Truman (1995 film)

Truman is a 1995 American biographical drama television film directed by Frank Pierson and written by Thomas Rickman, based on David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1992 book, Truman. Starring Gary Sinise as Harry S. Truman, the film centers on Truman's humble beginnings, his rise to the presidency, World War II, and his decision to use the first atomic bomb. The film's tagline is "It took a farmer's hand to shape a nation." The film aired on HBO on September 9, 1995.

Cast

 * Gary Sinise as Harry S. Truman
 * Diana Scarwid as Bess Truman
 * Richard Dysart as Henry L. Stimson
 * Colm Feore as Charlie Ross
 * James Gammon as Sam Rayburn
 * Tony Goldwyn as Clark Clifford
 * Pat Hingle as Boss Tom Pendergast
 * Harris Yulin as General George C. Marshall
 * Leo Burmester as Frank Vassar
 * Amelia Campbell as Margaret Truman
 * Virginia Capers as Elizabeth Moore
 * John Finn as Bob Hannegan
 * Željko Ivanek as Eddie Jacobson
 * David Lansbury as Lt. Jim Pendergast
 * Remak Ramsay as Dean Acheson
 * Marian Seldes as Eleanor Roosevelt
 * Lois Smith as Madge Wallace Gates
 * Richard Venture as J. Lester Perry
 * Daniel von Bargen as General Douglas MacArthur
 * Michael Murphy as Dinner Speaker (uncredited)

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 89% rating based on reviews from 9 critics. Steve Crum of the Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers rated it 5 out of 5, calling it a "Superb production with memorable Sinise performance in title role." TV Guide said, "Over-applauded by many critics, Truman is sturdy, standardized biographical moviemaking elevated by incontestably brilliant acting. Unfortunately, this cavalcade of facts and figures is conceived and executed impersonally like a docent delivering a speech in front of the waxworks at a Presidential museum. … [The audience lacks] a sense that Truman's travails have been shaped on screen by a filmmaker's passion. … Truman offers the satisfaction of textual thoroughness and seamless storytelling, but few flashes of inspiration or imagination."