Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in Sing Sing Prison on June 19, 1953. They were electrocuted for their alleged participation in a Soviet espionage ring that was purported to have given some of the research results from the top secret Manhattan Project to the communists of the day. In the era of McCarthyism and the much vaunted Red Menace, it was a high profile case but one that isn't as cut and dry as Senator Joe would have probably wanted everyone to believe.

Now, fifty years after the events that lead to the execution of her grandparents, documentary filmmaker Ivy Meerpol brings to light many of the details about her grandparents and her family in general that were swept under the rug during their trial and subsequent execution. Her film, aptly entitled Heir To An Execution takes a trip down memory lane with numerous Rosenberg friends and family members – people who knew Julius and Ethel personally, outside of the trial and the actions that lead up to it.

Details of the case aside, what the film ultimately attempts is to give the viewer a look at the personalities and personas behind the Rosenbergs who were villainized by the media of the time. Through interviewing those who knew them, Meerpol is able to piece together virtual portraits of a sort of her grandparents and how the trials that they went through have affected her family ever since. Contrasting this with much archival footage from the period, much of which concentrates on the fervent anti-Communist paranoia that was so very much in effect at the time, does paint a sympathetic portrait of her family, but ultimately isn't trying to exonerate them for what they did (or did not) do.

By making the film the director, who very obviously has a personal stake in all of this seeing as she is a direct descendant of those accused, seems to be coming to terms with the reality of the fact that her grandfather, for whatever reason, willingly risked the lives of his family for his politics. No one really claims to know why he did what he did – he must have had some sort of motive – but if you think about it, from Meerpol's perspective or particularly the perspective of her parents or aunts and uncles.

In short, Heir To An Execution is a great character study of two interesting figures in American history who are never really though of as real people so much as odd historical footnotes. The film goes a long way to clearing that up, if not clearing their names.

Video:

Though the back of the case states that the movie is full frame, it's actually presented on this DVD in widescreen at approximately 1.85.1 and is not enhanced for anamorphic television sets. Like most documentaries or productions that depend on archival footage, quality varies depending on the condition of the footage used but the newly recorded material, though shot on video, does look quite clean and vibrant. There is some video noise and edge enhancement present on this footage but it's not overly severe. Overall this looks about as good as a standard television broadcast.