Point of Order
Description
The only available footage of the Army-McCarthy hearings is the film Point of Order released in 1964. It is 97 minutes long. The original coverage of the hearings was 188 hours long and formless
. So, director Emile de Antonio had to impose a structure on the footage to make it a coherent and compelling account of McCarthy’s eventual collapse.
1
Even though the film is a visual interpretation of the hearings, it was produced from the original televised hearings, and provides students an idea of what watching the hearings was like for the American public. After viewing the film students will respond in writing to questions about it.
Note
1 Emile de Antonio,The Point of View in Point of Order,Film Comment, 2.1, (Winter, 1964): 35-36; Vance Kepley, Jr.
The Order of `Point of Order,'Film History, 13.2, Non-Fiction Film (2001): 200.
Video
Point of Order
Files
Handouts
- Point of Order Questions
- The Order of Point of Order Article A supplemental reading for instructors, it provides background on the film.
- McCarthyism Article A supplemental reading for instructors.