A pivotal moment in Rita Schwerner's life was played out in front of an audience of millions watching last month's fact-based telemovie, "Murder in Mississippi."
In the scene, Schwerner, played by Jennifer Grey, was in a 1964 Mississippi laundromat washing out a few things for herself and her husband, Mickey, a civil rights activist. The idealistic young couple, in town to help blacks register to vote, had been horribly mistreated by the local "white trash" element, with threatening phone calls, confrontations and tire slashings all frighteningly portrayed in the film.But it all came to a head as Schwerner was seen sorting clean clothes on a sweltering summer evening. A small gang of grinning white yokels appeared in the laundromat, taunting her and fiddling with her just-washed undergarments. Then the talk turned to brutal action, as a couple of the young men grabbed and groped her, tugging at her clothes and making it clear they meant to do her harm - until a local woman who knew the boys happened into the laundromat and chased them away.
It was a critical and memorable scene, leading to some of the most introspective, contemplative moments of the movie, as Rita and Mickey questioned each other and the utility of their devotion to the cause of civil rights. And it was well-executed, with tight camera work, intense physical acting and an appropriately pounding musical background.
Oh, and one other thing about that scene from "Murder in Mississippi."
It was a lie.
It never happened. Series producers made up the scene as a way of putting a dramatic exclamation mark on the Schwerner's experiences with bigotry in Mississippi. "Certainly something like that could have happened," producer David L. Wolper told TV critics during the January network press tour. "In that sense, it's perfectly accurate to the tone of the times. But as for it being an absolute reflection of real events, no, it didn't happen."
While the scene detracted from the historical reliability of "Murder in Mississippi," it was at least consistent with reality. But that hasn't always been the case with TV docudramas - especially not this season, when history has taken a beating at the hands of filmmakers in such "fact-based" television events as:
- TNT's "The Secret Life of Ian Fleming," in which Jason Connery plays the author who created the character (James Bond) who made his father (Sean Connery) famous. An attempt was made to portray Fleming's pre-literary career as the action-filled source of his 007 yarn-spinning, when in fact his work was more book-ish than Bond-ish.
- ABC's "Challenger," a supposed tribute to the seven men and women who died aboard the ill-fated space shuttle. Not only was the film blasted by the families of the fallen astronauts as "a callous invasion of (the families') privacy," but it also featured entire scenes that could only be described as fiction, since no one who was actually present is still alive.
- ABC's "The Kennedys of Massachusetts," which somehow found a way to tell the story of the Joe and Rose Kennedy family without once mentioning his well-documented career as a bootlegger. Or, for that matter, Jackie Kennedy.
- CBS's "Family of Spies: The Walker Spy Ring," which distorted the facts of the case in the casting process. One of the things that made John Walker such a successful spy was that he was so plain and nondescript. Powers Booth is a fine actor, but he doesn't do "plain and nondescript" very well. And we won't even mention the glamour Leslie Anne Warren brought to playing his wife.
- TNT's upcoming "The Rose and the Jackal," with Christopher Reeve as Secret Service founder Allan Pinkerton and Madolyn Smith Osborne as Southern spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow. The film boasts of its historical accuracy up to the point where Pinkerton meets Greenhow. Then it spins off into a complete fiction about a romance between the two that never actually happened.
Add to those the questions of accuracy - and, occasionally, taste - that have been raised about "The Preppy Murder" (ABC), "Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer" (NBC), "Cross of Fire" (NBC), "Howard Beach: Making the Case for Murder" (NBC) and the two Rock Hudson biographies, and perhaps you'll understand why some members of the Hollywood community get a little testy when the integrity of TV docudramas is questioned.
"This is not history," "The Rose and the Jackal" producer Barry Bernardi insisted during the press tour. "It's a dramatic entertainment about characters who have a basis in history."
"This isn't really a radical departure from the truth," added Reeve. "It's about a very possible relationship between two obsessive people."
But it's still about a relationship that never actually happened - and that's where purists (and some TV critics) become frustrated with many docudramas and their brand of revisionist history. While allowing room for "dramatic license" and "interpretive freedom" - including the frequent use of composite characters or even new characters to help simplify storytelling - they wonder why any story is chosen for dramatization if the cold, hard facts alone aren't dramatic enough.
"The docudrama is a cheat," said media watchdog Fred Friendly. "They're playing fast and loose with the truth. Once they cross that line into make-believe, they reduce the coin of the realm appreciably."
Network executives, of course, don't see it that way. In fact, the CBS program standards manual says that "fictionalized events consistent with the events being presented may amplify or enhance the story, so long as they do not materially alter or distort history."
But who's to say when a historical fact has been altered or distorted? Producer George Englund Sr. stands by his "Challenger" docudrama, insisting that "we got it right" when it came to accurately portraying the seven astronauts and events leading up to the tragedy. But family members disagree, charging the docudrama with "stealing (the loved ones') souls" and "trampling on the emotions" of bereaved widows and children.
"The problem with all docudramas is they are painful to someone," said noted actor James Earl Jones, who will co-star in NBC's upcoming docudrama about the "Last Flight Out" of Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. "You're never going to satisfy everyone. But I'll fight for the right of the artist to shine his light on the subject. And as long as he takes a moral point of view, I'll go in there with him."
Which is fine. But be sure you keep your eyes wide open. And when you see something that makes you say "Gee, I didn't know that happened," force yourself to remember that there's a pretty good chance it didn't.