A different way of telling a story

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Ten Years After the Fact, this Film Combines Fact and Speculation on the Assassination of John F. Kennedy, and is one of the First in the "Conspiracy Wave" beginning in the Early Seventies, not just on the Assassination but other Important Things as well. It is a Low-Budget Precursor to Oliver Stone's "JFK" (1991).Hitting a number of "Points" that have been Regurgitated Endlessly since, it must be Credited for its Big Screen Recreation of the Anti-Warren Commission Theorists. The Movie, as were said "Theorists" (at the time), considered Absolute Bunk and Anti-American.The Movie was not received favorably among the Public and Critics and Obviously the Power Elite were Not Pleased. Long Forgotten, Little Seen Movie with Two Mega Stars, Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan is Now Considered a Cold Tempered, Cold War, Minimalist Movie that is to the point and Endlessly Engaging, especially if one is Not of a Single and Closed Mind on the Subject.The Tone is Bleak fitting the Story at hand and makes its Case with a Calculated Effort using Real Newsreels and Ominous, Rogue Elements of Corporations and Government. Must See Viewing for Anyone Interested in Informed Speculation, Misinformation, Disinformation, and the News Beneath the Headlines.

The appeal of this motion-picture for me--and, I surmise, the reason it was made--is not so much to be a profitable work of art, but rather, a courageous effort to search for the truth.The obscurity of the film shows that, despite the efforts of courageous progressives who put their money where their hearts were- -Kirk Douglas, Robert Ryan, Burt Lancaster, to name just a few--the reactionary, established powers had the last laugh.Because the established order of the financial-military mafia that rules this country can only be sustained through fiction and, consequently, any social commentary trending towards fact must be marginalized or lampooned as 'conspiracy theory.'Now, down to a couple of brass tacks. I already had studied the JFK assassination quite a bit when first I saw this film, but I was surprised that a movie made in 1973 could capture so many of the key elements of the conspiracy, and do it so seamlessly, without getting lost in a morass of details.Two of these key elements treated compellingly in this film are:1) the set-up of Oswald, the 'patron', as he is termed in the movie. Step by step Farington (the character played by Lancaster) briefs Robert Ryan (one of the principal conspirators) about Oswald's very, very curious background and CV--his activities in the USMC, his Russian language training, his abrupt departure, the inconsistencies of his emergency leave, his circuitous route to Moscow, his melodramatic defection, then his return to the US, his fair-play for Cuba activities--and, all along, the almost magical manner in which these gyrations went off without a hitch, and were even expedited and facilitated by various US agencies. As Ryan concludes: obviously was an agent of the CIA or ONI, his bizarre activities were machinations to send to the USSR as a 'mole', or 'trojan horse', but the Soviets were past masters in espionnage, and didn't take the bait.2) a point so obvious that it sometimes is forgotten, or simply defies belief: a scene in the movie where a table-ful of reporters incredulously ask a Dallas police official what records, what transcripts or tapes have been made of Oswald's hours-long interrogations, only to be told--with no hint of embarrassment--that there are none. This is just one compelling example of another basic proof of the JFK conspiracy: the incredibly incompetent manner in which the official investigation of the crime was conducted. And yes, I mean incredible in the literal sense: a bit of investigatory incompetence here and there would be understandable--but the consistency of these 'errors' shows conclusively a deliberate effort to mask what really happened.Please remember that Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster also were part of Seven Days in May, which JFK asked Frankheimer to make, a movie about a right-wing military takeover of the USA.So for all those who poo-poo the idea of a JFK conspiracy and commonly dismiss believers in such a conspiracy as lunatics, consider the fact that such outstanding individuals as Douglas, Lancaster, and Frankenheimer, intelligent, and with many contacts-- BUT with a lot of DISincentives, nevertheless repeatedly made pointed efforts suggesting the existence of an organized plot to subvert democracy in the USA, doesn't this give you pause?This is a reasonable representation of how the JFK conspiracy assassination may have been planned and executed; it's muted and almost documentary in approach, but this undramatic approach only makes it more powerful.

To those who have studied the assassination of JFK through the years this film is very polarizing. Almost everyone has an opinion of whether or not a conspiracy was involved, and government studies have come to differing conclusions. Opinions are like navels, we all have them. It astounds me still that a movie like this with heavyweight actors such as Lancaster, and Ryan could be made ten years after the assassination. Like many alive I recall when this movie debuted in theaters and then disappeared from theaters. I never got a chance to see it then, but was told it was very "Upsetting." Having seen it at in 2011 I would use the word disturbing. The story is told in a matter of fact, low key manner, that men of power and wealth discuss and come to feel that the 35th President must die. It is very chilling to me that it is told in such a low key, almost clinical manner. There is a cabal of power brokers, lead by Geer, who is eventually convinced of, and gives the okay to the assassination. These "Superpatriots" display an arrogant, and insular skewed view of the world and imply that "They know best." Where have we seen that attitude before? Even if you don't buy the conspiracy angle, this is a great movie, well made. The hairstyles, cars folks drove and other incidentals are, in my opinion, not at all important. The message is the thing, and the thing is to think.

As a film this may not be very gripping to an audience who only knows about the assassination of JFK through history. I have read many theories about the assassination and have dismissed most but I don't believe in the lone gunman theory. I also was 19 when it happened, was in fact on board a U.S. naval ship tied up to a dock in VA and was on deck watch at the time. I discovered shockingly that many of the crew on board was actually pleased when it happened while the other half were of course stunned and dismayed. In any case, I found the most compelling parts of the film to be the original footage that is spliced into it. To this day it is the first time that I have seen some of it. I found of course that with two terrific actors like Lancaster and Ryan (at the end of his career) could make the conspiracy more believable than not. Yes the pacing is slower than even I would like. But I would say don't watch this film for entertainment. Watch it because it provides a slant on history that you won't read about in high school and perhaps may wet your appetite to look into this further. Spending our time being merely entertained is just wasting time. And history is always written by the victors.