I was a little disappointed to say the least when I finished this. It was almost like watching an ABC after School Special on "sticking to your principals".This has shades of the Salem Witch Trials all through it. Not the witches part obviously but the the town frenzy aspect and the few who are shunned and judged wrong regardless of obvious evidence. The town morons who are just too stupid to think for themselves and so the town hierarchy speak for em and they believe every word they say.If this would have went in another direction, like say, half-way through they were to fast forward a year and see the results of the tourist season at the spa to see the outcome of the "bad water" then I would have liked this or at least respected it a little more. But as it is and was left to us, I can certainly see why this a a forgotten Mcqueen film. It was just a little over dramatic for my taste.If you like plays, as this obviously was, and you enjoy a lot of talking and some over-acting thrown in, then this one's for you.

Late in his brief career, Steve McQueen, a superstar for his roles in action movies, intensely wanted a chance to demonstrate his abilities in a classical framework. To that end he produced this cinematic version of the Ibsen play about a 19th-Century whistleblower and worked for scale, as did other actors. The script is adapted from the excellent adaptation done by Arthur Miller a half-century ago.The screenplay closely follows the original work and utilizes a minimum of sets with only one exterior shoot. Despite this constriction, this film is truly unforgettable. The acting by McQueen, Richard Dysart, Charles Durning and Bibi Anderson is superb. The cinematography is excellent as well, conveying an almost tactile appreciation of period costumes and interiors of the sort found in Matewan by John Sayles.The examination of the political and emotional whirlwinds described by Ibsen would be topical today.The regrettable part of this enterprise was the inexplicable failure of the studio to release the film in the U.S. DVD versions can be found and used PAL videotape versions are available from the U.K., Australia and other countries that use that format.

The thing I noticed right away was how the plot reminded me of the original Jaws. Dealing with a life threatening problem or wanting to believe it will go away. Great movie. Steve McQueen was different from his usual but a pleasure to watch. Charles Durning was also just about at the top of his game. Robin Pearson Rose was a very interesting actress but may have had her career impeded by this first appearance, though no blame should go to her acting in this movie. The ship captain, Richard Bradford, was a treat in such a role and a reminder of how a good voice carries a performance. A great many of the secondary parts were of similar high quality actors and so familiar over the years. The odd thing was seeing it on Netflix's instant watch but the thumbnail seems to be for a Braodway performance and this rare version is what plays.

Steve McQueen made a career out of playing action roles, and although he played with a certain sense of cerebrality, by 1977 he wanted to prove that he could "act", in the classic sense. He proves beyond a doubt that he can in "An Enemy of The People", which was adapted from a play by Norwegian playwright Heinrik Ibsen.McQueen gives a sublime performance in a film that was never properly released, promoted, or issued on video simply because the filmmakers didn't know what to do with it. It was a complete 360 degree turnaround role for McQueen, it's based on a play that, although famous, isn't well known by people who aren't college students, and they simply didn't know how to market it.All the actors for this film were well chosen and all turn in excellent performances. McQueen himself certainly looks the part of the town doctor with his granny glasses, professor's 3 piece suit, and long shaggy beard.It should be noted that this does appear on PBS from time to time, and videotaped versions of this are floating around. If you get a chance to see it, whether on tv or on someones videotaped version, then by all means do so.