101 Forgotten Films by Brian Mills

Author:Brian Mills [Brian Mills]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781842433904
Publisher: Oldcastle Books
Published: 2010-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Story: No one has to read a TV prompter monitor to know that The Great Man is a great film if only the film could be seen. Ed Harris (Ferrer), a TV reporter, is given the assignment to present an hour-long programme to eulogise the famous radio icon, Herb Fuller, who was beloved by the nation and has just been killed in a car accident. He is told by the show’s producer, Sid Moore (Keenan Wynn), that if he does a good job he will get better assignments. However, when Harris begins to question the people who knew ‘the great man’ he discovers that no one had a good word to say about him. He was a cruel, selfish, egotistical jerk. But Harris also finds that a lot of Fuller’s cynicism and misuse of power has rubbed off on his co-workers. The dilemma that Harris faces is, does he tell the truth about Fuller or does he whitewash him for the sake of his fans and his TV bosses who expect a glowing tribute?

Al Morgan, who wrote page-turners such as Cast of Characters, The Six-Eleven, To Sit on a Horse and many other novels, adapted the film from his novel of the same name. Ferrer directs brilliantly and proves yet again what a great actor he was. The cast is excellent with Julie London – the blues singer and wife of actor Jack Webb – playing a very convincing Carol Larsen, a girl whose life was kept on hold for Fuller as his part-time mistress. But The Great Man also contains one of the greatest performances ever seen on the screen. No superlative could do justice to the acting of Ed Wynn (Paul Beasley) when he relates a story of Fuller, a man who was both a down-to-earth radio personality who people loved and a mean-spirited, drunken bastard who wrecked the radio station of the man who gave him his first chance in broadcasting. ‘I know that some people find me ridiculous,’ he tells Harris. ‘Mr Beasley, I don’t find you ridiculous at all,’ Harris replies. Wynn did his six-minute monologue in one take and reportedly, after he finished it, the crew applauded and Jose Ferrer wept.

Like Citizen Kane, which was based on the life of William Hearst, The Great Man is thinly based on the real-life figure of Arthur Godfrey.

RARITY RATING: 4/5

Only source known for this movie is through Movielead. The Shrike* has since vanished, though a few video copies may be found on the eBay marketplace.

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