Logline of All the President’s Men: Reporters Woodward and Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Nixon’s resignation.
Writer: William Goldman based on the book All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Genre: Biographical Political Drama Thriller
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards
Release Date: April 7, 1976
Script Can Be Found Here
As part of a weekly series, I’m looking at some of the WGA’s List of Top 101 Screenplays to see how everyone’s favorite screenwriting formula shows up. I neither condone nor condemn the framework. I’m just deeply curious.
Rank on WGA List: #53
“All the President’s Men” Summary:
The story begins in June 1972 when five men are arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. At first, The Washington Post thinks the robbery is low-level and assigns Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) to ascertain information from the preliminary court hearing. But as Woodward learns that five men (James W. McCord and four Cuban-Americans from Miami had electronic bugging equipment and are represented by a “hotshot fancy lawyer.”) Woodward learns that McCord mentions that he recently left the CIA with the others also having CIA ties. He connects the burglars to E.Howard Hunt, an employee of Charles Colson and also formerly of the CIA.
The Washington Post assigns two reporters, Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), to cover the seemingly minor burglary. However, as the reporters dig deeper, they uncover a web of political corruption and deceit that reaches into the highest levels of government.
Woodward and Bernstein’s investigation is marked by tenacity, skepticism, and a commitment to uncovering the truth. Their editor, Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards), encourages them to follow the story wherever it leads, even if it implicates individuals within the Nixon administration. The duo faces numerous obstacles, including stonewalling by government officials, reluctance from potential sources, and personal threats.
As the reporters piece together the puzzle, they discover that the break-in is just the tip of the iceberg. The investigation leads them to a clandestine group within the White House known as the Committee to Re-elect the President (CREEP), which was involved in illegal activities, including espionage, sabotage, and efforts to cover up their actions. The duo relies on their journalistic instincts, developing a network of informants, anonymous tips (most famously, the mysterious informant named “Deep Throat”), and a tireless pursuit of every lead.
The climax of the film occurs when Woodward and Bernstein connect the dots between the burglars and the Nixon administration, revealing the extent of the cover-up. The scandal leads to congressional hearings, and the reporters’ dedication to the truth results in the resignation of key figures, including President Nixon.
“All the President’s Men” Analysis:
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 1 | Opening Image (page 1) | 1 | In script: A TINY BLACK PIECE OF TAPE. In movie: Numbers being typed on a page |
In the script, “A TINY BLACK PIECE OF TAPE” is symbolic because black tape can be used to obscure things; it’s also being used to help break-in. In the movie, we have letters being fired onto the page as though they were being shot by a gun onto the page.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 2 | Theme Stated (page 5) | N/A | N/A |
The major theme of All the President’s Men is corruption is everywhere, you just have to look closer. It’s not overtly stated, especially in the first few pages.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 3 | Set-Up (pages 1-10) | Pages 1-20 | Six Things that Need FIxing: 1) Watergate is broken into; 2) The people arrested have a suspiciously fancy lawyer, 3) Caddy (at the hearing) is cagey AF, 3) The defendants are cagey AF to the judge (but admits he was once at the CIA), 4) The black address book of the Cuban guys mention the White House, 5) AP found out that McCord was on the Committee to Re-Elect the President, 6) John Mitchell says that the break-in has nothing to do with CREEP, 7) Woodward’s a little wet behind the ears (doesn’t know who Colson is), 8) Woodward can’t get Howard Hunt to talk, 9) There’s more cover-up about when Hunt worked at the WH, 10) Woodward thinks there’s more cover-up coming from the White House, 11) Woodward’s got competition from Bernstein, who’s rewriting his story (Woodward isn’t happy about this) |
So here’s the thing with the set-up: there are way more than just six things wrong; as you can see, I counted up 11 and they mainly pertain to the fishy stuff surrounding the break-in, all of the things that are setting off Woodward.
As Woodward and Bernstein do not like each other, they set up a type of odd couple. Sure, they both may be good at their jobs, but it’s clear that Woodward has pedigree whereas Bernstein has experience.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 4 | Catalyst (page 12) | P. 1 | The Watergate Break-In |
I actually believe that the Catalyst occurs on page 1 because it starts the story, changing the norm for Woodward and Bernstein. When they’re assigned together to work on the story, it becomes the point of no return/end of act one (p. 20). What this demonstrates is that Goldman uses incredible narrative efficiency to get things going for the characters and hooking the audience.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 5 | Debate (pages 12-25) | N/A | N/A |
No traditional debate of ‘should-I-or-shouldn’t-I-do-something.’ The high-stakes action is already happening and, in many ways, the pages devoted to the set-up also double as the debate because no one exactly knows what’s going on.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 6 | Break Into Two (page 25) | P. 20 | Woodward and Bernstein start working together. |
This feels like the beginning of End of At One/Beginning of Act Two because the old world of Woodward and Bernstein working solo is left behind and the new one of working together to uncover clues is established.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 7 | B-Story (page 30) | N/A | N/A |
No B-Story here (with the possible exception of a scene with Bernstein and Hannah in his apartment. Still, this is only one scene, and that’s not enough to call it a total B-plot.)
The film is all about Woodward and Bernstein uncovering clues; it is not about their personal lives or anything else. It could be argued that their developing relationship is the B-story. Maybe, but that feels like a byproduct of the A-story.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 8 | Fun and Games (pages 30-55) | Pages 20 – 50 | Woodward and Bernstein hunt down, investigate their sources, are pushed by their editor to raise the bar, and meet Deep Throat in a garage who says “follow the money.” Bernstein goes to Miami and there are more interviews. The Post’s editors debate about whether to even run the story. |
Woodward and Bernstein are hot on the trail; this feels like the core of the action with the most notable scene being Woodward meeting Deep Throat in a parking garage. What’s great about this part of the script is that they have to contend with high editorial standards, competition from the NYT, and doubt from the editors. All of these events demonstrate that the stakes are gradually becoming higher and higher for the investigative duo.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 9 | Midpoint (page 55) | Page 50 | They get the list of CREEP people and start going door-to-door. |
When the duo receive the list of CREEP people, it is the MIdpoint because it spins the action in a new direction, and it raises the stakes considerably. Woodward and Bernstein are getting closer.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 10 | Bad Guys Close In (pages 55-75) | Pages 50 – 79 | As Woodward and Bernstein interview people, they begin to get word that the movements of them as well as the people who are talking to them are being monitored. They talk to the Bookkeeper who gives them names, dates, and numbers. They get a new direction to talk to the five guys who were aware of the break-in. They also talk to Sloan |
As Woodward and Bernstein interview people, they begin to receive word that people are monitoring the movements of them as well as the people who are talking to them. This ratchets up the stakes. When they talk to the Bookkeeper, it pays off Deep Throat’s directive of following the money; this is a considerable breakthrough because now they are getting even closer to what happened and the interview with Sloan corroborates this.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 11 | All is Lost (page 75) | N/A | Whiff of Death: N/A |
While the stakes are raised considerably as Woodward and Bernstein get closer to the truth, there isn’t a Whiff of Death. If anything, there’s a Whiff of LIfe as Bradlee encourages them to move forward, even if the article they’re writing is implicating the former Attorney General.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 12 | Dark Night of the Soul (pages 75-85) | 79 – 92 | They interview Mitchell, print the story about Mitchell and then receive “non-denial denials.” Woodward talks to Katie Graham who says “do better”; the L.A. Times is also running its take. They also get the Segretti tip and interview him. |
There isn’t a Dark Night of the Soul – in printing the Mitchell story, Woodward and Bernstein are getting closer and the stakes are raised.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 13 | Break Into Three (page 85) | 92 | Woodward meets Deep Throat who tells them that more background, says that the corruption goes all the way to the top, that “every lead goes somewhere.” He also tells Woodward about the gigantic scope of the operation. |
This feels like the End of Act Two/Beginning of Act Three because, with the corruption being so large in scale, it propels the narrative towards resolution. Woodward and Bernstein have to finish their reporting so as to put the nail in the coffin.
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 14 | Finale (pages 85-110) | 92 – 120 | More reporting: they interview Muskie, Clawsen. The CREEP PR Man and Western Senator condemn the Post. W&B talk to Sloan again. They run the story about Haldeman. There’s blowback. |
Here, we have the final scenes of the investigation and running the story that would eventually impeach a President
| Number | STC Element | Page(s) in Script | Event in Script |
| 15 | Final Image (page 110) | 120 | In script: Woodward and Bernstein continue working while images of all convicted men have been shown. |
The story ends with a very business-as-usual image. No huge gala honoring them. No images of them receiving the Pulitzer. This actually makes them seem more heroic because they’re just doing their job in humble service of the truth.
In many ways, All the President’s Men feels very episodic in that Woodward and Bernstein are merely following the trail of clues, interviewing people, and overcoming obstacles from their editors and the administration to find the story and print it. The film doesn’t conform to all of the STC guidelines because it’s following the clues organically. The more they get to the bottom of things, the higher the stakes, the greater the tension, and the more compelling the story is because it’s following its own logic.