[Note: This article is edited material based on the two books, The Essential Elizabeth Montgomery: A Guide To Her Magical Performances, and Twitch Upon a Star: The Bewitched Life and Career of Elizabeth Montgomery.]
Actress Elizabeth Montgomery, who died from cancer in 1995, was no stranger to controversy. After portraying beloved twitch-witch Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, TV’s long-running supernatural sitcom (ABC, 1964-1972), the multi-Emmy-nominated Montgomery performed in a series of compelling TV-movies. Those included The Legend of Lizzie Borden (ABC, 1975).
Image Credit: IMDb.
Elizabeth’s Father
As the liberal-minded daughter of the conservative-geared actor Robert Montgomery, Elizabeth was politically active and enjoyed stirring the pot, with particular regard to her father. The two had a love-not-like relationship and were on opposite sides of the political spectrum, as she campaigned for Democratic candidates and championed social causes.
As such, the father Montgomery, who died in 1981, would most likely not have approved of his daughter’s narration of two controversial documentaries that were critical of President Ronald Reagan’s administration: Cover Up: Behind the Iran-Contra Affair (1988) and The Panama Deception (1992). Both films were directed by Barbara Trent and written and edited by David Kasper.
Image Credit: IMDB.
A Closer Look at Cover Up
Cover Up: Behind the Iran-Contra Affair explores more than a few unsettling chapters in the history of U.S. covert foreign policy. The film explores a tale of politics, drugs, hostages, weapons, assassinations, covert operations, and the ultimate plan to suspend the U.S. Constitution.
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The October Surprise Hostage Agreement
Cover Up was the first movie to reveal the ‘October Surprise’ hostage agreement (the Reagan/Bush campaign deal with Iran to delay the release of the 52 American hostages until after the 1980 election).
The controversial documentary won several awards and was distributed in 80 cities across America.
Image Credit: IMDb.
A Closer Perception of The Panama Deception
The second documentary that Elizabeth Montgomery narrated was The Panama Deception, which details the 1989 invasion of Panama by the U.S.
One IMDb.com reviewer worked for the Jesse Jackson campaign in 1988 when Cover Up was released. “During that campaign,” the reviewer wrote, “…the press would print any rumor about any candidate, no matter how lacking in credibility the source. This film has testimony from credible sources, and yet no newspaper or columnist here carried a review of it or any reference to it.”
The Panama Deception won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
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In Witch Conclusion
Elizabeth Montgomery worked diligently to showcase her diverse talents and to utilize her public persona to share her personal beliefs.
The actress accomplished those objectives by narrating Cover Up: Behind the Iran-Contra Affair and The Panama Deception.
This article originally appeared on UpbeatWithHerbieJPilato.substack.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
Image Credit: Wikipedia / ABC Television.
