''Tail Gunner Joe'' is a 1977

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

dramatizing the life of U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, a

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Republican who claimed knowledge of

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

infiltration of the U.S. government during the 1950s. The film was broadcast on NBC. It was nominated for six

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

awards and won two: best writing and best supporting actor for Burgess Meredith's portrayal of attorney Joseph N. Welch. It starred Peter Boyle (as McCarthy) and John Forsythe. Robert F. Simon appeared as

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Drew Pearson. The nickname 'Tail Gunner Joe' is a derisive term for the Senator that originated from his false claim to have been a tail gunner on American bombers during World War II.

Cast

* Peter Boyle as Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age ...

* Burgess Meredith as Joseph N. Welch * John Forsythe as Paul Cunningham *

Jean Stapleton Jean Stapleton (born Jeanne Murray; January 19, 1923 – May 31, 2013) was an American character actress of stage, television and film. Stapleton is best known for her portrayal of Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and devoted wif ...

as Mrs. DeCamp * Robert F. Simon as Drew Pearson * Robert Symonds as President Truman * Andrew Duggan as President Eisenhower * Wesley Addy as Middleton * Addison Powell as General George C. Marshall *

William Schallert William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is known for his roles on ''Richard Diamond, Private ...

as General Zwicker *

Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 film and television roles. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest ac ...

as Sylvester * Henry Jones as Armitage * George Wyner as Roy Cohn * Philip Abbott as Senator Scott W. Lucas * Patricia Neal as Senator Margaret Chase Smith *

Howard Hesseman Howard Hesseman (February 27, 1940 – January 29, 2022) was an American actor known for his television roles as burned-out disc jockey Dr. Johnny Fever on '' WKRP in Cincinnati'' and the lead role of history teacher Charlie Moore on '' Head ...

as Lt. Ted Cantwell * John Carradine as Wisconsin farmer

Reception

John Carmody wrote in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'':

The story makes the unassailable point that McCarthy, who chased
Communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
around for years without actually catching one, wouldn't have been "successful" if the media and a lot of politicians, including President Truman and Eisenhower, hadn't tolerated him.
There is a certain hand-wringing quality to some of the narration Sunday night (scriptwriters long to be on the side of the angels, too) and there is a little side-stepping when it comes to explaining the sources of McCarthy's political strengths, such as they were.

From a review by ''ModCinema'':

''Tail Gunner Joe'' is in its own way as biased and unfair as any of Joe McCarthy's diatribes but this made-for-TV movie works as a brisk, entertaining recollection of an era in which "guilt by association" was a byword. As Joe McCarthy, Peter Boyle's performance is so convincing that it borders on the supernatural.

References

External links

* * 1977 films 1977 television films 1970s American films American biographical films Films about McCarthyism Universal Pictures films Emmy Award–winning programs NBC original films Films directed by Jud Taylor Cultural depictions of Joseph McCarthy Films about Richard Nixon Films set in the 1950s {{US-tv-drama-film-stub