Give 'em Hell, Harry!

Give 'em Hell, Harry!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Steve Binder Peter H. Hunt (stage production)
Written by	Samuel Gallu
Produced by	Bill Sargent Joseph E. Bluth
Starring	James Whitmore
Cinematography	Ken Palius
Edited by	Steve Binder
Music by	Pearl Kaufman
Production companies	Permut Presentations Theatrovision
Distributed by	Theater Television
Release date	September 18, 1975 (1975-09-18)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$230,000
Box office	$11,000,000^[1]

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.^[2] 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.

Awards[]

James Whitmore was nominated for Best Actor by both the Academy Awards^[3]^[4] and the Golden Globes.^[5] It is only the third film to have its entire credited cast (Whitmore) nominated for an Academy Award, 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.^[6] Whitmore was also nominated for, and won, a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Recording.^[7]

References[]

^ Box Office Information for Give 'Em Hell, Harry! Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
^ Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1975). "Review: Give 'em Hell, Harry!". Chicago Sun-Times.
^ 1976|Oscars.org
^ Jack Nicholson Wins Best Actor: 1976 Oscars
^ Golden Globes
^ "Follow these clues to the original 'Sleuth'". USA Today. October 11, 2007. p. 2D.
^ 18th Annual GRAMMY Awards|1975 GRAMMYs|GRAMMY.com

External links[]

v t Harry S. Truman
33rd President of the United States (1945–1953) 34th Vice President of the United States (1945) U.S. Senator from Missouri (1935–1945)
Presidency	1945 inauguration 1949 inauguration Foreign policy Potsdam Conference Agreement on Europe Declaration to Japan Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Fair Deal Mental Health Act National Institute of Mental Health National School Lunch Act Employment Act of 1946 Council of Economic Advisers Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan Loyalty Order National Security Act of 1947 Joint Chiefs of Staff National Security Council Air Force Department Central Intelligence Agency Key West Agreement Joint Long Range Proving Grounds Revolt of the Admirals Committee on Civil Rights Integration of the Armed Forces Housing Act of 1949 North Atlantic Treaty NATO Assassination attempt Korean War U.N. Security Council Resolutions 82, 83 Relief of Douglas MacArthur Office of Defense Mobilization Science Advisory Committee 1952 steel strike 1952 Puerto Rican constitutional referendum National Security Agency State of the Union Address (1946 1950 1952) Judicial appointments Supreme Court Cabinet Truman Balcony "The buck stops here" Executive Orders Presidential Proclamations
Life	Early life and career Presidential Library, Museum, and gravesite Missouri Office and Courtroom Truman Committee 1944 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection
Books	Bibliography
Homes	Birthplace Harry S. Truman Farm Home Harry S. Truman home and National Historic Site Historic District Blair House Truman Little White House
Elections	United States Senate election in Missouri, 1934 1940 Democratic National Convention 1944 1948 1944 United States presidential election 1948 campaign "Dewey Defeats Truman" campaign song 1952 Democratic Party presidential primaries
Legacy	Truman Day Harry S Truman Building Truman Dam and Reservoir Harry S. Truman Scholarship Truman Sports Complex U.S. Postage stamps
Public image	Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975 play and film) Collision Course: Truman vs. MacArthur (1976 film) Backstairs at the White House (1979 miniseries) Truman (1995 film) Truman (1997 documentary film) Madonna of the Trail statues
Family	Bess Wallace Truman (wife) Margaret Truman (daughter) Martha Ellen Young Truman (mother) Clifton Truman Daniel (grandson)
← Franklin D. Roosevelt Dwight D. Eisenhower → ← Henry A. Wallace Alben W. Barkley → Category

v t Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album
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