''The Brotherhood of the Bell'' is a 1970

made-for-television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature film, feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical f ...

produced by Cinema Center 100 Productions and starring

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...

. The director

Paul Wendkos Abraham Paul Wendkos (September 20, 1925 – November 12, 2009) was an American television and film director. Early life and education Wendkos was born in Philadelphia to parents Simon Wendkos and Judith Wendkos. Wendkos served in World War I ...

was nominated in 1971 by the

Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...

for "outstanding directorial achievement in television".

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wrote the screenplay based on his novel that had been previously filmed as a '' Studio One'' episode in 1958. This version aired as a "world premiere" ''

CBS Thursday Night Movie ''CBS Thursday Night Movie'' was the network's first venture into the weekly televising of then-recent theatrical films, debuting at the start of the 1965–66 United States network television schedule, 1965–1966 season, from 9:00 to 11 p.m. (E ...

''. The film depicts a successful

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professor, Dr. Andrew Patterson, who discovers that an elite fraternity he joined as an undergraduate is really a callous banking and business cabal that obtains wealth and power for its members through nefarious practices.

Plot

Professor Andrew Patterson (

) returns to his ''alma mater'', the College of St. George in San Francisco. He is attending the initiation of a new member into a secret society, the Brotherhood of the Bell. The man who initiated Patterson 22 years earlier, financier Chad Harmon (

Dean Jagger Dean Jagger (November 7, 1903 – February 5, 1991) was an American film, stage, and television actor who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Henry King's ''Twelve O'Clock High'' (1949). Early life Dean Jeffrie ...

), is presiding at the ceremony. Harmon gives Patterson an address and instructs him to go there to receive an assignment from the society; Patterson has been selected to prevent Dr. Konstantin Horvathy (

Eduard Franz Eduard Franz Schmidt (October 31, 1902 – February 10, 1983) was an American actor of theatre, film and television. Franz portrayed King Ahab in the 1953 biblical low-budget film ''Sins of Jezebel'', Jethro in Cecil B. DeMille's ''The Ten ...

) from accepting a deanship at a college of linguistics. The Brotherhood wants this post for one of their own. Patterson is given dossiers of people who helped Horvathy defect to the United States, and he is to threaten to reveal these to the government of Horvathy's homeland if Horvathy accepts the new post. Against Brotherhood policy, Patterson consults Harmon about the legality and ethics of his assignment. Harmon tells Patterson to do it and be grateful that more is not asked of him. Patterson returns home to Los Angeles and immediately contacts Dr. Horvathy. Unable to persuade him to decline the position, he presents him with photostats of the dossiers. Horvathy, who is a lifelong refugee from Fascism and Communism, commits suicide. Remorse causes Patterson to confide in his wife, Vivian (

Rosemary Forsyth Rosemary Forsyth is a Canadian-born American actress most notable for her role as Bronwyn opposite Charlton Heston in '' The War Lord'' in 1965. Early years Forsyth was born in Montreal, Quebec. Her father, David Forsyth, was Scots-Canadian ...

), and his father-in-law Harry Masters ( Maurice Evans), and he announces a desire to reveal the Brotherhood's actions to the public. In taking Patterson to see a certain Thaddeus Burns, a supposed agent of the Federal Security Services (the film's fictional version of the FBI), Masters is secretly helping the Brotherhood to recover the Horvathy dossiers before Patterson can use them in his plan to expose the Brotherhood. Burns takes the dossiers from Patterson, and Masters subsequently denies taking Patterson to see Burns. Patterson is alienated from his father-in-law and his wife, who then leaves him. Patterson is informed by Chad Harmon that his and his father's achievements were not their own, but covert favors bestowed at the behest of the Brotherhood. After Patterson goes public with his exposé, his father (

Will Geer Will Geer (born William Aughe Ghere; March 9, 1902 – April 22, 1978) was an American actor, musician, and social activist, who was active in labor organizing and other movements in New York and Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. In Ca ...

), the CEO of a multi-million dollar company, is singled out by the IRS for fraud. The elder Patterson lashes out against Harry Masters in response, suffers a stroke and dies. Patterson is relieved of his professorship through the machinations of the Brotherhood. Patterson finds himself increasingly isolated, and reaches rock bottom when he appears on a local television talk show. The host Bart Harris ( William Conrad) humiliates him on the air, and Patterson lashes out at him, landing him in jail. He is bailed out by his former boss, Dr. Jerry Fielder (

William Smithers William Smithers (born July 10, 1927) is an American actor, perhaps best known for his recurring role as Jeremy Wendell in the television series ''Dallas''. He appeared in the series in 1981 and from 1984 to 1989. Early life and career Smith ...

), who discovered that Patterson was telling the truth. He encourages Patterson to convince another Brother of the Bell to come forward, someone who has nothing to gain by doing so. That someone turns out to be Philip Dunning (

Robert Pine Robert Pine (born Granville Whitelaw Pine, July 10, 1941) is an American actor who is best known as Sgt. Joseph Getraer on the television series ''CHiPs'' (1977–1983). Including ''CHiPs'', Pine has appeared in over 400 episodes of television. ...

), the one initiated at the beginning of the story.

Cast

Background

An earlier dramatic adaptation of the novel was made for the '' Studio One'' anthology series, and aired January 6, 1958. Scenes at the fictional College of St. George were filmed at

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

Home Media

On December 8, 2015, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. released the DVD edition of the film. The approximate running time of the film presented in

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format is 97 minutes.

References

External links