The Execution of Private Slovik
The Execution of Private Slovik is a nonfiction book by William Bradford Huie, published in 1954, and an American madefortelevision movie that aired on NBC on March 13, 1974. The film was written for the screen by Richard Levinson, William Link and by Lamont Johnson who was the director, the film stars Martin Sheen, and also features Charlie Sheen in his second film in a small role.
In 1960 Frank Sinatra announced that he would produce a film adaptation of The Execution of Private Slovik, with the screenplay to be written by Albert Maltz, who was one of the Hollywoodblacklisted after they refused to testify to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee HUAC in the McCarthy era. This announcement evoked tremendous outrage, with Sinatra accused of being a Communist sympathizer. As Sinatra was campaigning for John F. Kennedy for President, the Kennedy campaign became concerned and ultimately prevailed upon Sinatra to cancel the project.In 1949, a Pentagon source revealed to Huie a European graveyard containing the remains of unidentified American soldiers. Huies investigation identified the grave and name of the only American soldier executed for desertion since the American Civil War. His account of Slovik is an example of Huies reporting and his tendency to anger Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had authorized the execution as commander of the Allied Forces, tried to stop publication of the book. Awardwinning filmmaker Richard Dubelman acquired the film rights from Sinatra. Some years later, he persuaded Universal Studios to help him produce it as a television movie.citation needed ........
Source: Wikipedia
