How The Tale was Told: A Blog by Warren Bull

Image by Marcus Winkler on Unsplash

 (This blog was previously published last July by Warren Bull. We hope Warren will return soon!)

See below for a more extensive explanation.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/interactive/2022/all-the-presidents-men-robert-redford-woodward-bernstein/?utm_campaign=wp_the_daily_202&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_daily202&itid=sf_lifestyle_article_list

In a recent article in the Washington Post, reporter, Ann Hornaday interviewed Bob Woodward about the movie, “All the President’s Men” and about the events of Watergate that led up to Nixon administration officials being imprisoned and, eventually, President Nixon’s resignation. 

It is interesting that in the movie, as in real life, a crucial element of the impact of real malfeasance and criminality was how the information was presented. Woodward had a draft of William Goldman’s screenplay which Woodward had marked up extensively. Apparently, Goldman had depicted he reporters, Carl Bernstein and Woodward, like the characters in an earlier Goldman script for “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”  He envisioned the reporters as wise-cracking buddies who bring down the President.

Actor Robert Redford recalled riding on a train with reporters while making a movie about a politician. He asked about the break-in at the Watergate Hotel. The reporters cynically said the real story would never be revealed. He said the reporters told him for the truth to come out would require support of the publisher, the editor, and time to investigate. They predicted correctly that the upcoming election would be a landslide for Richard Nixon. Nixon was known to be vindictive and he would go after a paper that published anything that negative. They said news was always short-term. Other events would push the break-in out of the news.

As the Watergate story dribbled out, Redford became convinced that the interaction between the reporters – a WASP republican Yale graduate (Woodward) and a Jewish long-haired liberal (Bernstein) – who had to work together despite their differences to cover an important story would provide the structure for a great plot. He called Woodward repeatedly. Eventually Woodward agree to meet with him briefly. Woodward and Bernstein were working on a book. Redford bought the filming rights to All the President’s Men for a generous amount. However, he still had to convince publisher Katharine Graham who was rightly concerned that the movie would leave impressions of the Washington Post that would persist for years. 

Many drafts of Goldman’s screenplay reflected the reporters’ actions faithfully but added Hollywood elements such as beautiful women and banter between the characters that horrified the reporters. Director Alan J. Pakula, Woodward and others made so many changes to the script that Goldman regretted his involvements even after winning an Academy Award for the screenplay. He and Redford ended their friendship. Nevertheless, Goldman is responsible for the most memorable line, “follow the money” and for structuring the end of the sprawling saga.

The movie won praise from reporters for showing the daily grind of reporting including working the phones, knocking on doors, and fact checking details. It necessarily omitted the many efforts of congresspeople and their staffs who eventually got Nixon to resign. It downplayed the courage of the Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham who was willing to risk the future of the paper itself and pursue the story.  

The movie could have been a “buddy” film with witty dialog, romantic subplots, and -who knows- car chases and explosions. It could have been entertainment “based on” real life events. The movie is how Watergate is remembered by many people today.

Like the movie script, the events of Watergate might have been told in a very different way than they were. On June 17, 1972 intruders were discovered in an office rented by the Democratic Party of the United States.  Twenty-six months later Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States rather than face impeachment by the House of Representatives with prospects of conviction by the Senate and removal from office.

The White House Press Secretary, Ron Ziegler, once labeled the initiating event “a third-rate burglary.” President Nixon tried to stop an FBI investigation by assuring the Acting Director, L. Patrick Gray that investigating a money laundering aspect of the case would interfere with a CIA operation. Gray continued the investigation after determining there was no CIA involvement. The “Saturday Night Massacre” happened when Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox who was investigating the President’s actions. Richardson resigned. Assistant Attorney General William Ruckelshaus, instructed to fire Cox also resigned. 

 Nixon made considerable efforts to control the narrative. Fortunately for the country, he failed. Many in his administration and his political party chose to honor their commitment to the United States over their commitment to him.  

It is sobering to consider how much influence the framing of events has on how events are perceived.