The Truth About ‘Harry’

Re “Where Has ‘Who Is Harry Kellerman’ Been for 28 Years?” (by Donald Liebenson, June 2):

As assistant controller of CBS’ Cinema Center Films division at the time “Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?” was made, I feel obligated to offer a slightly more balanced appraisal of this (to quote your article) “surreal comedy” that “received mixed reviews.”

Notwithstanding that Cinema Center created some films of enduring appeal and commercial success (including the Dustin Hoffman-starring “Little Big Man”), your reporter has it sort of backward when he describes CCF as a “short-lived film division.” Unfortunately, it was films like “Kellerman,” a film greenlighted mainly because of personal relationships and with little chance of commercial success, that helped make Cinema Center short-lived.

So, while “Kellerman” may well be “essential viewing for anyone interested in Hoffman’s career,” the reality is that is was also so unintelligible as to be virtually unreleasable. I well remember attending a prerelease screening and hearing viewers arguing afterward as to whether reels had accidentally been switched.

ROBERT A. GRUNBURG

Marina del Rey