
Joseph Bologna
Joseph Bologna (December 30, 1934 – August 13, 2017) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter notable for his roles in the comedy films '' My Favorite Year'', ''Blame It on Rio'' and '' Transylvania 6-5000''.
Life and career
Bol ...
as
Walter Winchell
Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...
*
Ed Flanders
Edward Paul Flanders (December 29, 1934 – February 22, 1995) was an American actor. He is best known for playing Dr. Donald Westphall in the medical drama series '' St. Elsewhere'' (1982–1988). Flanders was nominated for eight Primetime Em ...
as
Joseph N. Welch
*
Jeffrey Nordling as
G. David Schine
*
Frederic Forrest as
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (' ...
*
Lee Grant
Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's '' Detective Story'', co-starring Kirk Dou ...
as Dora Cohn
*
Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson Hingle (July 19, 1924 – January 3, 2009) was an American character actor who appeared in stage productions and in hundreds of television shows and feature films. His first film was '' On the Waterfront'' in 1954. He often pl ...
as
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...
*
John McMartin as 'Older Doctor'
*
Karen Ludwig as
Ethel Rosenberg
*
Josef Sommer as
Albert C. Cohn
*
Daniel Benzali as
Francis Joseph Cardinal Spellman
*
Tovah Feldshuh as Iva Schlesinger
*
John Finn
John Joseph Finn (born September 30, 1952) is an American character actor known as one of the leads of the television programs ''Cold Case'' and ''EZ Streets''. Finn has also had supporting roles in the films '' The Hunted'' (2003), ''Analyze ...
as
Sen. Charles Potter
*
Fritz Weaver
Fritz William Weaver (January 19, 1926 − November 26, 2016) was an American actor in television, stage, and motion pictures. He portrayed Dr. Josef Weiss in the 1978 epic television drama, ''Holocaust'' for which he was nominated for a Primetime ...
as
Sen. Everett Dirksen
*
Frances Foster as 'First
Annie Lee Moss'
*
Novella Nelson
Novella Christine Nelson (December 17, 1939 – August 31, 2017) was an American actress and singer. She established her career as a singer, both on the off-Broadway and Broadway stage and in cabaret-style locales.
Career
Starting in 1961, Nels ...
as 'Second
Annie Lee Moss'
*
Allen Garfield
Allen Garfield (born Allen Goorwitz; November 22, 1939 – April 7, 2020) was an American film and television actor.
Early life
Garfield was born in Newark, New Jersey, to a Jewish family, the son of Alice (née Lavroff) and Philip Goorwitz. H ...
as
Abe Feller
*
David Marshall Grant
David Marshall Grant (born June 21, 1955) is an American actor, singer and writer.
Life and career
Grant was born in Westport, Connecticut, to physician parents. Immediately after graduating from Connecticut College with an M.F.A. and receivin ...
as
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...
*
Daniel von Bargen as
Clyde Tolson
* Lester Hoffman as Executioner #1
Score
Thomas Newman
Thomas Montgomery Newman (born October 20, 1955) is an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career that has spanned over four decades, he has scored numerous films including '' The Player'' (1992); ''The S ...
composed the largely
minimalist
In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...
film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
.
See also
* ''
Angels in America
''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award for ...
''
References
External links
*
McCarthyism and the Movies
{{Frank Pierson
American biographical films
HBO Films films
HIV/AIDS in American films
American LGBT-related television films
Films about McCarthyism
Films set in Pittsburgh
Peabody Award-winning broadcasts
Films directed by Frank Pierson
Films scored by Thomas Newman
1992 television films
1992 films
Cultural depictions of Robert F. Kennedy
Cultural depictions of Joseph McCarthy
Cultural depictions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
HIV/AIDS in television
Films about anti-LGBT sentiment
Cultural depictions of J. Edgar Hoover
1990s English-language films
1990s American films