Themes: Miscarriage of Justice, Courts Martial, Military Life
Main Cast: Martin Sheen, Ned Beatty, Mariclare Costello, Gary Busey, Matt Clark
Release Year: 1974
Country: US
Run Time: 122 minutes
Plot
In 1945, private Eddie Slovik, a "born loser" who made no secret of his desire to escape the army in any way possible, became the first American to be executed for desertion since the Civil War. William Bradford Huie's chronicle of this unfortunate wartime episode, The Execution of Private Slovik, was published in 1954. Frank Sinatra optioned the movie rights for the book, intending to cast Steve McQueen as Slovik and to have blacklisted writer Albert Maltz write the screenplay. The US military reluctantly agreed to okay the film on the proviso that Slovik would not be portrayed sympathetically. Out of deference to his friend John F. Kennedy, Sinatra abandoned the project, and that was that -- until the award-winning TV-writing team of Richard Levinson and William Link became intrigued in the Huie book. After a series of convoluted negotiations, Levinson and Link were finally able to put The Execution of Private Slovik on the small screen on March 13, 1974 (Albert Maltz, upset that the pair had decided upon a strict "no villains" policy in their adaptation, washed his hands of the whole affair). Martin Sheen was selected to play Slovik, though for a while Dustin Hoffman was seriously considering taking a cut in salary to essay the role. Abandoning the linear style of Huie's book, the writers adopted a Citizen Kane approach, using flashbacks to illustrate the events leading up to the execution. It is made clear throughout the film that no one, neither the military brass nor Slovik himself, truly believed that the private would ever face a firing squad; the usual custom was to postpone the execution until after the war, then reduce the sentence to a long prison term. Thanks to an unfortunate chain of misunderstandings and snafus, Slovik ended up dying by gunfire in a lonely French courtyard -- a fact long withheld from the public (Slovik's wife Antoinette learned of her husband's true fate for the first time from author Huie). The film's most famous scene, in which Slovik nervously repeats his "Hail Marys" as the hood is being fitted over his head, was Martin Sheen's own idea. Filmed on location in California and Canada, The Execution of Private Slovik won a Peabody award for the NBC television network. Originally running a full 120 minutes, it was re-edited into a 97 minute version for theatrical release overseas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Tom Bronson - Costume Designer, Lamont Johnson - Director, Frank Morriss - Editor, Hal Mooney - Composer (Music Score), Bill Butler - Cinematographer, Richard S. Dubelman - Producer, Lamont Johnson - Screenwriter, William Link - Screenwriter, Richard A. Levinson - Screenwriter, William Bradford Huie - Book Author
The book and the film tell the story of Private Eddie Slovik, the only American soldier to be executed for desertion since the American Civil War. The film starred Martin Sheen as Private Slovik for which he received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama. Many critics and viewers consider this to be one of Sheen's finest performances, noting in particular the firing squad execution scene when Slovik recites the Roman Catholic prayer, Hail Mary. This film was also the debut film of actor Charlie Sheen.
Among the other Emmy Award nominations, the film was named for "Outstanding Special."
Development
In 1960Frank Sinatra announced that he would produce a film adaptation of The Execution of Private Slovik, to be written by blacklistedHollywood 10screenwriterAlbert Maltz. This announcement evoked tremendous outrage, with Sinatra accused of being a Communist sympathizer. As Sinatra was campaigning for John F. Kennedy for President, the Kennedy campaign became concerned and ultimately prevailed upon Sinatra to cancel the project.[2] Slovik's execution is featured in a scene in the 1963 film The Victors, coincidentally accompanied by a Sinatra Christmas recording.
The military service record of Eddie Slovik, which is now a public archival record available from the Military Personnel Records Center, provides a detailed account of the actual execution of Slovik which took place in 1945 and it was upon this that most of the film was based. The execution in the film, including the missed shots by the firing squad which led to Slovik dying slowly on the firing post over a course of five minutes, are deemed totally accurate as compared to the actual execution. A slight dramatic license does occur in the final scene, as there is no evidence that the priest attending Slovik's execution shouted "give it another volley if you like it so much" after the doctor indicated Slovik was still alive.
References
^ "The Execution of Private Slovik" by William Bradford Huie, ISBN 1594160031
^ His way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra by Kitty Kelly, pp. 296-301 ISBN 0-553-26515-6
