A fair and balanced examination of the conviction and 1953 execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were the first American civilians to be killed for espionage (for passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union), is not on director Ivy Meeropol's agenda. Instead, the granddaughter of the notorious couple is bent on "reclaiming the story for our family" as well as finding the answer to a question that has haunted her and her family for 50 years: "What was worth standing up for so much that they were willing to die and leave my father and uncle?" Clumsy in spots (suspect faux newsreel narration is used for exposition purposes), the HBO-aired documentary Heir to an Execution is nonetheless wrenching, particularly in a section where Meeropol's father relates his hatred of, and revenge fantasies against, David Greenglass, Ethel's brother, who was a witness for the prosecution. In one compelling moment, Ivy summons up the courage to drive by Greenglass's house, something her embittered father refuses to do. Archival footage vividly conveys the hysterical anti-Communist tenor of the times (including a scene of a rally in which one speaker recites a poem calling for the execution of the Rosenbergs). While unlikely to change anyone's mind about the couple's guilt or innocence, this film does strip away the mythology to put human faces on the pair. On a more personal level, families divided by tragedy will also connect with Meeropol's quest. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (D. Liebenson)
Heir to an Execution: A Granddaughter's Story
(2004) 99 min. DVD: $24.98. HBO Video (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-7831-3068-6. Volume 19, Issue 6
Heir to an Execution: A Granddaughter's Story
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