Give 'em Hell, Harry!
{{short description|1975 film by Steve Binder, Peter H. Hunt}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Give 'em Hell, Harry!
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| image = Give 'em Hell, Harry! FilmPoster.jpeg
| director = Steve Binder
Peter H. Hunt (stage production)
| producer = Bill Sargent
Joseph E. Bluth
| writer = Samuel Gallu
| starring = James Whitmore
| music = Pearl Kaufman
| cinematography = Ken Palius
| editing = Steve Binder
| studio = Permut Presentations
Theatrovision
| distributor = Theater Television
| released = {{Film date|1975|09|18}}
| runtime = 104 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $230,000
| gross = $11,000,000[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=giveemhellharry.htm Box Office Information for Give 'Em Hell, Harry!] Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 13, 2018. or $4 million{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilmdist0000dona/page/294/mode/1up|title= American film distribution : the changing marketplace|last=Donahue|first= Suzanne Mary|year=1987 |publisher=UMI Research Press |page=294}} Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
}}
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.
Title origin
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.
History
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.{{cite news |first=Roger |last=Ebert |work=Chicago Sun-Times |title=Review: Give 'em Hell, Harry! |author-link=Roger Ebert |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19750101/REVIEWS/501010324/1023 |date=January 1, 1975}} 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.[https://www.ctrumandaniel.com/ Clifton Truman Daniel]
Accolades
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| Award
! Category ! Nominee ! Result ! Ref. |
|---|
| Academy Awards
| rowspan="3"| James Whitmore | {{nom}} |
| Golden Globe Awards
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | {{nom}} | align="center"| {{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/give-em-hell-harry |title=Give 'em Hell, Harry! – Golden Globes |website=HFPA |access-date=July 5, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1976}}}} |
| Grammy Awards
| {{won}} | align="center"| {{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/james-whitmore/6907 |title=James Whitmore |website=Grammy Awards |access-date=December 18, 2021}} |
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.{{cite news |work=USA Today |title=Follow these clues to the original 'Sleuth' |page=2D |url=https://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20071011/d_cover11_side.art.htm |date=October 11, 2007}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|id=0073053|title=Give 'em Hell, Harry}}
- [https://archive.today/20140812051104/https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2063728/GiveEmHellHarry3.jpg Department Of The Interior National Register of Historic Places and B.P.O.E. #1181 / City of Bremerton plaques commemorating location of Truman's "Give Em Hell Harry" speech.]
{{Harry S. Truman}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album 1970s}}
Category:Cultural depictions of Harry S. Truman
Category:Filmed stage productions
Category:Films about presidents of the United States
Category:Films directed by Peter H. Hunt
Category:Films directed by Steve Binder
Category:Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album
Category:Plays based on real people