| Give 'em Hell, Harry! | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Steve Binder Peter H. Hunt(stage production) |
| Written by | Samuel Gallu |
| Produced by | Bill Sargent Joseph E. Bluth |
| Starring | James Whitmore |
| Cinematography | Ken Palius |
| Edited by | Steve Binder |
| Music by | Pearl Kaufman |
Production companies | Permut Presentations Theatrovision |
| Distributed by | Theater Television |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $230,000 |
| Box office | $11,000,000[1] or $4 million[2] |
Give 'em Hell, Harry! is a biographical play and 1975 film, written by playwrightSamuel Gallu. Both the play and film are a one-man show about former President of the United StatesHarry S. Truman.Give 'em Hell, Harry! starsJames Whitmore, and was directed bySteve Binder andPeter H. Hunt.
The title comes from an incident that took place during the1948 presidential election campaign. InBremerton, Washington, Truman delivered a speech attacking theRepublicans. During the speech, a supporter yelled out, "Give 'em Hell, Harry!" Truman replied, "I don't give them Hell. I just tell the truth about them, and they think it's Hell." Subsequently, "Give 'em Hell, Harry!" became a lifetime slogan for Truman supporters.
The play previewed inHershey, Pennsylvania, followed by its official opening atFord's Theatre in Washington, D. C. Its April 17, 1975, premiere was hosted by Truman's daughterMargaret, and attended by PresidentGerald Ford. The play then went on to a six-city tour, during which it was videotaped for film on the stage of theMoore Theatre inSeattle, using a live editing process calledTheatrovision.[3] It was also recorded and released byUnited Artists Records.
Although the play has been regularly revived, it did not make its New York debut until July 2008 atSt. Luke's Theatre.Clifton Truman Daniel portrayed his grandfather in the title role in several performances in 2023.[4]
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Actor | James Whitmore | Nominated | [5] |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Nominated | [6] | |
| Grammy Awards | Best Spoken Word Recording | Won | [7] |
Give 'em Hell, Harry! is only the third film to have its entire credited cast (Whitmore) nominated for anOscar, the first two beingWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in1966, for which almost all members excluding the extras were nominated, andSleuth in1972.[8]
