A television reporter uncovers a compromising photograph of a Supreme Court nominee, only for the woman in the picture to die under mysterious circumstances. As he investigates, he’s drawn into a web of political intrigue and media manipulation. Originally conceived as a TV series pilot, the 1973 thriller aired as a standalone film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Martin Landau.
Direction
Spielberg's kinetic camera already showing future greatness.
Acting
Landau's weary desperation carries the entire runtime.
Director
Steven Spielberg
Martin Landau
Paul Savage
Barbara Bain
Gail Abbott
Will Geer
Joel Ryker
Paul Richards
Peter Brooks
Michele Carey
Allison Baker
Barry Sullivan
Judge Daniel Stern
Louise Latham
Marian Stern
Dabney Coleman
Ted Seligson
Susan Howard
Lee Raynolds
Pat Harrington Jr.
Russell
Jack Bender
Jerry
Victor Millan
Director
Warren J. Kemmerling
Lieutenant Chambers
Danny Goldman
Commercial Director
Richard Stahl
Photographer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
NBC rejected the pilot but burned it off as a TV movie; Spielberg was so embarrassed he rarely discussed it.
Released months before Watergate broke, its paranoid political atmosphere accidentally predicted the era's zeitgeist.
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