Main Cast: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Perkins, Laurence Harvey, Pat Hingle
Release Year: 1970
Country: US
Run Time: 115 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Paul Newman served as co-producer of this allegorical drama and stars as Rheinhardt, a opportunistic drifter who ends up in New Orleans and hits up his old friend Farley (Laurence Harvey), a con man-turned-phony preacher, for a job. Farley is able to get Rheinhardt hired on as an announcer at a local radio station, WUSA, but the station is a right-wing propaganda mill that devotes its air time to venomous tirades against political and social progress. Rheinhardt is happy to be making decent money, and he makes the friendly acquaintance of a local working girl, Geraldine (Joanne Woodward), so he refuses to look his gift horse in the mouth. However, when he finds out that WUSA is actually involved in shadowy political actions, he is at a loss for what to do, especially after a naïve and troubled social worker (Anthony Perkins) is tricked into starting a race riot. Robert Stone wrote the screenplay, adapted from his novel A Hall of Mirrors. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Philip M. Jefferies - Art Director, William Travilla - Costume Designer, Hank Moonjean - First Assistant Director, Stuart Rosenberg - Director, Bob Wyman - Editor, Neil Diamond - Composer (Music Score), Lalo Schifrin - Composer (Music Score), Lalo Schifrin - Musical Direction/Supervision, Neil Diamond - Songwriter, Jack P. Wilson - Makeup, Lynn Reynolds - Makeup, Richard Moore - Cinematographer, John C. Foreman - Producer, Hank Moonjean - Producer, Paul Newman - Producer, William Kiernan - Set Designer, Jerry Jost - Sound/Sound Designer, Richard Portman - Sound/Sound Designer, Robert Stone - Screenwriter
WUSA is a 1970drama film, directed by Stuart Rosenberg. It is based on Robert Stone's novel A Hall of Mirrors. Robert Stone states in his book "Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties" that this movie was an embarrassment and that he still cringes when he sees it on television.[citation needed] As of March of 2008, the film has never been released on home video.
The story involves a radio station in New Orleans with the eponymous call sign which is apparently involved in a so-called "right-wing conspiracy". It is unrelated to the television station which currently has this call sign.
