Winchell (1998 TV Movie) User Reviews (13)

The Power of the Information

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 15 February 2011]

In the 20's, the controversial New Yorker journalist Walter Winchell (Stanley Tucci) begins his career writing gossips about his acquaintances. He is hired by the New York Daily Mirror and using inside information from informers, he becomes the first American gossip columnist. He becomes successful and is invited to host a successful broadcast show in the radio. In the 30's, he attacks Adolf Hitler and befriends President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Christopher Plummer). After the World War II, Winchell attacks the communists and becomes a collaborator of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Winchell is not able to adapt his show to the audience of television and when McCarthy is censured by the Senate, Winchell becomes unpopular and his career virtually ends.

"Winchell" is a good HBO movie about the polemic columnist Walter Winchell, who was feared by the powerful and famous in the 30's and 40's. Along the years, Winchell hires a ghost-writer, Herman Kurfeld (Paul Giamatti), who admires him and has a lover, the showgirl Mary Louise "Dallas" Wayne (Glenne Headly) that likes him. Winchell is shown as a manipulative man that uses his personal dossier to force people to provide inside information for his column and his radio show; a man that neglects his family and has a wrong move supporting the McCarthyism and denouncing people. In the end, he pays a high price for his mistakes, and is forgotten by the public opinion He ends his life alone, without family or friends, and his son commits suicide. The last scene with his mentally disturbed daughter attending his funeral alone is one of the saddest conclusions of a film (and a life) that I have seen. Stanley Tucci gives one of his best performances in the role of Winchell. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Poder da Notícia" ("The Power of the News")

Good movie about a controversial media figure.

[PWNYCNY · 8/10 · 3 September 2013]

This is a good biopic of Walter Winchell, a popular and controversial figure in American journalistic history. The movie shows how Winchell, a vaudeville entertainer, managed to pass himself off as a journalist and became, for a time, the most famous and influential gossip monger in the United States. That he jumbled up the English language and, according to the movie, had an abrasive personality did not seem to impede his career. Also, that ethical standards seemed to mean nothing to him, and that he was willing to use information to hurt people did not seem to bother him until he became a news story. What Winchell lacked in charm he made up for in sheer brazenness. He was engaging and could be your friend, but only if he could use you, and he was prone to smearing people he did not like. The movie shows how Winchell's career took a hit after the Josephine Baker incident. Yet, the movie also shows how Winchell used the microphone to attack Adolf Hitler and to warn the American people about Nazism. For that Winchell deserved credit. This movie provides an excellent dramatization of the rise and fall of media giant and of the need for the media to report the news in a responsible matter. Stanley Tucci is excellent as Walter Winchell.

Better Than Average Biopic

[Mitch-38 · 6/10 · 7 October 2000]

Stanley Tucci leads a super ensemble cast, in this HBO movie biography of Walter Winchell. His knack for sensationalism, gossip mongering and trademark rapid fire bark zoomed him to a pinnacle of media influence. His heavy handed approach brought the news to many, and the ire of many, as well. His tirade over the differences over FDR, as opposed to Harry Truman, really nailed home the notion of Winchell's megalomania. His ghost writers (who did an inordinate amount of the work he claimed) argued the resulting event was the same. Winchell rattled on about the difference in "finesse."

Mr. Tucci makes his subject a sympathetic, zealous and outrageous character. An excellent perormance. The supporting cast is above par, with Glenne Heady, Christopher Plummer and Kevin Tighe as W.R. Hearst (who could use a biopic of his own...oh, that's right...a movie HAS been made about him! *wink, wink*). The stand out is truly Paul Giamatti, as the talented and much-abused Herman Klurfeld, whose book was the basis for this movie.

The only detractions is that some other characters are not well developed, and seem to suffice as only background setting. The business relationship between Winchell and FBI Chief Hoover would've been interesting to delve into. Also, Winchell's family life and the tragedy of his son, would've been interesting to explore. Of course, with that said, this movie is still very interesting, and well worth your time.

HBO makes another winner!

[DTL · 25 September 1999]

The pickings at the Video store have for me been slim. Slimmer in fact than the theatres. I did however rent WINCHELL an HBO movie starring Stanley Tucci in his Emmy Award winning performance as Walter Winchell the famous newspaper columnist and radio commentator of the 30's through the 60's. I did not know much more than that about WW, but after seeing this film I learned a great deal. HBO's attention to historical detail in costumes and art direction are superb. Stanley Tucci proves once again that he can't do a bad performance. Paul Giamatti as his head press agent is marvelous. This is an excellent rent.

many aspects

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 7 April 2007]

I had never heard of Walter Winchell before Paul Mazursky's movie came out. I was pretty impressed by his movie. We see Winchell's beginnings and rise to mild gossip (where he started ratting on philandering politicians) until he became a major part of the political discourse. But there came a major split. While Winchell befriended Franklin Roosevelt and tried to make the Nazis' actions known to Americans - and went so far as to oppose the bombing of Hiroshima because Harry Truman "didn't do it right" - after WWII he sided with Joe McCarthy and started red-baiting people. When a former girlfriend got blacklisted, he didn't come to her aid. I'm not surprised that few people attended his funeral.

Stanley Tucci does a really neat job bringing Winchell to life. You gotta love how he reports on the issues of the day, even if it was sort of a forerunner to infotainment. Christopher Plummer looks almost exactly like FDR, and Paul Giamatti makes Winchell's promoter Herman Klurfeld really something. Also starring is Glenne Headly as the former girlfriend.

Overall, I recommend "Winchell". It shows that Paul Mazursky is in fact a capable director, even if a few of his movies haven't been masterpieces.

Winchell who?

[=G= · 6/10 · 28 March 2002]

"Winchell", a Tucci tour-de-force and docudrama, tells a somewhat biased story of Walter Winchell, renown gossip columnist of the 30's and 40's who rose to considerable influence and fame in the early days of radio as the most listened to reporter in America only to die in obscurity in 1972. An okay biography, this journeyman HBO flick does a good job of hitting the high points of Winchell's life but will have little value to those with no particular interest in the period or the man as he simply wasn't, by cinematic standards, that interesting.

They Want To Be In Winchell's Column, They Don't Want To Go To His Funeral!!

[dataconflossmoor · 10/10 · 22 March 2008]

This HBO presentation was a somber and bittersweet depiction of famous columnist, Walter Winchell. Director, Pat Mazursky, illustrates this biography through the eyes of Walter Winchell's key assistant. This assistant viewed Winchell as someone for whom he garnered an ardent admiration! My association with Walter Winchell was that he use to narrate episodes of "The Untouchables". In the zenith of Winchell's career, he was an uncompromising columnist who exemplified the phrase; "The power of the pen is mightier than the sword". Anybody who was anybody in Hollywood during the late thirties through the early fifties, was interviewed and featured in Walter Winchell's column! Winchell's quip about how "Hollywood has to be seen to be disbelieved" was a witty one liner which described Hollywood to be a tenuous hotbed of raw capitalism! Walter Winchell engaged in many commentaries which ultimately gave him a political prowess during World War II !! He was always greeted as a recognizably formidable foe by prominent paragons at the pinnacle of national power; This included moguls and dignitaries such as William Randolph Hearst and President Franklin Deleno Roosevelt. Walter Winchell possessed many qualities which made him successful.. The fact that he went after the truth, and eventually acquired a cunning and creative stranglehold on the American News media, is something which can be attributed to Winchell's basically egotistical nature. Winchell's callous determination made him vicariously ruthless just by virtue of adhering to some simple journalistic procedures!! While this hacked out, made for TV movie, by HBO, cannot really be considered one of the best efforts of movie making, it definitely served a useful purpose!! What I conceptualized with "Winchell" was that he was driven to make a difference in the American News media world!! Making a difference in the American news media subsequently translated to Winchell evoking a radically different perspective on many of the sordid events which were pertinent to a myriad of individuals in the entire world altogether. This movie gave you an effectively brief synopsis of the type of life Walter Winchell engaged in, as well as the life he wound up with! So!! What was the scoop on his personal life? He died a lonely widower, his son committed suicide, and his mentally disturbed daughter was the only one who attended his funeral!! Such a grim scenario suggests that Winchell's national prominence concurrently manufactured a personal life of domestic alienation! The fact that nobody attended his funeral is painstakingly ironic for Winchell, as a newspaper columnist perceives that the most heinous emotion by which to be afflicted is the emotion of being deluged with disinterest!! The knifing acrimony to Winchell's deteriorating fame manifested itself most convincingly when people talked about him in past tense!! When his assistant heard of his passing away in 1972, Winchell's obituary served as a platitude consisting of mere mention of the bygone era in which Walter Winchell was a news media legend! Time erosion relegated Walter Winchell to a sinister anonymity!! The utterly insidious monster of death reduces even the most famous people to faint memories. Walter Winchell's tumultuous life epitomized his philosophy which was expressed very succinctly with his famous quote of "America,love it or leave it". I enjoyed this HBO production, and, I definitely feel that Walter Winchell is, without question, a noteworthy element of historical importance in America!! See this movie if you can!!

Not Enough Dramatic Depth in This Informative Biopic of Legendary Gossip Columnist/Radio Announcer

[Turfseer · 5/10 · 10 September 2023]

The 1998 HBO TV film "Winchell" attempts to capture the tumultuous life of renowned gossip columnist and radio personality Walter Winchell. Despite commendable performances from the cast, including a young Paul Giamatti as Herman Klurfeld, Winchell's ghostwriter, and Stanley Tucci as the titular character, the film struggles to deliver the compelling conflict necessary to make a biopic of this iconic figure truly successful.

The primary source of conflict in the film is the strained relationship between Winchell and Klurfeld. Early on, it becomes evident that Klurfeld resents Winchell for appropriating his ideas and claiming credit for his work. This tension reaches its peak when Klurfeld confronts Winchell over his support for Joe McCarthy's anti-Communist campaign, which leads to the ruin of innocent careers. Klurfeld, driven by a sense of responsibility, contemplates quitting but is ultimately coerced into continuing due to familial obligations. Regrettably, this central conflict struggles to sustain the necessary tension throughout the narrative.

The film briefly touches upon pivotal moments in Winchell's career, such as his involvement in the arrest of gangster Louis Lepke orchestrated by J. Edgar Hoover. Another compelling aspect is Winchell's principled stand against William Randolph Hearst's pro-Hitler agenda. Winchell's early opposition to Hitler, preceding World War II, is highlighted as a testament to his credibility. However, the film falls short in exploring his political transformation post-WWII, as he shifted from being a liberal Roosevelt supporter to aligning with Republicans and the anti-Communist cause. The film misses an opportunity to delve deeper into Winchell's role in the anti-Communist hysteria, leaving unanswered questions about the guilt or innocence of those he targeted.

The film hints at the role of petty vindictiveness in Winchell's downfall, particularly in an incident involving singer Josephine Baker. When Winchell fails to defend Baker after a racial discrimination incident, he is suddenly labeled a racist by the NAACP for not championing her cause. This incident remains perplexing and poorly explained.

The film also neglects to explore Winchell's family relationships, instead focusing on his affair with his mistress, Dallas Wayne, played by Glenne Headly. The film's portrayal of Winchell's cold dismissal of Wayne's plea for help raises questions about his character, although it could be argued that he was simply acknowledging his waning influence.

While the film suggests a decline in Winchell's career during the 1950s and early 1960s, especially after the shutdown of his newspaper, it overlooks his role as the narrator for the TV series "The Untouchables," a notable aspect of his post-columnist career.

In a poignant but underexplored detail, only Winchell's daughter attends his funeral, not because he was forgotten, but because she struggled with mental illness and wished for solitude.

Tucci's portrayal captures Winchell's frenetic demeanor, but the film fails to fully immerse the audience in the character. Moreover, it lacks a central antagonist, leaving Klurfeld as the closest contender but failing to develop other potential adversaries. As a result, the biopic offers valuable insights into Winchell's life but falls short in delivering the dramatic depth it promises.

Talk about the sweet smell of success, followed by the rotting stench of decline.

[mark.waltz · 9/10 · 3 March 2023]

"Sweet Smell of Success" was a very successful 1957 film noir starring Burt Lancaster as a fictionalized version Walter Winchell, and later garnered a Tony Award as a musical for its leading man, John Lithgow. This is an Emmy award-winning version of the real man, a mesmerizing account of his life highlighting his highs and lows, getting the award for its leading man, Stanley Tucci, one of the best character actors of modern times, breaking into that oh so familiar voice that still pops up in documentaries about the golden age of journalism and the entertainment industry, the man whose name alone brought fear and respect and desperation to be mentioned in his column, and readers and listeners of his radio show pine for every new tidbit about their favorite stars and world figures, and let the musical indicated in one of his songs, "Dirt", they didn't even care if it was true.

The film opens with him as a child, thrilled by his name being in the newspaper after his kicked in the face by a horse. As a young journalist, he's covering the goings on of celebrities in the paper, soon convinced to join the popular medium of radio, and becoming friends with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Christopher Plummer) after an assassination of him. When war threatens the United States, Winchell immediately goes after Hitler, determined to expose him as a mad man, and getting opposition from his publisher, dealing with him accordingly. The film also focuses on his private life with wife Megan Mullally and mistress Glenne Headley, and he certainly could be a subject of other gossip columns besides his own. As the world changes after the war, the voice of his column changes to, and his conflict becomes being able to remain relevant in a world filled with alterations he can't understand.

In seeing Plummer as FDR, I had to ask this question. Is there anything this fabulous actor couldn't do? Any role he couldn't play? I've seen many other actors as FDR be convincing, and Plummer is up there with Ralph Bellamy, Edward Hermann and Bill Murray (among others) in believability. Kevin Tighe was completely unrecognizable as William Randolph Hearst, hysterically bashing the liberals while pushing his own political agenda. Other celebrities and political figures of the time are beautifully portrayed, and the detail of the periods it covers excellent as well. My only complaint, and a minor one, is that this covers only select details, and so the screenwriter had to pick and choose which of those details they wanted the film to cover. It's not really a full plot, but select episodes in the life of an unforgettable man who to people who never heard of him will be absolutely mesmerizing once they see this film. Directed by profilic 70's filmmaker Paul Mazursky, this is a modern TV classic definitely worth discovery.

The name alone is enough.

[Doctor_Bombay · 13 April 1999]

Being a child of television. The legacy of Walter Winchell to me previously consisted of bits and pieces. ITEMS as it may.

This recent in a series of HBO bio-pics gives loving attention to Winchell, the man, his inventiveness, dedication and ultimately, his power. It seems complete enough in the spectrum with which we view the man. There is suggestion that his influence may have rivaled FDR himself, and he shows William Randolph Hearst to be no match mano-a-mano.

Paul Mazursky is perfectly suited to direct this and gives us everything we need on the screen. Stanley Tucci earns a well-deserved Golden Globe in the title role. Paul Giamatti is superb as Winchell's ghost, Klurfeld (who's book sourced this film), only Glenne Headley, who's work tends to be spotty at times, seems a bit overmatched as WINCHELL's southern-fried moll, Dallas.

I left with renewed respect, for the man.

The best movies are sleepers

[tswa963505 · 10 August 2004]

This is a great movie. Cinematography and scripting are excellent. The fact that it wasn't a summer blockbuster in the vein of "Independence Day" and "Mission: Impossible" speaks well for it. Stanley Tucci's performance is riveting. He portrays the complexity of character of a highly controversial figure, hated by some and loved by others, and both for good reason. He was a crony of J. Edgar Hoover, but also had a social conscience. One minute we see Winchell shamelessly using blackmail in order to be the first to scoop a story; the next we see him being beaten to within an inch of his life by Hitler sympathizer thugs because he refused to be silent on the threat of the rise of Naziism.

A great true story for the people

[ThePeoplesChampandPeoplesCritic · 13 March 2002]

The movie "Winchell" starring Stanley Tucci is based on the true story of Walter Winchell a famous journalist in the 1930's and 1940's.

We see brief periods in his youth, including how he got hurt badly by a horse, eventually this incident would give him the skill to read lips (he sees his mom talking through a glass about him and reads her lips).

From age 20 he got a job writing newsprints although many of his prints were lies against his friends.

Then in 1929 in New York , Winchell get a bigger job writing "Winchell's Column" ,this time though writing real news column on everything from politics, to gossip.

Including his print on Robert Bellamy a producer who with another executive are having affairs behind their wives back.

Glen Miller "Stardust" pg 2 5 senators and 2 congressman drinking from a bathtub that where a young hooker is naked in.

Winchell wanted to expose these crooked politicians, but his boss (caring more about the interests of the politicians) tells Winchell not to publish the story ,however he does manage to get a date with the young girl who was in the bathtub.

This girl ,Dallas Wayne, eventually ends up working for Winchell, uses her beauty and charm to get information.

The info he is seeking is on someone named Vincent Coll and another politician Winchell suspects is cheating on his wife.

This story is also killed by his boss, who is obviously getting a money from these politicians and who doesn't have the guts to expose.

Winchell gets a radio job from a wealthy tobacco company to cover news for both the rich and poor,adding his brash of humor and honest into every broadcast.

For instance in one of his funny broadcast , he remarks how "every mother's first child, is her husband."

Soon Winchells loud and honest sense of journalism gets him very popular and powerful and soon everyone, from politicians to music performers is asking him for favors, like a Godfather in a way.

Then he starts to investigate other people like Randolph Hearst who is having sexual relations with a young girl.

Hearst would eventually hire Winchell for his radio program and column.

Winchell caught the eye of an aspiring writer named Herman Klurfield.

The movie is based on the novel by Herman Klurfield "Walter Winchell:His Life and Times".

Klurfield shows up to his office to hear his Boss beat up on Winchell verbally:

but Klurfield defends Winchell astoundly with these words



Then Klurfield gets a job with Winchell, being the head writer for him.

What elevated Winchell from a good journalist, to a world renowed journalist would be his report on who tried to kill Fraklin D. Roosevelt.

With the help from his friend Herman Klurfield and Lawrence Newman whom he question the shooter ,Joe Zangara, after Winchell threated to expose how his daughter was in a sanitarium.

His outspoken, brave, and truthful words against Adolf Hitler would elevate Winchell into a patriot. He describes Hitler and Nazis as: "The Tyranny that destroys from the top down", and how "the memory of a people oppressed is always longer than the road to glory."

Winchell being a Yiddish man, knew Hitler was killing many Jews , yet this wasn't covered by the press until after Hitler took over poland.

Winchell describes how Jews were often drag from the beds and business and taken through the night by German soldiers.

Then as a true patriot Winchell describes how the US "Our country stands for freedom, tolerance, and the dignity of man", totally opposite of what Hitler and German stood for during WWII.

In fact , as the movie depicts he meets Franklin Roosevelt ,played by Christoper Plummer,and Roosevelt admired him because he was the reported who answered to no one, which was one reason many people admired Winchell. He did speak for the public on many levels, and he had the guts to do so.

The movie then tells the events of WWII how Roosevelts says how the US was attacked by Japan in Dec 1941 "A date that will live in infamy".

Winchell served in WWII as he stationed in Brazil and yet managed to speak out against Hitler and Mussolini.

The movie then chronicles the famous Josephine Baker incident which would damage Winchell's reputation even though his reputation was solid. Baker was singing at the Apollo Theater in 1951,where she got a generous review by Winchell.

Everyone thinks Josephine Baker, a highly respected singer was honest, but the movie reveals how she and the NAACP lied about Winchell being a racist, because she didn't get served at a restaurant by a white waiter.

Winchell was in the same restaurant, but he didn't see what was taking place, if he did he would have done something about it.

Finally, the movie chronicles Winchell's alliance with Joe Mccarthy and how he tried to set up people to make them look like communists, which they weren't.

This would prove to be the nail in the coffin for Winchell.

There are other noteworthy scenes in the movie like when Winchell talks to Mayor Laguardia that how his column "showed you into office and and his column can show h=you out again"

A tremendous movie that you have to see because it will open you're eyes to the world of dirty politics, dirty journalism, patriotism, doing what you believe in and much more.

Tucci would win a Golden Globe award for best actor for "Winchell".

Director Paul Mazursky does a good job here, and Fried Films production, the production behind the movie.

Winchell is a piece of American History that hasn't really talked about until now.

Highly recommeded.

Could have been so much more

[Shanessa · 29 November 1998]

Stanley Tucci is an amazing actor, and in this film we were only treated to a mere glimpse of his ability. The best performance, I think, was by Paul Giamatti as his long-suffering ghost writer. This film was engaging, and at times it was very much so. However, it tries to convey too much history and too much time in its hour and fifty minutes. I don't know, some movies manage to tell the story of someone's entire life and make it seem like a life is actually passing by. This one, however, seemed fragmented. They began to lose me with each large jump in the timeline. It was like a synopsis of his life--it left me wanting more because it only seemed to scratch the surface of the many events in his life (for example, when he went to Brazil during WWII).