Film Group Meeting

Wednesday 12th April, 2017 – “Good Night and Good Luck”: Made in 2005, this is about Edward J Murrow’s confrontation with Joe McCarthy and the part CBS News played in his downfall. Murrow (a hero in Britain because of his broadcasts during the London blitz) is played by David Stathairn and together with his producer, Fred Friendly, (George Clooney) they set out to show the American people the unacceptability of McCarthyism. Written and directed by George Clooney (whose own father was an early TV newsman), the film shows the pressure that Murrow and his team were under from McCarthy’s lies and bullying. Destroying others by lies, McCarthy is destroyed by the truth. The cast includes Robert Downey Jr, Frank Langella and Geoff Daniels. An excellent portrayal of a very uncomfortable period in America’s recent history, it won Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars.