Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Robert De Niro | ... | ||
Annette Bening | ... | ||
George Wendt | ... |
Bunny Baxter
|
|
Patricia Wettig | ... |
Dorothy Nolan
|
|
Sam Wanamaker | ... |
Felix Graff
|
|
Luke Edwards | ... |
Paulie Merrill
|
|
Chris Cooper | ... |
Larry Nolan
|
|
Ben Piazza | ... | ||
Martin Scorsese | ... |
Joe Lesser
|
|
Barry Primus | ... |
Bert Alan
|
|
Gailard Sartain | ... |
Chairman Wood
|
|
Robin Gammell | ... |
Congressman Tavenner
|
|
Brad Sullivan | ... |
Congressman Velde
|
|
Tom Sizemore | ... |
Ray Karlin
|
|
Roxann Dawson | ... |
Felicia Barron
(as Roxann Biggs)
|
David Merrill (Robert De Niro), a fictitious 1950s Hollywood director, returns from filming abroad in France to find that his loyalty has been called into question by the House Committee on Un-American Activities and he is unable to work until cleared. Before being called, his highest priority had been his work to the extent of leaving his wife (Annette Bening) and son (Luke Edwards) alone for months at a time. He initially refuses to implicate others or himself in a private meeting with Roy Cohn and a studio lawyer. This decision initially to stick to his principles first leaves him unable to work in his profession, even with films and producers he never would have worked with before. Harassment by the FBI leaves him unable to work on Broadway, with advertising agencies, or even in a small film repair shop. Finally, having fallen so far, and tempted with a new offer to direct a film from his old studio (if he testifies), he agrees to go before the Committee, initially planning to ... Written by Mike Harris <mharris@injersey.com>
Upon reading through 20 or so of the last reviews of "Guilty by Suspicion" it dawned on me that the majority of the reviewers are only vaguely familiar with the history associated with the film. Robert De Niro's DAVID MERRILL is an almost direct representation of real-life director ELIA KAZAN, known for such great films as "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "On the Waterfront". Only the names have been changed, but the main points of KAZAN's struggle are all intact. Even long-time friend Arthur Miller and wife Marilyn Monroe make an appearance (under different names, of course).
The story depicted in this film is not only perfectly representational of the black list era Hollywood, but is actually perfectly factual and accurate down to the small details. Reviewers should really do more research before "guessing" at what they just saw.