Product Details

• Actors: James Whitmore
• Directors: Peter H. Hunt, Steve Binder
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Republic Pictures / Worldvision
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000IQ4Z
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,888 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give 'Em Hell Harry, January 22, 2000

By A Customer

The video of James Whitmore's one-man-show "Give 'Em Hell Harry" is a modern classic. It was recorded over 20 years ago, but it has lost nothing. In the play President Harry Truman tells the audience anecdotes about his life. If Truman was half as funny as Whitmore portrays him, then he probably had the best sense of humor of any American President in history. But Whitmore's portrayal also gives us new insights into the America of our parents and grandparents. The video is incredible.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great performance, he even looks like Truman., April 19, 2002

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This play has three criteria for success: a good script, a masterful performance by a talented actor who looks a great deal like the subject and excellent original material. In my opinion, Harry Truman was the second best president of the twentieth century, slightly behind Franklin Roosevelt. Incredibly courageous, self-confident and yet humble, he did more to win the cold war than anyone else.
I laughed a deep belly laugh at some of the jokes, but if you are not familiar with the history of the times, you might not understand them. There is also a great deal of passion in the play. Whitmore's rendition of the "conversation" between Truman and General Douglas Macarthur is intense and very close to historically accurate. I found myself picturing the look of astonishment that must have been on the General's face when the little man that he felt was so beneath him had the temerity to dress him down. I do not know if Truman really visited a Klan rally and denounced their bigotry, if he did he showed a good deal more courage than he did sense. But as theater, it is masterful drama and I found myself wishing that he was indeed foolish enough to do it.
This is one of the best plays that I have ever seen. It deals with a man and a segment of history that drastically altered the course of human events. While short, Truman was a giant of a man and here you see some of the feistiness that made him great. Historical dramatizations rarely move me, but this one did.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hary Truman ...Plus., February 15, 2006

By	JOHN GODFREY (Milwaukee ,WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm not sure Harry Truman got as worked up as James Whitmore sometimes did in his one man show Give 'em Hell Harry. He may be guilty of over-acting but that makes for great theater, which is exactly what this was, a live performance from 1975. Not too much new has been revealed since then except for several excellent biographies & a rising feeling that Truman was a near-great president. The resemblance is amazing. There is some artful editing, but there appears to be three acts.
The first takes place early in his administration in the oval office & back home mowing the lawn in Independence. He reminisces about his early life, his action in World WarI & early years in politics. He lived in his mother-in-laws home most of his adult life, except when he lived in Washington D.C. The second act is late into his aministration & he is in the process of firing Gen. McArthur. His favorite year in politics was 1948 when he beat Dewey & the Republicans against all odds. He revered Gen. George Marshall, liked Hebert Hoover, hated McArthur, disliked Ike. He called Richard Nixon a liar, didn't care much for JFK & was disappointed with Adali Stevenson. He scourged Joe McCarthy & called him a drunk. This play is all around informative, entertaining & profane. James Whitmore did Harry Truman proud.