''Guilty by Suspicion'' is a 1991 American drama film about the

Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...

, McCarthyism, and the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Written and directed by

Irwin Winkler Irwin Winkler (born May 28, 1931) is an American film producer and director. He is the producer or director of over 58 motion pictures, dating back to 1967's '' Double Trouble'', starring Elvis Presley. The fourth film he produced, '' They Shoot ...

, it stars Robert De Niro,

Annette Bening Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominati ...

, and

George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom '' Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Em ...

. The character of David Merrill was inspired by the experiences of John Berry during the Hollywood blacklist era. The film was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot summary

David Merrill, a director in 1950s Hollywood, returns from abroad to find that a rising tide of McCarthyism and the Red Scare has led to him not being allowed to work in films. He will only be allowed to direct once he implicates colleagues as Communist agents. He must decide whether to turn informant, or to stick to principle at the cost of his life's work.

Cast

* Robert De Niro as David Merrill *

as Ruth Merrill *

as Bunny Baxter * Patricia Wettig as Dorothy Nolan *

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited a ...

as Felix Graff * Luke Edwards as Paulie Merrill *

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), ''October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' Ca ...

as Larry Nolan * Ben Piazza as

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

as Joe Lesser *

Barry Primus Barry Primus (born February 16, 1938) is an American television and film actor, director, and writer. Career While Primus is primarily an actor, he has also worked as a writer and director in films in which he has acted. For the first decade ...

as Bert Alan *

Gailard Sartain Gailard Sartain (born September 18, 1946) is an American retired actor, often playing characters with roots in the South. He was a regular on the country music variety series ''Hee Haw''. He is also known for his roles in three of the Ernest m ...

as Chairman Wood *

Robin Gammell Robin Gammell (born September 22, 1936) is a Canadian film, television and stage actor."Transplanted to Hollywood". ''The Globe and Mail'', January 24, 1981. Career Gammell began acting as a junior ensemble member at the Stratford Shakespeare F ...

as Congressman Clyde Howard Tavenner *

Brad Sullivan Bradford Ernest Sullivan (November 18, 1931 – December 31, 2008) was an American character actor on film, stage and television. He was best known for playing the killer Cole in ''The Sting'', hockey goon Mo Wanchuk in ''Slap Shot'', mobster Geo ...

as Congressman

Harold H. Velde Harold Himmel Velde (April 1, 1910 – September 1, 1985) was a Republican American political figure from Illinois. While United States Congressman for Illinois's 18th congressional district he was chairman of the House Un-American Activities Co ...

* Tom Sizemore as Ray Karlin *

Stuart Margolin Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American film, theater, and television actor and director who won two Emmy Awards for playing Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series ''The Rockford Files''. In 1973, h ...

as Abe Barron * Roxann Biggs as Felicia Barron *

Barry Tubb Barry York Tubb (born February 13, 1963) is an American actor and director. He has worked in both television and film between 1983 and 2014. Early life Tubb was born in Snyder, Texas, in 1963. He won the state bull-riding championship at age 15 ...

as Jerry Cooper *

Adam Baldwin Adam Baldwin (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in ''Full Metal Jacket'' (1987) as Animal Mother, as well as in the television series '' Firefly'' and its continuation film '' Serenity'' as Jayne Cobb. His roles include St ...

as FBI Agent #1

Reception

The film opened to positive reviews and earned praise for Robert De Niro's performance. Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four stars and wrote that the film "teaches a lesson we are always in danger of forgetting: that the greatest service we can do our country is to be true to our conscience." On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American 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, and Stephen Wang ...

, it holds a rating of 67% from 18 reviews.

References

External links

* * * * * 1991 films American legal drama films 1991 drama films 1990s legal films American courtroom films Films directed by Irwin Winkler Films about the Hollywood blacklist Warner Bros. films Films scored by James Newton Howard Films set in 1951 1991 directorial debut films Films produced by Arnon Milchan 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-drama-film-stub