Good Night, and Good Luck takes place during the early days of broadcast
journalism in the 1950s. Edward R. Murrow and his extremely dedicated staff,
headed by his co-producer Fred Friendly and reporter Joseph Wershba in the CBS
newsroom. Murrow and his staff defy corporate pressures, and discredit the tactics
used by Junior Senator for Wisconsin Joe McCarty during McCarthy's crusade to
discover communists within the United States Government. Senator McCarthy
went as far as accusing innocent people of being communists.
"Good Night, and Good Luck" uses an authentic look at America's history to
produce a powerful statement in which democracy was almost lost trying to
prevent communism. Some of the things that made the film look authentic were
the accurate use of 1950s clothing, set design, and the props in the film. It was also
filmed in 1950s black and white style.
It seemed as if Senator McCarthy got so wrapped up in stopping
communism he started going overboard with his crusades to move forward from
communism. At one point in the movie a black woman, Annie Lee Ross who
worked at the Pentagon was called before Senator McCarthy and his committee.
An FBI undercover operator testified Ross was a member of the communist
party. Ross denied the allegations and demanded to see the proof, which Senator
McCarthy could not provide. It was at that particular point in the movie that
Senator McCarthy's colleges and supporters started to question his judgment on
the matter of communism and how to go about uncovering the true communists in
the United States. This incident started McCarthy's catastrophic whirl wind of his
own demise in the senate.
Edward Murrow first defends Milo Radulovicyh, who was discharged from
the United States Air Force because his father subscribed to a Serbian newspaper.