WUSA

WUSA is a 1970 American drama directed by Stuart Rosenberg. It follows Rheinhardt, a cynical drifter who arrives in New Orleans and takes a job as an announcer at a right-wing radio station called WUSA. He is willing to read the station's reactionary editorials on air even though he does not share those views, treating the work as little more than a paycheck. His detachment is tested by his friend Geraldine and by Rainey, an idealistic neighbour who begins to see that the station's agenda runs deeper and more dangerous than its broadcasts suggest. As events slip out of control, Rheinhardt is forced to decide where he stands.

The film was written by Robert Stone and produced by John Foreman and Paul Newman, who also stars as Rheinhardt. Joanne Woodward plays Geraldine, with Anthony Perkins as Rainey, Laurence Harvey as Farley, Don Gordon as Bogdanovich and Pat Hingle as Bingamon. It was Rosenberg's second feature, following Cool Hand Luke in 1967, and came before The Laughing Policeman, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror, Love and Bullets, Brubaker and The Pope of Greenwich Village. Made on a budget of about five million dollars, it drew modest audience scores: 5.5 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 1,500 votes, and 5.3 out of 10 on TMDB from a much smaller sample of 32.