A Bolt Of Lightning (1951)
Director:
Paul NickellWriter:
Irve TunickStars:
Charlton Heston, Romney Brent, Rita ValeDramatization of the life of James Otis, one of America's reluctant Bostonian revolutionaries caught up in the orbit of Sam Adams. A young Charlton Heston plays Otis with characteristic patriotic zeal, and he is supported by a good cast of character actors. The story portrays the basics of Otis' somewhat tragic life with some exaggeration, but not that much. Otis was an Advocate for the British governor who turned on the British administration because of their refusal to recognize the sanctity of private property. He produced a strong legal argument against the infamous Writs of Assistance, which permitted British agents to search and seize private property without a warrant.
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TV and American history
This is an interesting story of American history mostly unknown to contemporary Americans. It is even more interesting example of the quality of early Tv, both story and casting. See Charlton Heston before he became Moses. Frank Overton is known to modern audiences for a few performances like Star Trek, but this was his first one on TV. It is also the third of 4 times he worked with Anne Seymour, a fine character actress. Both Overton and Heston would perform in several more episodes of Studio One.
