Friendly Fire (1979)

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The Emmy-winning TV movie Friendly Fire was adapted by Fay Kanin from the fact-based book by C.D.B. Bryan. Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty play Peg and Gene Mullen, the parents of a young soldier who is killed in Vietnam. Dissatisfied with the "official" version of their son's death, Peg and Gene… More The Emmy-winning TV movie Friendly Fire was adapted by Fay Kanin from the fact-based book by C.D.B. Bryan. Carol Burnett and Ned Beatty play Peg and Gene Mullen, the parents of a young soldier who is killed in Vietnam. Dissatisfied with the "official" version of their son's death, Peg and Gene conduct a soul-wrenching investigation of their own. Only after months of military stonewalling does the truth come out: their son was accidentally killed by "friendly fire" from American artillery. This revelation leads to Peg Mullen's full-scale embracing of the anti-war movement. Even allowing for the grimness of the story, Carol Burnett's taciturn performance wears on the viewer after a while (one wonders if Peg Mullen ever smiled before her son died). Far better within the framework of the film is the superbly detailed performance of Ned Beatty as Gene. Friendly Fire was originally offered on April 22, 1979, as an ABC Theatre presentation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 26 min.
Directed By: David Greene
Written By: Fay Kanin
Genres: Drama

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Cast

            Carol Burnett as Peg Mullen

            Ned Beatty as Gene Mullen

            Sam Waterston as C.D. Bryan

            Dennis Erdman as Michael Mullen

            Timothy Hutton as John Mullen

            Bernard Behrens as Dietrich

            Nicolas Coster as Carl

            Howard Culver as Newscaster

            Charles Cyphers as Tom Loomis

            Michael Flanagan as Father Shimon

            Mary Gregory
            
            Hilly Hicks as Willis Huddleston

            Sherry Hursey as Mary Mullen

            William Jordan as Col. Byron Schindler

            Virginia Kiser
            
            Sierra Pecheur as Mrs. Hamilton

            Jack Rader as Sgt. Fitzgerald

            Ford Rainey as Hamilton

            Jenny Sullivan as Mrs. Bryan

            Mark L. Taylor as Capt. Bannock

            Kevin Hooks
            
            David Keith as Young Hamilton

            Phillip Richard Allen as Ralph Jenner

            Vernon Weddle as Col. Georgi

            Robert Wahler as Alan Hulting

            Fanny Spies as Pat Mullen

            Steve Bonino as Prince
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