George Wallace is a 1997 biographical television film, produced and directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Gary Sinise as George Wallace, the 45th governor of Alabama. The teleplay, written by Marshall Frady and Paul Monash, is based on the 1996 biography Wallace: The Classic Portrait of Alabama Governor George Wallace by Frady. Mare Winningham, Clarence Williams III, Joe Don Baker, Angelina Jolie, Terry Kinney, William Sanderson, Mark Rolston, Tracy Fraim, Skipp Sudduth, Ron Perkins, and Mark Valley also star.
Sinise reprised his role as George Wallace in Frankenheimer's 2002 television film Path to War, about the Johnson administration's entry into the Vietnam War.[1]
George Wallace premiered on TNT in August of 1997, being broadcast in two parts. It was highly praised by critics and received various accolades: including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Directing (Frankenheimer), Outstanding Lead Actor (Sinise), and Outstanding Supporting Actress (Winningham), and Golden Globe Awards for Best Miniseries or Television Film and Best Supporting Actress (Jolie).
George Wallace portrays the political life of a complex man. Initially an ordinary Southern judge, Wallace transforms himself to achieve political success and glory, becoming one of the most reviled political figures in the U.S. Finally, a failed assassination attempt which leaves him paralyzed and in pain leads him to realize what he has become.
The film follows the story of Wallace's life from the 1950s, when he was a circuit court judge in Barbour County, to his tenure as the most powerful Governor in Alabama's history. The movie depicts his symbolic "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door", where Wallace attempted to block black students from entering the University of Alabama. It details his stance on racial segregation in Alabama at the time, which proved popular with his white constituents, and also depicts Wallace's rise as a presidential hopeful. This eventually leads to his surprise victory in several states during the 1968 Presidential election, followed by his attempted assassination four years later.
The New York Times' Caryn James, wrote that events were "recreated with startling veracity and tension in the two-part mini-series called simply George Wallace." James wrote that Sinise was "amazing" and Mare Winningham was "extraordinary."[2]
The Associated Press stated that the film's version of Cornelia Wallace was depicted as "a shallow sex kitten" and therefore Cornelia Wallace had criticism towards the portrayal.[3]
George Wallace received award nominations: including eight Primetime Emmy Awards (winning three), four Golden Globe Awards (winning two), two Screen Actors Guild Awards (winning one), four Satellite Awards (winning one), nine CableACE Awards (winning four), a Directors Guild of America Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award. Also winning an American Cinema Editors Award, an American Society of Cinematographers Award, an Art Directors Guild Award, and receiving a Peabody Award.