The Man Nobody Knew

William Colby, who rose through the ranks to become head of the CIA during a difficult time, was a man of exceptional integrity and self-control, according to this documentary made by his son, Carl. Colby is best remembered as the intelligence chief who revealed many of his agency's darkest secrets to a hostile Congress in the aftermath of the twin debacles of Vietnam and Watergate, later dying mysteriously while out boating. Colby's career included distinguished service in the OSS during World War II and in South Vietnam during the early ‘60s. He argued against the massive bombing of Vietnam that later became American policy, and as the CIA's director (1973-76) acknowledged the agency's illegal surveillance of Americans and his personal involvement in a covert program that dealt brutally with suspected Hanoi agents—revelations that resulted in his removal (his replacement was George H.W. Bush). Archival file footage of Colby shows that even in the most stressful situations he radiated a calm demeanor, but contemporary interviews with politicians, reporters, and Colby's wife (whom he abruptly divorced), suggest that deep turmoil ran beneath the dispassionate, imperturbable surface. The Man Nobody Knew exhibits less intensity than might be expected in a son's treatment of his often-absent and emotionally distant father, instead presenting a coolly fascinating portrait of an opaque and complicated man. Recommended. (F. Swietek)