Peter FInch
Peter Finch won over Sidney Lumet and Paddy Chayefsky for the role of Howard Beale by asking them to give him two weeks to study Walter Cronkite and other news anchors, and at the end of that period he would send back a tape of him playing Beale. Finch did this because he is English, and they needed an American for the role. Finch plays Beale on a razor’s edge. On one side is a raving madman, and on the other is a perfectly sane one who’s mad as hell about what’s going on in the world and he’s going to use his influence in front of the camera to tell the truth. Finch gives a haunting quality to Beale that makes you believe he has tapped into another realm, receiving instructions from beyond. What amazes me is how much you feel for Beale throughout the film; to back his ideas, or plead for him to stop. One of the great performances of all-time, and earned him an Academy Award for best actor in a leading role.
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway won an Academy Award for best actress in a leading role for her portrayal of Diana Christensen. Dunaway had a difficult task before her because Lumet didn’t want to see any vulnerability from Diana, and many actors seek to find ways to reveal the humanity of a character, even if they make morally horrific choices. Dunaway, instead of being vulnerable, made a very strong choice to show the price that Diana has had to pay for who she’s become, and we see that in what Dunaway as Diana chooses not to do. She doesn’t seek to find help for Howard, she doesn’t stop Max from carrying on an affair with her that she knows won’t last, and she doesn’t step in to stop the murder of Beale when she could. Miss Dunaway was able to create a woman who didn’t just work in tv, she is tv.
William Holden
William Holden plays Max Schumacher, a veteran news man at UBS. Schumacher’s journey through this film is intriguing because he takes on the weight of morality. Max doesn’t always make the right choices, but Holden gives him a depth, a sadness and ultimately a strength in his breakup scene with Diana to do what he believes is right regardless of the pain it causes him. Holden doesn’t play Max as self-righteous or all-knowing, but he does give him a backbone and a soul, one that is corruptible and redeemable. This makes him human, and allows us to go on a jagged journey with him through the heart, not just the newsroom. Holden earned an Academy Award nomination for this role.
Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall is Frank Hackett, a corporate climber seeking to plant his flag at the network so that the big man upstairs (Arthur Jensen) will come to rely on him as the go to man for ratings and most importantly, profit. What I love about Duvall’s performance is his physicality. They way he moves in the room while everyone else is still suggests he is the one with the power, and by the time he is in his office with other executives plotting to kill Howard, he doesn’t move, nor does anyone else. This lack of movement, isn’t that he doesn’t have any power, I believe it says he is a coward. Every time he was ranting around the room it was about ratings and money, he wanted to get what he wanted and take credit for it, and when he stays still he transfers the decision to everyone else as if there will be no blood on his hands. This is subtle, but it is the type of thing that separates great performers from good.
Ned Beatty
Ned Beatty only has a couple of scenes in this film and was still nominated for an Academy Award for best supporting actor. The story goes that production had already started on Network, and the role of Arthur Jensen had already been cast, but Lumet didn’t feel they had the right actor to carry the part. Ned Beatty was brought in after the first actor was let go. Beatty is able to play this character like he was playing Shakespeare, which is exactly what Lumet and Chayefsky wanted. His speech to Beale is theatrical and dramatic and perfect. It’s perfect because no one has been able to get through to Howard to this point, and Jensen does. Why? I believe it is because he is a salesman who understands that the only way to get someone to buy what you are selling is to speak their language. And if Howard Beale is the prophet of the airwaves, Ned Beatty creates Jensen to be the prophet of the boardroom, a force that causes Beale to look upon him like he’s seeing eternal truth.
Beatrice Straight
Beatrice Straight won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Louise Schumacher in this film. What turns your head about that is she only had a couple of scenes in the film. Miss Straight brought the kind of weight to Louise that makes you say, “Yeah, she’s been married for twenty five years.” That’s not an easy feat to pull off, and she does it was grace and fire. Also, the way Miss Straight uses her environment to create character and reveal story is brilliant. The way she tucks her husband back in when she wakes up, and the way she leaves the kitchen, goes to the living room and continues speaking directly to Max after he’s come clean about being in love with Diana speaks volumes about their relationship and gives great depth to the story, allowing us to experience what she is going through.
