Friendly Fire (1979)
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The Emmy-winning TV movie Friendly Fire was adapted by Fay Kanin from the fact-based book by C.D.B. Bryan. Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty play Peg and Gene Mullen, the parents of a young soldier who is killed in Vietnam. Dissatisfied with the "official" version of their son's death, Peg and Gene conduct a soul-wrenching investigation of their own. Only after months of military stonewalling does the truth come out: their son was accidentally killed by "friendly fire" from American artillery. This revelation leads to Peg Mullen's full-scale embracing of the anti-war movement. Even allowing for the grimness of the story, Carol Burnett's taciturn performance wears on the viewer after a while (one wonders if Peg Mullen ever smiled before her son died). Far better within the framework of the film is the superbly detailed performance of Ned Beatty as Gene. Friendly Fire was originally offered on April 22, 1979, as an ABC Theatre presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Complete Cast:
- Carol Burnett - Peg Mullen
- Sam Waterston - C.D. Bryan
- Timothy Hutton - John Mullen
- Michael Flanagan - Father Shimon
- Sherry Hursey - Mary Mullen
- Nicolas Coster - Carl
- Mark L. Taylor - Capt. Bannock
- Jenny Sullivan - Mrs. Bryan
- Hilly Hicks - Willis Huddleston
- David Keith - Young Hamilton
- Phillip Richard Allen - Ralph Jenner
- Jack Rader - Sgt. Fitzgerald
- Ned Beatty - Gene Mullen
- Dennis Erdman - Michael Mullen
- Howard Culver - Newscaster
- Vernon Weddle - Col. Georgi
- William Jordan - Col. Byron Schindler
- Steve Bonino - Prince
- Robert Wahler - Alan Hulting
- Charles Cyphers - Tom Loomis
- Bernard Behrens - Dietrich
- Fanny Spies - Pat Mullen
- Ford Rainey - Hamilton
- Sierra Pecheur - Mrs. Hamilton
- Director(s):
- David Greene
- Writer(s):
- Fay Kanin
- Producer(s):
- Philip Barry Jr., Fay Kanin
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- Subtitles:
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- 1979 - Academy of Television Arts and Sciences - Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special
