''Daniel'' is a 1983 British-American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...
directed by
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for '' 12 Angry Men'' (1957), ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976) ...
, which was adapted by
E. L. Doctorow
Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction.
He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama. They included ...
from his 1971 novel ''
The Book of Daniel''. Paul and Rochelle Isaacson (based on Julis and Ethel Rosenberg) are played by
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...
and
Lindsay Crouse
Lindsay Ann Crouse is a retired American actress. She made her Broadway debut in the 1972 revival of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and appeared in her first film in 1976 in ''All the President's Men''. For her role in the 1984 film ''Places in the ...
. Their son Daniel is played by
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...
, his wife Phyllis by
Ellen Barkin
Ellen Rona Barkin (born April 16, 1954) is an American actress and a producer. Her breakthrough role was in the 1982 film ''Diner'', and in the following years, she had starring roles in films such as ''Tender Mercies'' (1983), ''Eddie and the ...
, and their (fictional) daughter Susan by
Amanda Plummer
Amanda Michael Plummer (born March 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her roles in such films as ''Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), ''The Fisher King'' (1991), ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), and '' The Hunger ...
. In actuality, the Rosenbergs had two sons,
Michael and
Robert
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
.
Ed Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...
and
Maria Tucci
Maria Tucci (born June 19, 1941) is an American actress.
She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 1967 for her performance in '' The Rose Tattoo''. She played Koula in the 2015 mini-series '' The Slap''. She al ...
also appear in the film.
Plot
The film was based on the life story of
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple were convicted of providing top-secret i ...
, who were convicted as spies and executed in the electric chair by the United States government in 1953 for giving nuclear secrets to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
. This story follows their fictionalized son as he attempts to find out the truth.
Cast
*
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton (born August 16, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is the youngest recipient of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at age 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in ''Ordinary People ...
as Daniel Isaacson
*
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...
as Paul Isaacson
*
Lindsay Crouse
Lindsay Ann Crouse is a retired American actress. She made her Broadway debut in the 1972 revival of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and appeared in her first film in 1976 in ''All the President's Men''. For her role in the 1984 film ''Places in the ...
as Rochelle Isaacson
*
Edward Asner
Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' an ...
as Jacob Ascher
*
Ellen Barkin
Ellen Rona Barkin (born April 16, 1954) is an American actress and a producer. Her breakthrough role was in the 1982 film ''Diner'', and in the following years, she had starring roles in films such as ''Tender Mercies'' (1983), ''Eddie and the ...
as Phyllis Isaacson
*
Julie Bovasso
Julia Anne Bovasso (August 1, 1930 – September 14, 1991) was an American actress of stage, screen, and television.
Life and career
Bovasso was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of that borough, the daughter ...
as Frieda Stein
*
Tovah Feldshuh
Terri Sue "Tovah" Feldshuh (born December 27, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and playwright. She has been a Broadway star for more than four decades, earning four Tony Award nominations. She has also received two Emmy Award nominations fo ...
as Linda Mindish
*
Carmen Mathews
Carmen Sylvia Mathews (May 8, 1911 – August 31, 1995) was an American actress and environmentalist.
Biography
Mathews was born in Philadelphia. She studied first at Bennett Junior College and then in London at the Royal Academy of Dram ...
as Mrs. Ascher
*
Amanda Plummer
Amanda Michael Plummer (born March 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her roles in such films as ''Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), ''The Fisher King'' (1991), ''Pulp Fiction'' (1994), and '' The Hunger ...
as Susan Isaacson
*
Lee Richardson as Reporter
*
John Rubinstein
John Rubinstein (born December 8, 1946) is an American actor, composer and director.
Early life
Rubinstein is the son of Polish parents. His mother, Aniela (née Młynarska), a dancer and writer, was a Roman Catholic native of Warsaw, the daug ...
as Robert Lewin
*
Colin Stinton
Colin Stinton (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian actor.
Early life
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1947, Stinton moved to the United States as a child in 1952. He lived in a trailer with his family—traveling throughout the U.S. and fina ...
as Dale
*
Maria Tucci
Maria Tucci (born June 19, 1941) is an American actress.
She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 1967 for her performance in '' The Rose Tattoo''. She played Koula in the 2015 mini-series '' The Slap''. She al ...
as Lise Lewin
*
Ilan Mitchell-Smith as Young Daniel Isaacson
*
Peter Friedman
Peter Friedman (born April 24, 1949) is an American stage, film, and television actor.
Life and career
Born in New York City, Friedman graduated from Hofstra University[Will Lee
William Lee (born William Lubovsky; August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was best known for playing Mr. Hooper, the original store proprietor of the eponymous Hoope ...]
as Judge
*
David Margulies
David Joseph Margulies (February 19, 1937 – January 11, 2016) was an American actor.
Early life
Margulies was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Runya (''née'' Zeltzer), a nurse and museum employee, and Harry David Margulies, a la ...
as Dr. Duberstein
*
Leo Burmester
Bernard Leo Burmester (February 1, 1945 – June 28, 2007) was an American actor. Burmester worked for director John Sayles several times, including in '' Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' Lone Star'' (1996), and also for directors such as John Sch ...
as FBI Agent
*
Rosetta LeNoire
Rosetta LeNoire (born Rosetta Olive Burton; August 8, 1911 – March 17, 2002) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to contemporary audiences for her work in television. She had regular roles on such series as ' ...
as Prison Matron
*
Ron McLarty
Ronald William McLarty (April 26, 1947 – February 8, 2020) was an American actor, playwright, and novelist. He also worked as an audiobook narrator, in which role he recorded over 100 titles and received many Audie Awards.
McLarty appeare ...
as Prison Guard
*
Nicholas Saunders as Jail Doctor
*
Daniel Stern as Artie Sternlicht
*
Lee Wallace
Lee Wallace (born 1 August 1987) is a Scottish former professional footballer. He represented the Scotland national team with 10 caps.
Wallace started his career Heart of Midlothian, making his debut in 2005 at age seventeen, and joined Ran ...
as Mayor
Reception
''Daniel'' received mixed reviews and was not a box office success upon its limited release. It currently holds a 43% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
.
References
External links
*
*
*
Daniel
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
Films based on American novels
Daniel
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
Films about capital punishment
Films set in New York City
Films set in Washington, D.C.
Films set in Los Angeles
Films set in the 1930s
Films set in the 1940s
Films set in the 1950s
Films set in the 1960s
1983 drama films
Cultural depictions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
1980s English-language films
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