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Guyana:
Crime of the Century
"Names have been changed to protect
the innocent" in this infamous fictionalization
of the tragic mass suicide of 914 follower's
of Jim Jones 's "People's Temple"
in Guyana in the fall of 1978. Rev. James
Johnson (Stuart Whitman) is a charismatic
but deeply paranoid man of the cloth who
moves his flock from Northern California
to a settlement in Guyana, where he intends
to create an interracial socialist utopia.
Addicted to prescription drugs and convinced
he is surrounded by enemies, Johnson rules
his colony, "Johnsontown," with
an iron fist, torturing anyone who violates
his rule, seducing both women and men from
his congregation, confiscating money and
property from his followers, and forcing
them to work long hours in the fields for
meager rations. A California congressman
who represents the district Johnson and
his followers once called home, has received
complaints from relatives of the settlers.
O'Brien and a team of reporters fly to Guyana
to find out the truth about what is happening.
Eventually After a failed attempt to arrange
exile in the Soviet Union, Johnson convinced
his followers to perform a "final revolutionary
act" before authorities arrive. This
oddball blend of fact and fiction also features
Joseph Cotton and John Ireland as Johnson's
lawyers, Yvonne DeCarlo as Johnsontown's
Press Officer, and Bradford Dillman as the
doctor who mixes the punch for Johnson's
final gathering.
video source
quality rating: B |
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Guyana:
Crime of the Century
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Color/90
minutes/ 1980 |
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