ATTACK ON TERROR: THE FBI VS. THE KU KLUX KLAN, PART 1 OF 2 (TV)

Summary

This two-part made-for-television film is a fictionalized account of the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers by the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi and the FBI's pursuit of justice, based on the book by Don Whitehead. The first installment opens as a group of Klansmen, led by Glen Tuttle, meets secretly in an abandoned church and discusses their plans for fighting against blacks and the "Communist invasion" in the South. Tuttle cautions the men to avoid "open conflict," also stating that civil rights activist Ben Jacobs is to be ignored and not harmed. Elsewhere, Jacobs and his Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) friends Charles Gilmore and Steve Bronson meet up and plan to head down South to continue their activism, though they are cautioned about the dangers and told that they should head to jail if stopped by the police rather than fighting back. Ralph Paine of the FBI bluntly tells the group that there is no Federal police force and that the FBI will help where they can, but cannot supersede the states' legal powers and cannot protect the activists. In Mississippi, the Klansmen burn a black church and beat its members, demanding to know if Jacobs is there. FBI Agent Dan Foster soon gets on the case alongside Agent Mathison, while elsewhere Jacobs, Gilmore and Bronson endure "cheap remarks" from racist passersby as they make plans to visit the burned church, though their friend Rose Jackson is worried about their safety on the dark country roads.

The three workers read about the Klan's extreme views as they drive to the church, and in Sayville, Deputy Sheriff Ollie Thompson hears about the activists' arrival, though seems unconcerned. The three men talk to some of the churchgoers about the attack and urge them to take action, but they explain that they fear worse retribution. One Klansman, Harry Dudley, tells Tuttle about Jacobs' and the others' presence in town, but he again orders that they should be left alone. At home, Foster and his wife Jean worry about the impact of racism on their young son, and Jean suggests that they should leave Mississippi, but Foster argues that there are problems everywhere and that he wants to work to improve things. Reverend Byer expresses his doubts to Jacobs, Gilmore and Bronson about their suggestions for a black community center, unsure about their plans to register blacks to vote. The three of them head back towards Milburn and are pulled over for speeding even though they are studiously obeying the speed limit, and Thompson arrests them, claiming that they need to investigate the church burning. Mr. and Mrs. Sutton, the jailers, are reasonably kind to the men, though Gilmore, who is black, is placed in a separate cell from the others. Jacobs asks to make a phone call, but declines when Sutton offers to place it for him, feeling that they cannot necessarily trust him. Jackson begins to worry as the hour grows later and the three are not back, and Klansman Dee Malcom makes secret phone calls to orchestrate a plan.

The three men are soon released for a $20 bond fee, and Ollie urges them not to "stir up trouble" and follows them to the edge of town as they depart. Foster gets a call about the missing workers, wondering if they might have stopped at a safehouse. The three men drive nervously through the dark countryside, falling into discussion about why they joined the civil rights movement. They are soon followed by several cars, and though Gilmore attempts to escape, they are forced to stop upon realizing that the cops are pursuing them as well. Foster investigates the disappearance, talking to Jackson and Byer as well as the sheriff, who suggests that the boys are merely hiding for a "publicity stunt." Thompson and the Suttons explain the arrest process, noting that they did not make a phone call. Robert Kennedy and J. Edgar Hoover and his agents soon get involved and treat the case as a kidnapping, and Tuttle discusses the matter with George Greg, wondering if their associates are responsible. Greg opposes the idea of "riling" the government, but Tuttle argues the need to "smite" their enemies and commit wholly to their cause of fighting Communists and non-whites. Inspector Ryder arrives in Milburn and conducts interviews, and Foster is then led to the workers' burned-out car hidden in the woods. Jacobs' wife Linn is disturbed to hear the news, and the workers' parents are interviewed on television as agents and Navy sailors search the woods for clues. Tuttle declares publicly that it is all a "hoax" to acquire campaign money, and Ryder asserts that the Klan is likely responsible and that they will interview every member found. Foster interviews a nervous man who seems to have information, but he does not reveal it.

President Johnson and Hoover admit that the men are likely dead but vow to continue the search, and at a Klan rally, Tuttle rants about the military's presence in the state and urges his followers to be "happy warriors" and to use humorous "trickery," rather than overt violence, to waylay the investigation. The Klan members obey these orders by burning more churches and damaging their opponents' homes, and Mrs. Foster receives obscene phone calls. Foster is openly threatened by one of the men, but he stands up to him and orders him to put a stop to the calls. After several weeks, there is little progress, and Ryder interviews another man who briefly vanished after his release from the Sayville jail. He explains that he was kidnapped by unknown men who kept mentioning "the place," though he is unsure why he was let go rather than killed. Acting on a tip from his "friend" Roy, Ryder finds the unfinished Pebble Creek Dam and serves the landowner with a search warrant, deciding to dig in the deepest spot. Elsewhere, Dudley updates his comrades and wonders if someone has been feeding them "treasonous" information. Several bodies are soon found in the dam, and the television news reports that they are indeed those of Jacobs, Gilmore and Bronson, found six weeks after their disappearance. Commercials deleted. Continues on T81:0100.

Details

NETWORK: CBS
DATE: February 20, 1975 9:00 PM
RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
COLOR/B&W: Color
CATALOG ID: T81:0098
GENRE: Drama, historical
SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; United States - Race relations; Ku Klux Klan
SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1975
COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

Quinn Martin … Executive Producer
Russell Stoneham … Supervising Producer
Philip Saltzman … Producer
Bernard R. Goodman … Associate Producer
Marvin J. Chomsky … Director
Calvin Clements … Writer
Don Whitehead … Based on the book by
Mundell Lowe … Music by
William Conrad … Narrator
Ned Beatty … Cast, Deputy Sheriff Ollie Thompson
John Beck … Cast, George Greg
Bill Green Bush … Cast, Dave Keene
Dabney Coleman … Cast, FBI Agent Paul Mathison
Andrew Duggan … Cast, Insp. Ryder
Ed Flanders … Cast, Ralph Paine
L.Q. Jones … Cast, Roy Ralstop
Geoffrey Lewis … Cast, Ed Duncan
Marlyn Mason … Cast, Jean Foster
Wayne Rogers … Cast, FBI Agent Dan Foster
Peter Strauss … Cast, Ben Jacobs
Rip Torn … Cast, Imperial Wizard Glen Tuttle
Mills Watson … Cast, Dee Malcom
James Hampton … Cast, Harry Dudley
Sheila Larken … Cast, Linn Jacobs
Andrew Parks … Cast, Steve Bronson
Hilly Hicks … Cast, Charles Gilmore
Luke Askew … Cast, Aaron Cord
John McLiam … Cast, Jailer Sutton
Martine Bartlett … Cast, Bea Sutton
Logan Ramsey … Cast, Thurston Carson
Taylor Lacher … Cast, Luke Sheerer
Rosalind Miles … Cast, Rose Jackson
Arch Whiting … Cast, Carl Rick
Johnny Haymer … Cast, Reporter Poole
Hal Riddle … Cast, Reporter Josephs
Mark Edward Hall … Cast, Dan Foster, Jr.
Roy Applegate … Cast, John Worden
Albert Morgenstern … Cast, Mr. Bronson
Jerry Ayres … Cast, Wilton Laird
Jim Bohan … Cast, Collington
Arthur Adams … Cast, Mr. Byer
Charles Lampkin … Cast, Attorney Johns
Hal Lynch … Cast, Man
Curtis Lee Harris … Cast, Reynolds
Jeanie Capps … Cast, Carol Manning
Jessie Lee Fulton … Cast, Mrs. Barkley
Jim Gough … Cast, Kurt Waters