Writer-director David O. Russell’s latest, Amsterdam, is about a trio of friends who are implicated in the murder of a US senator, and wind up unearthing a fascist plot. The film stars Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington, and features a star-studded supporting cast. Amsterdam purports that what happened in the film is based on true events — but what is the story based on and how much of the plot really happened?
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David O. Russell’s Amsterdam is based on the Business Plot of 1933, a political conspiracy that aimed to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt by forcefully planting a dictator in his place. This was to be a veteran-led coup, with wealthy businessmen — who wanted fascism in a bid to follow in Germany and Italy’s footsteps at the time — at the center of it all. The coup was also meant to place retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler (who Robert De Niro’s character General Gil Dillenbeck is based on) as the dictator, though he ultimately testified against the businessmen in front of a special committee serving under the US House of Representatives.
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The Business Plot is ultimately a little-known aspect of history — namely because General Smedley Butler’s accusations were dismissed despite the confirmation that a fascist plot did, in fact, exist. It's given a life of its own in Russell’s film. What’s more, the veteran reunion in the film takes its inspiration from the 1939 Nazi-affiliated rally that was held at Madison Square Garden, which was held several years after the events of Amsterdam.
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In place of the veteran reunion party, General Smedley Butler was asked to give a speech by Gerald C. Macguire, a bond salesman, at the American Legion convention, which was for veterans. Similar to what happens in the film to Dillenbeck, General Smedley Butler goes along with the pro-fascist plot so that he could gather intelligence on them. While Amsterdam never sees Dillenbeck speaking in front of Congress, the film ends with Smedley Butler’s speech — the same one De Niro’s character gives — denouncing fascism and speaking out about the coup. In the film, this speech is made public, but that never really happened. All told, Butler’s involvement is the biggest event that was adapted onscreen outside the Business Plot schemes.
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The Committee of Five plays a crucial role in Amsterdam, and it’s their fascist plot that Burt, Harold, and Valerie work to stop before it can have detrimental effects. The Committee of Five did actually exist, but the real-life version had no relation to fascism or to businessmen in the 1930s. Rather, the name seems like a nod to the Committee of Five — John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman and Thomas Jefferson — who, as a part of the Second Continental Congress, drafted the Declaration of Independence.
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The film juxtaposes the two iterations to make a point about the rise of fascism and its threat to democracy.
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More:
https://screenrant.com/is-amsterdam-movie-based-on-a-true-story/
