View source for Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker

{{short description|1994 television film}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Assault at West Point poster.jpg
| image_upright        = 1.0
| image_alt            =
| caption              =
| genre                =
| creator              =
| based_on             =
| writer               = Harry Moses
| screenplay           =
| story                =
| director             = Harry Moses
| starring             = [[Samuel L. Jackson]]<br>[[Sam Waterston]]<br>[[Seth Gilliam]]
| narrated             =
| music                = Terence Blanchard
| country              = United States
| language             =
| num_episodes         =
| producer             =
| editor               =
| cinematography       = [[Ken Kelsch]]
| runtime              = 98 minutes
| company              = Ultra Entertainment (a division of Capital Cities/ABC Video Enterprises Inc.)
| budget               =
| network              =
| released             = {{Start date|1994|02|27}}
}}
'''''Assault at West Point''''' is a 1994 Showtime made-for-cable [[drama film]] about [[Johnson Chesnut Whittaker]], one of [[United States Military Academy#After the Civil War|the first black cadets]] at [[United States Military Academy|West Point]], and the trial that followed an assault he suffered in 1880. The film features [[Samuel L. Jackson]], who portrays a lawyer who defends Whittaker. The movie is based on historian [[John F. Marszalek]]'s book ''Court Martial: A Black Man in America''.
==Plot==
Johnson Whittaker, a black cadet at West Point, is attacked by three fellow students. The school administrators court-martial Whittaker in the mistaken belief that he staged his own attack, supposedly to avoid a philosophy exam.
The assault on him by fellow cadets quickly makes its way into the press and gained widespread attention. [[Richard Theodore Greener|Richard Greener]] is the Harvard alumnus [[lawyer]] who defends Whittaker at his trial and, since he is also black, has also personally experienced [[racism]]. Greener's partner, [[Daniel Henry Chamberlain|Daniel Chamberlain]], does not share his determination but rather has a different agenda – acquiring fame.
The trial begins and the two lawyers are at odds with one another. The prosecutor, Major [[Asa Bird Gardiner]], cross-examines Whittaker, who manages to evade his tactics. On the day the verdict is to be delivered, the officer whose vote they had hoped would be favorable does not show up in court. The other four officers find Whittaker guilty of assaulting himself so as not to participate in the exam.
The film closes in later years, with Whittaker being interviewed by a reporter. Whittaker tells him that he went on to become a school principal, while Greener is now retired. He also informs the reporter that Chamberlain later went on to defend [[lynching]]. "People will sometimes do anything to gather fame", states Whittaker, to which the reporter replies, "I wonder what hidden agenda he was carrying". The film ends with the reporter telephoning the newspaper and telling them to hold the first page; he has a great story.
==Cast==
*[[Samuel L. Jackson]] as [[Richard Greener]]
*[[Sam Waterston]] as Daniel Chamberlain
*[[Mason Adams]] as Henry D. Hyde
*[[Val Avery]] as General [[William T. Sherman]]
*[[Eddie Bracken]] as Major Charles T. Alexander
*[[Seth Gilliam]] as Johnson Whittaker
*[[Al Freeman, Jr.]] as Old Johnson Whittaker
*[[John Glover (actor)|John Glover]] as Major [[Asa Bird Gardiner]]
==References==
*{{IMDb title|id=0109161|title=Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker}}
*[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/assault_at_west_point/# Rottentomatoes.com]
[[Category:1994 television films]]
[[Category:1994 films]]
[[Category:American drama television films]]
[[Category:Films about race and ethnicity]]
[[Category:Military courtroom films]]
[[Category:Films set in the United States Military Academy]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
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