''The Enemy Within'' is a 1994 American

political thriller A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle, high stakes and suspense is the core of the story. The genre often forces the audiences to consider and understand the importance of politics. The st ...

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

directed by Jonathan Darby and written by Darryl Ponicsan and

Ronald Bass Ronald Jay Bass (born March 26, 1942), sometimes credited as Ron Bass, is an American screenwriter and film producer. He won an Academy Award for writing the screenplay for Barry Levinson's film ''Rain Man'', and films that Bass is associated ...

. It is a remake of the 1964 film ''

Seven Days in May ''Seven Days in May'' is a 1964 American political thriller film about a military-political cabal's planned takeover of the United States government in reaction to the president's negotiation of a disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union. The ...

'', itself based on a 1962 novel, and stars

Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. After making his f ...

, Jason Robards, Jr.,

Dana Delany Dana Welles Delany (born March 13, 1956) is an American actress. After appearing in small roles early in her career, Delany received her breakthrough role as Colleen McMurphy on the ABC television drama '' China Beach'' (1988–1991), for whic ...

and

Sam Waterston Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and, film. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and has receive ...

. The film involves a planned military coup to overthrow the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

. The television film remake was originally announced in 1984, while producer Peter Douglas worked for his father's film production company The Bryna Company (which had produced ''Seven Days in May)''. The film took ten years to develop and was finally produced in 1994 through Peter Douglas' own film production company, Vincent Pictures. It aired on HBO on August 20, 1994.

Plot summary

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

Colonel Lyle MacArthur "Mac" Casey discovers an apparent plan by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General R. Pendleton Lloyd and Secretary of Defense Charles Potter to remove President William Foster from office and replace him with Vice President Walter Kelly, who they feel would be more willing to do their bidding. Casey and Foster desperately seek evidence before the coup occurs. They encounter a setback when Attorney General Arthur Daniels (who has told Potter about his misgivings about the constitutionality of the plan) is murdered. Casey contacts long time acquaintance Betsy Corcoran, who is Foster's Chief of Staff, and is able to secretly bring his concerns to Foster. With only a few days left until the coup, Casey receives unexpected support from "Jake", a Russian operative able to supply the kind of satellite and photographic proof that Foster cannot risk requesting of anyone in the compromised

US intelligence community The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. When Jake provides access to Sarah McCann, secretary to the murdered Daniels and secretly a Russian agent, Lloyd's operatives assassinate her. When all else fails, with troops deployed in 12 major cities and Lloyd and Potter in the Oval Office demanding Foster's resignation, Casey advises that he will confess to being part of their conspiracy (having uncovered enough information to sound legitimate in his so-called confession), denying the true conspirators any chance of claiming that they have acted within the Constitution. Lloyd resigns, and Foster tells Potter that he and that other conspirators will simply resign in stages over the coming year, in order to prevent knowledge of, and a panic regarding, their treasonous acts.

Cast

References

External links

* 1994 television films 1994 films 1994 thriller films 1990s English-language films 1990s political thriller films American political thriller films American thriller television films Films about coups d'état Films about the United States Marine Corps Films based on adaptations Films based on American thriller novels Films scored by Joe Delia Films with screenplays by Ronald Bass HBO Films films Political film remakes Remakes of American films Thriller film remakes Television films based on books Television remakes of films 1990s American films {{US-tv-thriller-film-stub