WHO’S DOING WHAT - main character dynamics
The story lines of Albert Kahn and Roy Cohn operate in diametric opposition, with Harvey Matusow acting as the unpredictable disrupter.
On one side, Roy is grasping for power by any means and political dark art, especially that of exploiting the culture of fear that grips the nation.
On the other side, Albert is crusading for justice as he sees it, seeking emancipation for the unjustly oppressed —including a dear friend — and striving to dismantle the very system of demagoguery propagated by Roy Cohn and his cronies.
Between them is the unstable spinning top that is Harvey Matusow, a young man who seems to try on various masks, and to swear alternating allegiances on mere whims. His attempt to come clean now is either his first earnest pursuit of redemption or yet another opportunist stunt. Only time will tell as both Albert and Roy seek to use Harvey in different ways, to meet their own aims.
Time is against each of them as they race toward a personal victory which is far from certain. But there is one thing Roy clearly knows, yet which escapes Albert and Harvey: by leveling accusations against Roy, Albert and Harvey have set up an eventual showdown between them, the stakes of which are prison for the losing side. In FOOL THEM ONCE, all roads lead to a face-off which will have lasting effects on the American landscape.
THE PROTAGONIST: Struggling, blacklisted writer/publisher/activist Albert E. Kahn stakes his career and the security and safety of his family on the word of an admitted con man -- Harvey Matusow -- in an attempt to topple McCarthyism and save a dear friend from prison. But his battle is not only against shadowy government forces and public death threats, but also against time itself. And time is running out fast. Will Albert triumph in time or will the fight consume him and tear apart his young family under enormous pressure?
THE WILD CARD: Failed comedian/magician/puppeteer Harvey Matusow has conned his way to the heights of national political celebrity and into McCarthy’s inner circle, all at barely 28 years of age. It’s a shockingly meteoric rise uniquely suited for his brand of pathologically erratic, narcissistic, womanizing behavior. And he’s done it all by brazenly lying in front of the entire nation -- lies at times fed to him by Roy Cohn. But now he’s suddenly had a “religious conversion” and is on a vision quest across Texas and New Mexico, spreading rumors that he’s going to write a memoir of the government’s complicity in his public sins. But is Harvey really coming clean or is he just spinning another con to get back into the headlines?
THE ANTAGONIST: The one-time architect of McCarthyism and notorious master of political dark arts, Roy Cohn has been brought low by the disgrace of the Army-McCarthy hearings, leaving him cast out of Washington D.C. Harvey’s accusations against Roy and the government are taken by Senator Joseph McCarthy and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover as grave threats. But Roy sees them as the perfect opportunity to plot his resurrection and return to power in an even darker, more sinister version of himself than before. That is, if he can thread the needle just so. Will Roy’s cunning manipulation allow him to turn Harvey’s revelations against himself and land Roy back where he belongs -- the intersection of national gossip and power?
AN INSIDE PERSPECTIVE
The personal accounts of these trials, endured by Albert Kahn and his family are what drive the human narrative forward. Thanks to the recorded recollections in Albert’s book and the wealth of corresponding notes and recordings — along with the living memories of the Kahn children — in FOOL THEM ONCE, historical drama becomes real-life tension of the most gripping form.
GLOBAL 3-ACT STRUCTURE
Series overview - proposed*
ACT 1 - THE SEARCH FOR MATUSOW
Albert’s race against Spengler and the FBI to find the destructive and elusive ghost, Harvey Matusow. Everyone angles to control his secrets. Episodes 01 - 02.
ACT 2 - THE FIGHT TO WRITE
The struggle to secure Matusow’s confession, and to get the book written under duress of government intimidation and time ticking down. Cohn plots his revenge. Spengler feels the heat. Ward starts to go rogue. The Kahn family is tested. As Albert conducts his interrogation of Harvey, we inter-cut present day with flashbacks depicting the rise of Matusow, McCarthy, and Cohn. Episodes 03 - 06.
ACT 3 - THE SHOWDOWN
Open battles in court, contrasted with clandestine battles behind the scenes over suppression of the book and the political smearing of its author, its publishers, and anyone associated with it, the Kahn children included. Harvey and Roy face off, with prison looming for the losing side. Albert wrestles with a sacrificial act. Episodes 07 - 10.
*Full 3-Act structural breakdown and other synopses, including character development maps, available upon request.