TV's First Battle Royale: Murrow Vs. McCarthy

Rating: 10/10 (31 March 2006)

Of all the embarrassments in American history, few can compare in magnitude to the witch hunt conducted in the early 1950s against real and alleged Communists by Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin. But there was at least one man who was willing to use the powers he had to call McCarthy's bluff on the issue, and do so on an embryonic medium called the television. That man was legendary CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow, and that televised battle royale between him and McCarthy is the subject of GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, directed and co-written by George Clooney (who portrays CBS news director Fred Friendly) and so titled after Murrow's celebrated closing line at the end of his newscasts.
David Straithairn does a superlative job of portraying Murrow, who, while realizing that his actions might very well jeopardize him, his colleagues and the entire CBS television network, nevertheless could not just stand idly by and see a demagogue like McCarthy persecute those he merely suspected of "being Red" without a shred of evidence to back up those claims. Television was still a relative novelty when these events took place in 1953 and 1954, and because of this, the battle between the uncompromising newsman and the equally uncompromising junior senator from Wisconsin was one that helped make television news into an institution, and the first example of television's ability to influence the minds and opinions of people on matters of vital importance. GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK also shows how, even early on, the line between corporate profits and social values was one that needed to be trod with care, especially in the sometimes heated discussions Straithairn has with CBS chairman William Paley, played to brilliance by Frank Langella. In a very wise move on Clooney's part, he filmed this movie in glorious black-and-white and recreated the look of CBS News during the 1950s in such a way that one gets a true sense of the period. Straithairn accurately captures Murrow's clipped speech tones while reporting the news and commenting on McCarthy's heated Commie fishing expeditions. The ensemble casting is rounded out by folks like Patricia Clarkson, Jeff Daniels, and Robert Downey Jr.
Though set in the early years of television, the story of GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK still seems hugely relevant today; and it is for that reason, plus the fact that his father Nick was a highly respected TV newsman in Cincinnati, that Clooney took this project on. Murrow was not afraid to hit hard at what he saw were wrongs being committed by such a tyrant as McCarthy--a kind of bravery that newsmen of today could learn from when dealing with those who say that to question the veracity and the truthfulness of the U.S. government with respect to the war in Iraq is somehow "treasonous" and "unpatriotic", and somehow "gives aid and comfort to the enemy." Unsurprisingly, this is the mark of liberal Hollywood film-making (and Clooney himself is an unabashed liberal), but then so be it. As a look behind a defining moment in American history, especially with respect to television news, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK is a great singular achievement. It is also an example of the kind great, hard-hitting, issue-oriented film-making that Hollywood was so great at during the 1960s and 1970s--a trait that has only been reawakened the last few years with the Iraq war and post-9/11 paranoia. In short, this is by any stretch of the imagination a must-see movie.