Every once in awhile you will read in the newspaper or a story will appear on TV about some person or persons who claim the Jewish people were never placed in concentration camps or even placed in ovens by the Nazi's during World War II. In this story, Randy Quaid,(Pete Suvak) is a High School Teacher who teaches his students his version of world history and his sick version of how the Jewish people played a large role in controlling Germany during the World Wars and are still an evil race. In other words, praising Hitler for his evil deeds. Pete Suvak brain washed, Thomas Wilson Brown,(Mark McKinnon),Mark McKinnon a young boy in his class and Mark brought home to his mother, Lindsay Wagner,(Kate McKinnon) this hateful information. It did not take much time before Kate McKinnon woke up and realized that something was very wrong in her hometown and a certain history teacher. This film rings true today and for many generations," Never Forget What Hitler Did "to the Jewish People and all other races during WW II and what happened in those concentration camps, that No One Seemed to care About !
4 Reviews
A superb documentary that should be seen more often
mirok11 September 1999
I have seen "Evil in Clear River" and was shocked when the documentary pointed out that people have actually been taught, in public schools, that the Holocaust never took place; that, in fact, according to such teachers, Hitler was "oppressed" by the Jews and had no choice but to try and eliminate them. These "revisionist historians" try to make the claim that Communism and Judaism are allied, which is total nonsense. The movie is gripping and quite suspenseful and is based on a TRUE story which occurred in the 1980s in Canada. I recommend that this documentary be shown more often.
Good movie
mattkratz5 November 2020
This was a good and realistic movie based on true events about a teacher teacher teaching revisionist history how the Holocaust wasn't real and the Jews were the real World War II enemies. A student's mother fights back after discovering some lectures and assignments. I think the classroom and courtroom scenes were first rate and Randy Quaid did a good job of portraying the character. This was important for anyone to see.
*** out of ****
*** out of ****
clear river gets polluted
petershelleyau31 October 2002
Made the same year as the similar Raquel Welch movie Scandal in a Small Town, Wagner is Kate McKinnon, a chain-smoking Western prairie farmwoman who discovers the town's history teacher Peter Suvak (Randy Quaid) of her son Mark (Thomas Wilson Brown) is a neo-Nazi revisionist, who teaches about a world Jewish conspiracy.
Wagner's level of emotionalism is improved by her pairing with Michael Flynn as Kate's husband Glen, who in two scenes holds her face and makes her more effective than usual. She also has to talk over the indignant yells of the crowd in a town meeting where she asks for a vote of no confidence in the mayor also Peter Suvak.
The teleplay by William Schmidt features the same incredibility of the teleplay in the Welch title, with the revisionist attracting the admiration of his pupils, who we are told `love his class'. The point being made is the detrimental effect on young minds - one person describes it as akin to being a child molester - but Quaid's manner isn't condusive to someone who is described as being a `born mesmeriser'. Kate says that the townfolk `wanna trust so badly they'll believe anything on face value', but this just reads as presenting them as gullible simple people. The treatment is an interesting variation on those with minority beliefs being persecuted - the persecuted ones being Kate and her family - though perhaps Peter using the Bible as evidence of anti-semitism is a bit much. Since Kate is female and instigates action which makes Peter suffer, it doesn't take long for the anti-semites to also reveal themselves as misogynists.
Schmidt provides some memorable dialogue. When the school principal tells Kate `I've looked around and haven't seen anyone wearing swastikas', she replies `Not on the outside'. Peter asks Kate `Why are you so convinced that there were evil little Nazis running around trying to kill poor innocent Jews?' she tells him `Because I see it in your eyes', and there is a contextual laugh when Mark yells to another teacher `Whatsa matter - Don't you believe in the Jewish conspiracy theory?' (the fact that he describes it as a theory and not fact is a goof from Schmidt).
Director Karen Arthur repeats staging in one scene, where first Peter hands out support material to the school board committee, then Kate does the same thing, and lawyers in a trial wear odd period gowns. However it is in trial speech that Quaid finally shows some lunacy, replacing his previous bland self-confidence.
Wagner's level of emotionalism is improved by her pairing with Michael Flynn as Kate's husband Glen, who in two scenes holds her face and makes her more effective than usual. She also has to talk over the indignant yells of the crowd in a town meeting where she asks for a vote of no confidence in the mayor also Peter Suvak.
The teleplay by William Schmidt features the same incredibility of the teleplay in the Welch title, with the revisionist attracting the admiration of his pupils, who we are told `love his class'. The point being made is the detrimental effect on young minds - one person describes it as akin to being a child molester - but Quaid's manner isn't condusive to someone who is described as being a `born mesmeriser'. Kate says that the townfolk `wanna trust so badly they'll believe anything on face value', but this just reads as presenting them as gullible simple people. The treatment is an interesting variation on those with minority beliefs being persecuted - the persecuted ones being Kate and her family - though perhaps Peter using the Bible as evidence of anti-semitism is a bit much. Since Kate is female and instigates action which makes Peter suffer, it doesn't take long for the anti-semites to also reveal themselves as misogynists.
Schmidt provides some memorable dialogue. When the school principal tells Kate `I've looked around and haven't seen anyone wearing swastikas', she replies `Not on the outside'. Peter asks Kate `Why are you so convinced that there were evil little Nazis running around trying to kill poor innocent Jews?' she tells him `Because I see it in your eyes', and there is a contextual laugh when Mark yells to another teacher `Whatsa matter - Don't you believe in the Jewish conspiracy theory?' (the fact that he describes it as a theory and not fact is a goof from Schmidt).
Director Karen Arthur repeats staging in one scene, where first Peter hands out support material to the school board committee, then Kate does the same thing, and lawyers in a trial wear odd period gowns. However it is in trial speech that Quaid finally shows some lunacy, replacing his previous bland self-confidence.
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