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Harry's War (1981 film)

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Harry's War (1981)
Directed byKieth Merrill
Written byKieth Merrill
Produced byDavid B. Johnston
StarringEdward Herrmann
Geraldine Page
Karen Grassle
David Ogden Stiers
Elisha Cook
CinematographyReed Smoot
Edited byBert Lovitt
Music byMerrill Jenson
Distributed byAmerican Film Consortium
Taft International Pictures
Release date
  • March 1981 (1981-03)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Harry's War is a 1981 American comedy-drama film from American Film Consortium and Taft International Pictures, starring Edward Herrmann, Geraldine Page, Karen Grassle, David Ogden Stiers, Elisha Cook, Salome Jens and Noble Willingham. It was written and directed by Kieth Merrill.

Plot

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After his aunt dies of a heart attack while fighting the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), mild-mannered accountant Harry Johnson decides to take up the cause in what may seem to be an unconventional manner: He declares war on the IRS. After the funeral of Harry's aunt, Harry uses a half-track to sabotage a television interview of his IRS nemesis. Several violent outcomes occur with some anti-government (or, at least, anti-IRS) rhetoric.

Cast

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Production

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Parts of the film were shot in St. George, Utah.[1]

Theatrical run

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This film saw a limited two-week release in theaters in March 1981.

Television

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SelecTV, ONTV, HBO, and other premium cable movie channels ran the film in 1982, but it has never had a network television premiere or any other broadcast in the US since. In the UK, it was shown on Talking Pictures TV in 2021.

Home media

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Image Home Video released a VHS version of the film on April 1, 1988 and using the same video transfer also did a DVD release on August 1, 2005.

Legacy

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In a mid-1980s interview with David Ogden Stiers, who played the IRS director in the film, was asked what his favorite role had been and the interviewer was expecting him to say something about his character in M*A*S*H, but instead he paused for a second and said "There was this movie about the IRS and I was the biggest [bleep] in the office...."

References

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  1. ^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood came to town: a history of moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith. ISBN 9781423605874.
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