Point of Order (film)
Encyclopedia
Point of Order! is a 1964
documentary film
about the Senate
Army-McCarthy Hearings
of 1954. The hearings were broadcast live on television
in their entirety and also recorded via kinescope
. Made without narration, the film was compiled from the kinescope recordings and reduced to 93 minutes out of 187 hours.
The Army-McCarthy Hearings came about when the Army
accused Senator Joseph McCarthy
of improperly pressuring the Army for special privileges for Private G. David Schine
, formerly of McCarthy's investigative staff. McCarthy counter-charged that the Army was holding Schine hostage to keep him from searching for Communists in the Army.
Point of Order! contains the most famous exchange of the Army-McCarthy hearings, when Senator McCarthy
attempts to accuse Army counsel Joseph Welch
of having tried to get a lawyer he characterizes as a possible former communist appointed as a counsel to the Committee. The exchange culminates with Welch asking rhetorically of McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
The film ends with a scene that stands as a metaphor for McCarthy's rapidly crumbling influence on the nation. It shows a heated exchange between Democratic Senator Stuart Symington
and McCarthy that occurred near the end of the hearings and late in the afternoon, when the hearings were about to adjourn for the day. Symington sharply questions the handling of McCarthy's secret files by his staff. McCarthy calls this a "smear" against the men on his staff, and as Symington starts to leave, McCarthy accuses him of using "the same tactics that the Communist Party has used for too long." Symington returns to the microphone and says: "Apparently every time anybody says anything against anybody working for Senator McCarthy, he is declaring them and accusing them of being Communists!" Symington leaves and the hearings adjourn. McCarthy continues his passionate but repetitious defense of his staff and his attack on Symington, speaking to an increasingly empty chamber.
and Daniel Talbot
. David T. Bazelon served as editorial consultant. While the Internet Movie Database credits the film as being written by poet Robert Duncan
and de Antonio, Duncan is not mentioned in the book that was issued at the same time as the movie. There is no commentary or narrative in the documentary, so crediting writers seems unusual.
. David T. Bazelon wrote the introduction and epilogue.
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
1964 in film
The year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Army-McCarthy Hearings
Army-McCarthy Hearings
The Army–McCarthy hearings were a series of hearings held by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations between April 1954 and June 1954. The hearings were held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the United States Army and Senator Joseph McCarthy...
of 1954. The hearings were broadcast live on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
in their entirety and also recorded via kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
. Made without narration, the film was compiled from the kinescope recordings and reduced to 93 minutes out of 187 hours.
The Army-McCarthy Hearings came about when the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
accused Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
of improperly pressuring the Army for special privileges for Private G. David Schine
G. David Schine
Gerard David Schine, better known as G. David Schine or David Schine, was the wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune who received national attention when he became a central figure in the Army-McCarthy Hearings of 1954 in his role as the chief consultant to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on...
, formerly of McCarthy's investigative staff. McCarthy counter-charged that the Army was holding Schine hostage to keep him from searching for Communists in the Army.
Point of Order! contains the most famous exchange of the Army-McCarthy hearings, when Senator McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
attempts to accuse Army counsel Joseph Welch
Joseph Welch
Joseph Nye Welch was the head counsel for the United States Army while it was under investigation by Joseph McCarthy's Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations for Communist activities, an investigation known as the Army-McCarthy Hearings.- Early life :Welch was born in Primghar, Iowa on...
of having tried to get a lawyer he characterizes as a possible former communist appointed as a counsel to the Committee. The exchange culminates with Welch asking rhetorically of McCarthy, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
The film ends with a scene that stands as a metaphor for McCarthy's rapidly crumbling influence on the nation. It shows a heated exchange between Democratic Senator Stuart Symington
Stuart Symington
William Stuart Symington was a businessman and political figure from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a Democratic United States Senator from Missouri from 1953 to 1976.-Education and business career:...
and McCarthy that occurred near the end of the hearings and late in the afternoon, when the hearings were about to adjourn for the day. Symington sharply questions the handling of McCarthy's secret files by his staff. McCarthy calls this a "smear" against the men on his staff, and as Symington starts to leave, McCarthy accuses him of using "the same tactics that the Communist Party has used for too long." Symington returns to the microphone and says: "Apparently every time anybody says anything against anybody working for Senator McCarthy, he is declaring them and accusing them of being Communists!" Symington leaves and the hearings adjourn. McCarthy continues his passionate but repetitious defense of his staff and his attack on Symington, speaking to an increasingly empty chamber.
Production credits
Point of Order! was produced by Emile de AntonioEmile de Antonio
Emile de Antonio was a director and producer of documentary films, usually detailing political or social events circa 1960s–1980s...
and Daniel Talbot
Daniel Talbot
Daniel Talbot is a former footballer. He played in the Football League for Rushden & Diamonds before dropping into non-league football. His father is Brian Talbot.-References:...
. David T. Bazelon served as editorial consultant. While the Internet Movie Database credits the film as being written by poet Robert Duncan
Robert Duncan (poet)
Robert Duncan was an American poet and a student of H.D. and the Western esoteric tradition who spent most of his career in and around San Francisco. Though associated with any number of literary traditions and schools, Duncan is often identified with the poets of the New American Poetry and Black...
and de Antonio, Duncan is not mentioned in the book that was issued at the same time as the movie. There is no commentary or narrative in the documentary, so crediting writers seems unusual.
Book Tie-in
In 1964, W.W. Norton & Company published the book Point of Order! A Documentary of the Army-McCarthy Hearings, in book form. The 108-page book featured still photos captured from the kinescopes of CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. David T. Bazelon wrote the introduction and epilogue.
Honors
In 1993, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film RegistryNational Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".