review for An Enemy of the People on AllMovie

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's 1882 drama about a man willing to risk everything to tell the truth receives loving treatment in this made-for-TV motion picture adapted by Arthur Miller. An Enemy of the People (Ein Folkfiende) is a tightly knit drama, with all of the action taking place in a home, a newspaper office, and a barn used for a town meeting. John Glover reaches into the depths of his acting skill to portray Dr. Thomas Stockmann, who discovers that the local spa contains disease-causing bacteria. The discovery threatens the town's economic survival and the pocketbooks of local investors, including the physician's own brother, Mayor Peter Stockmann (George Grizzard). Glover's character is totally honest as he insists on publishing the report. But he is also somewhat flawed in his stubborn zealotry and in his overweening pride in his status as guardian of public health and welfare. The result is a riveting study of the human psyche as it responds to an ethical dilemma. Meanwhile, Dr. Stockmann's brother, Mayor Peter Stockmann Grizzard, gives the audience what Ibsen intended: a self-seeking politician skilled at masquerading lies as truth and capable of betraying his own brother. As the conflict slowly builds -- and the ideals of the townspeople, including reform-minded newsmen, crumble under the weight of Mayor Stockmann's machinations -- the story reaches an explosive climax in which Dr. Stockmann stands alone against an angry mob. Arthur Miller does justice to the original Ibsen play as he moves the setting to Maine of 1883 while retaining the names of the characters.