''Born Again'' is a 1978 American biographical drama film directed by Hollywood veteran

Irving Rapper Irving Rapper (16 January 1898 – 20 December 1999) was a British-born American film director. Biography Born to a Jewish family

Charles Colson Charles Wendell Colson (October 16, 1931 – April 21, 2012), generally referred to as Chuck Colson, was an American attorney and political advisor who served as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1970. Once known as P ...

in the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

, his subsequent conversion to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and his prison term. It stars Dean Jones as Colson,

Anne Francis Anne Francis (also known as Anne Lloyd Francis; September 16, 1930 – January 2, 2011) was an American actress known for her ground-breaking roles in the science-fiction film ''Forbidden Planet'' (1956) and the television action-drama seri ...

as his wife,

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...

as Tom Phillips, Harry Spillman as President Nixon, former Senator

Harold Hughes Harold Everett Hughes (February 10, 1922 – October 23, 1996) was the 36th Governor of Iowa from 1963 until 1969, and a United States senator from Iowa from 1969 until 1975. He began his political career as a Republican but changed his affi ...

as himself and George Brent in his final film. The film was released by

Avco Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution studio responsible for such fil ...

. The title theme song "Born Again," with music by

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica a ...

and lyrics by Craig Johnson, was sung by

Larnelle Harris Larnelle Steward Harris (born July 6, 1947) is an American gospel singer and songwriter. During his 40-plus years of ministry, Harris has recorded 18 albums, won five Grammy Awards and 11 Dove Awards, and has had several number one songs on the ...

Plot

As president Richard Nixon's

special counsel In the United States, a special counsel (formerly called special prosecutor or independent counsel) is a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest ex ...

, Colson has power and prestige along with an office in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. After the

Watergate The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's continu ...

scandal, Colson pleads guilty and is sent to prison. The experience changes him drastically, and he establishes Prison Fellowship International, a Christian ministry that now reaches around the world.

Cast

* Dean Jones as

as Patty Colson *

Jay Robinson Jay Robinson (April 14, 1930 – September 27, 2013) was an American actor specializing in character roles. He achieved his greatest fame playing Emperor Caligula in the film ''The Robe'' (1953) and its sequel ''Demetrius and the Gladiators' ...

as David Shapiro *

as Tom Phillips * Raymond St. Jacques as Jimmy Newsom * George Brent as Judge

Gerhard Gesell Gerhard Alden Gesell (June 16, 1910 – February 19, 1993) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Education and career Born in Los Angeles, California, Gesell received a Bachelor of ...

as Himself *

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

as Himself *Harry Spillman as President Richard M. Nixon *Scott Walker as Scanlon * Robert Gray as Paul Kramer *Arthur Roberts as

Al Quie Albert Harold Quie ( ; born September 18, 1923) is an American politician and farmer. Quie, who served as member of the United States House of Representatives and Governor of Minnesota, is regarded as a moderate Republican. Quie was strongly c ...

*Ned Wilson as

Douglas Coe Douglas Evans Coe (October 20, 1928 – February 21, 2017) was an American activist and businessman who served as the associate director of The Fellowship, a religious and political organization known for hosting the annual National Prayer Break ...

*Dean Brooks as Dick Howard *Christopher Conrad as Christian "Chris" Colson *

Peter Jurasik Peter Jurasik ( ; born April 25, 1950) is an American actor known for his television roles as Londo Mollari in the 1990s science fiction series ''Babylon 5'' and Sid the Snitch on the 1980s series ''Hill Street Blues'' and its short-lived spin ...

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

*Stuart Lee as Wendell Colson *Richard Caine as

H.R. Haldeman Harry Robbins Haldeman (October 27, 1926 – November 12, 1993) was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate s ...

*Brigid O'Brien as Holly Holm * Robert Broyles as

John Ehrlichman John Daniel Ehrlichman (; March 20, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an American political aide who served as the White House Counsel and Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon. Ehrlichman was an important i ...

*Anthony Canne as Burkhardt *Corinne Michaels as Raquel Ramirez

Production

Filming for ''Born Again'' took place between December 14, 1977, and February 8, 1978, at locations in Washington, D.C., including the Capitol Building, the

, the Executive Office Building, the

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and ...

, the

Jefferson Memorial The Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial built in Washington, D.C. between 1939 and 1943 in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, a central intellectual force behind the A ...

, the

Lincoln Memorial The Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is on the western end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., across from the Washington Monument, and is in ...

, St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square and the Watergate complex. Some exteriors were filmed in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The

Los Angeles County Superior Court The Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, is the California superior courts, California superior court with jurisdiction over Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, which includes the city of Los Angeles. It is the lar ...

stood in for Judge Gesell's Washington courtroom and the Chino penitentiary known officially as the

California Institution for Men California Institution for Men (CIM) is a male-only state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California. It is often colloquially referenced as "Chino". In turn, locals call the prison "Chino Men's" or just "Men's" to av ...

doubled as the federal prison camp on

Maxwell Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County, Alabama, Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the Gulf Coastal Plain, coas ...

, where Colson served his sentence. Soundstage interiors filmed at

The Burbank Studios The Burbank Studios (formerly known as NBC Studios) is a television production facility located in Burbank, California. The studio is home to ''Days of Our Lives'', ''Extra'', the '' IHeartRadio Theater'', and was formerly home to the Blizzard ...

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who ...

included replicas of the offices of

and Colson, and Colson donated several items that were used in the set.

Release

The world premiere of ''Born Again'' was held at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington, D.C., on September 24, 1978, with Charles Colson in attendance. Two hundred prints of the film were released over a series of two-week periods in three successive regional waves: * September 29 and October 6, 1978: Washington, D.C., Chicago, Dallas, Seattle, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Portland, Oregon * November 3 to December 10, 1978: Charlotte, Los Angeles, Denver and Milwaukee * Christmas and New Year's 1978-79: Minneapolis, Des Moines, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Indianapolis and New Orleans The film's producers partnered with a religious public-relations expert to promote the film to the Christian community nationwide. The outreach campaign included premieres to benefit Colson’s charity,

Prison Fellowship Prison Fellowship is the world's largest Christian nonprofit organization for prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading advocate for justice reform.Mark Oppenheimer ''New York Times'' (April 27, 2012). History Prison Fell ...

Reception

A ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' review stated: "In ''Born Again'' Colson (played by Jones) realizes the error of his ways and is born again. His faith sustains him through his prison term. In this sympathetic script, Colson emerges as an innocent who is drawn into the devious machinations of Washington without his actually engaging in anything untoward."Born Again (Overview), ''TV Guide''
Retrieved 2017-09-20.

Home media

On January 13, 2009, a 30th-anniversary edition of the film was released on DVD in Region 1 by Crown Movie Classics.

References

External links

* * * {{Richard Nixon 1978 films 1978 independent films 1970s biographical drama films American biographical drama films American independent films American films based on actual events Embassy Pictures films 1970s English-language films Films about Christianity Films based on biographies Films directed by Irving Rapper Films scored by Les Baxter Films set in 1969 Films set in 1973 Films set in 1974 Films set in Washington, D.C. Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Washington, D.C. Watergate scandal in film 1978 drama films Cultural depictions of Henry Kissinger Cultural depictions of Richard Nixon 1970s American films