An Enemy of the People (1978)

Director:

George Schaefer

Writers:

Henrik Ibsen (play)
Alexander Jacobs (writer)

Release Date:

17 March 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The tragedy of a an honest man destroyed by a town's greed. [Video]

Plot:

A scientist stands against an entire town when he discovers their medicinal spa is polluted.

Plot Keywords:

Contaminated Water | Cover Up | Doctor | Health Spa | Small Town

Cast

Steve McQueen	...	Doctor Thomas Stockmann
Bibi Andersson	...	Catherine Stockmann
Charles Durning	...	Peter Stockmann
Richard Dysart	...	Aslaksen
Michael Cristofer	...	Hovstad
Michael Higgins	...	Billing
Eric Christmas	...	Morten Kiil
Robin Pearson Rose	...	Petra Stockmann
Richard Bradford	...	Captain Forster
John Levin	...	Ejlif Stockmann
Ham Larsen	...	Morten Stockmann
Louise Hoven	...	Randine
Glenn Ransom
Leon Charles
Harry Frazier

Also Known As:

Danger Plante Earth (Philippines: English title)
Bir halk düsmani (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Ehthros tou laou, O (Greece) [el]
Enemigo del pueblo, Un (Venezuela) [es]
Feind des Volkes, Ein (West Germany) [de]
Folkfiende, En (Sweden) [sv]
Inimigo do Povo, O (Portugal) [pt]
Kansanvihollinen (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

Germany:90 min | USA:103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:S | Spain:18 | USA:G

Company:

First Artists

Trivia:

It was hard for McQueen once he found the book to convince his partners at First Artists to make the film, he agreed to take a union scale fee and promised to keep the budget under 3 million.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (2005) (TV)

McQueen fans were robbed by Warner Brothers

First and foremost, I have waited 6 months to get this film and to watch it, I finally watched it and it was well worth the wait.

The film follows the Ibsen play very well, although I was a little disappointed with the way the film ended, it followed the story, but I don't think it was as effective as the book.

Steve McQueen is probably the only person who could bring Dr Thomas Stockman to life in the way he does. It's just a crying shame that this film never reached the cinemas (Warner Brothers didn't know what to do with it, after a few negitive reviews). Although Steve tried to get it realized in the art cinemas, it never reached the wider audience.

If you get the chance to see this film, then see it you will not be disappointed with it, Steve deserved an Oscar for his performance, (and also Papillon and the Sand Pebbles). No idea how many copies of this film are available, but I was lucky to get it imported, and I'm glad that I was able to get my hands on a copy

10 out of 10 for me