The Museum presents Good Night, and Good Luck: Murrow from McCarthy to Monroe
Thursday, September 15, 2005
New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA—In conjunction with the release of Good Night, and Good Luck—George Clooney's theatrical film about the confrontations between iconic CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow and the Communist-baiting junior senator from Wisconsin, Joseph R. McCarthy—The Museum of Television & Radio presents Murrow's original See It Now television programs that inspired the film, captivated the nation during the jittery "duck-and-cover" days of the 1950s, and helped legitimize television as a medium and an essential source of information for Americans. To give viewers a look at the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings themselves, The Museum will also be screening Emile Antoine's 1964 documentary Point of Order, which distills almost 200 hours of the gavel-to-gavel television coverage of the hearings. And, as a bonus, the Museum presents a look at Murrow's lighter side, with highlights of his Person to Person interviews with Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Lauren Bacall, and Humphrey Bogart.
Good Night, and Good Luck: Murrow from McCarthy to Monroe will screen in Los Angeles Wednesdays through Sundays at 1:00 p.m. from September 21 through October 23, and in New York Tuesdays through Sundays at 1:00 p.m. from October 7 through November 6. The screening schedule is as follows:
Los Angeles: September 21 to October 2 at 1:00 p.m.
New York: October 7 to October 16 at 1:00 p.m.
See It Now: Murrow vs. McCarthy
Murrow's famous March 9, 1954, See It Now exposed McCarthy's tactics and helped trigger the senator's downfall. Twenty-eight days later, CBS aired McCarthy's belligerent response. See It Now was produced by Murrow and Fred Friendly (portrayed by Clooney in the film). (53 minutes)
Los Angeles: October 5 to October 9 at 1:00 p.m.
New York: October 18 to October 23 at 1:00 p.m.
- See It Now: Murrow vs. McCarthy-ism
Murrow used his CBS platform to draw attention to three Americans whose lives had been damaged by McCarthy-esque scare tactics: Air Force Reserve Lt. Milo Radulovich, thrown out of the service; Annie Lee Moss, a low-level Pentagon clerk, subpoenaed by McCarthy's subcommittee based on an informant's tip that she was a dues-paying Communist; and Robert Oppenheimer, the celebrated physicist whose security clearance had been revoked by the Atomic Energy Commission. (compilation, 95 minutes)
Los Angeles: October 12 to October 16 at 1:00 p.m.
New York: October 25 to October 30 at 1:00 p.m.
- Person to Person: Celebrity Interviews
Person to Person featured Murrow in the CBS studio tossing softball questions at celebrities as they led viewers on a tour of their home. This package comprises one full program from 1956, with Frank Sinatra and Joseph Welch (the attorney who defended the Army against McCarthy), plus full segments with Marlon Brando (1955), Marilyn Monroe (1955), and Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart (1954). (71 minutes)
Los Angeles: October 19 to October 23 at 1:00 p.m.
New York: November 1 to November 6 at 1:00 p.m.
- Point of Order: The Army-McCarthy Hearings
Emile de Antonio's 1964 documentary (first aired on television in 1973) distills almost two hundred hours of television coverage of the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954, called to probe McCarthy's charges that the Army was harboring communists. Most famous moment: Joseph Welch, special counsel for the Army, scolding McCarthy: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" (95 minutes)
Admission to Good Night, and Good Luck: Murrow from McCarthy to Monroe is included with the Museum's suggested contribution: Members free; $10.00 for adults; $8.00 for senior citizens and students; and $5.00 for children under fourteen. Admission is free in Los Angeles.
The Museum of Television & Radio, with locations in New York and Los Angeles, is a nonprofit organization founded by William S. Paley to collect and preserve television and radio programs and advertisements and to make them available to the public. Since opening in 1976, the Museum has organized exhibitions, screening and listening series, seminars, and education classes to showcase its collection of over 120,000 television and radio programs and advertisements. Programs in the Museum's permanent collection are selected for their artistic, cultural, and historic significance.
The Museum of Television & Radio in New York, located at 25 West 52 Street in Manhattan, is open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 6:00 p.m. and until 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays. The Museum of Television & Radio in California, located at 465 North Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, is open Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. Both Museums are closed on New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Suggested contribution: Members free; $10.00 for adults; $8.00 for senior citizens and students; and $5.00 for children under fourteen. Admission is free in Los Angeles. The public areas in both Museums are accessible to wheelchairs, and assisted listening devices are available. Programs are subject to change. You may call the Museum in New York at (212) 621-6800, or in Los Angeles at (310) 786-1000. Visit the Museum's website at www.mtr.org.