Washington: Behind Closed Doors (1977)

This is the Nixon Whitehouse with the expletives deleted, but somehow manages to be just as menacing and obscene, thanks to the acting of Jason Robarts and Robert Vaughn and other excellent actors. But Nicholas Pyor (Hank Ferris) as the weak, ambitious, amoral, eternally scared director of communications is a masterful piece of acting. He is alternately scared, full of hubris and fragile self-confidence, willing to do anything to please his bosses,then self-doubting. He deserved an Oscar. It is indeed a comic performance and a comedy of manners as another reviewer rightly pointed out. One blemish is that the women all seem hopelessly weak and fickle. Sally Whalen breaks her own rule about not getting involved with a married man and then lives to regret it. The girl with the strangely intense blue eyes (whose name I forget) falls hopelessly for the philandering Roger Castle and seems unable for far too long to see him for what he is. Again, Hank Ferris's inept attempts emulate Castle are wonderfully realized. The real Nixon was somewhat more complex than the TV drama manages to portray. For example, the scene where President Monkton goes out the talk to the Vietnam War protesters is portrayed as a scheme got up by the Pryor character as a cynical ploy, whereas in reality it was Nixon's own idea, it took place at night when he was unable to sleep and obviously, within his own rather severe limitations, sincere. Perhaps it was thought that to portray that would obscure the main theme of the drama. Truth often does. Not much to put against the tens of thousands of deaths in Vietnam and Cambodia, but he was not quite as one-sided as the fictional version. And at last the series is available on DVD, via Amazon.com.

I watched this mini series when it was first aired on UK TV and I'm amazed it's never been released either on video or latterly on DVD. Robert Vaughn is superb in his role as a sinister 'background' character to the downward spiralling president.Jason Robards, in one of his better acted roles, is also very believable as the president who is initially tarnished, then eventually dethroned by corruption.I think the time has come for another generation to enjoy this excellent production - I can't imagine why it's never even been aired again by any of the major TV companies.So therefore - please somebody - get it out on DVD!!!

I enjoyed "Washington: Behind Closed Doors." This mini-series aired in 1977, not long after Watergate and Vietnam made this country distrustful of its Federal Government.The thinly-veiled plot line follows the Nixon Administration's rise and fall with uncanny accuracy. The writers must have known someone on the inside. Jason Robards stood out as always playing President "Richard M. Monckton" and he did not rely on caricature like David Frye, Rich Little, and other comedians of them time. He had just the right mix of pragmatism, enthusiasm, and two-faced deceit. Robert Vaughn made a perfect Haldeman / Ehrichman type, openly manipulative and arrogant. William Daniels also brought the "Plumber" character to life, with traces of Chuck Colson and G. Gordon Liddy.I don't believe this series has ever been repeated. I think enough time has passed to give the American people some perspective on Nixon, who spent his last years trying to repair his legacy. A lot of new evidence has come out since then, confirming the worst about Nixon and his whole administration, as well as the Johnson White House.This show should be required viewing for every new U.S. President. I think that the lesson learned is that the president will not get away with lying to the American people for very long. Because we have a free press and a two-party government, somebody eventually will spill the beans. "The Pentagon Papers," "All The President's Men," "The Final Days," and "Dereliction of Duty" come to mind as exposes of lies from the White House. And...I won't mention any names, but... there was a recent president who found out that the cover-up was worse than the fun and games in the Oval Office.

Though just a teenager when I saw this mini-series, I still remember how gripping the drama was. Considering how soon after Watergate it was made, Jason Robarts gave a surprisingly nuanced performance as the president brought down by corruption and dirty tricks. He was bad, but the master criminal was the Haldeman/Ehrlichman character played by Robert Vaughn, whose power increases the more he manages to isolate the president. I felt a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach when the president's long-time secretary is pushed aside and Vaughn stands in the doorway, icily refusing her access. His Emmy for this performance was well deserved. The spreading corruption in the White House is fascinating, with stronger characters struggling to break free and weaker ones sinking into panicky treachery. A masterful political drama, and one that should be on video.