Rebroadcast of original unedited NBC coverage from first cut-in reports to LBJ speech at Washington airport. Fascinating five hours of the real thing “as it happened.” Edited transcript in 1966 There Was a President. No video release.

exas researchers Jack White and Jim Marrs “star” in this pre-JFK video hosted by Craig Maurer, who sits at a newsdesk introducing various “segments.” Basically a vehicle to present White’s findings after years of research into the infamous Oswald Backyard Photos. White’s dedication and persistence is evident throughout—and the main reason he’s almost-singlehandedly kept this issue alive since the mid-60s. Very impressive effort, though strictly for the serious researcher who’s willing to make an effort to see pass the poor production values. The video that came with my hair clippers has more pace and continuity. White recently contributed to the anthologies Murder in Dealey Plaza and Great Zapruder Hoax. Fast Forward Marketing video.

his stylish docudrama, Hollywood bad-boy Stone plays out his paranoid fantasies. Haunted by his own Vietnam experience, Stone contends Kennedy was removed so the Pentagon could goad puppet Lyndon Johnson into escalating war in Vietnam. Oswald shown as simple-minded patsy, Jean Hill and Beverly Oliver are star-witnesses (geeeze!!), and Jim Garrison—played “Mr. Smith”-style by a bespectacled Kevin Costner—as a crusading hero subverted by CIA/FBI interference. Based on Garrison’s On the Trail of the Assassins and Jim Marrs’ Crossfire. Movie sparked lots of comment (pro and con), and was generally well-received by the public and movie critics (see detailed evaluation at Reitzes’ site). Credited with inciting public opinion leading to creation by Congress of JFK Records Review Act. Video version of “Director’s Cut” includes additional scenes, notably Cosner/Garrison’s appearance on the Tonight Show with the Tramp photos. Robert Groden served as Technical Advisor and Re-enactment Consultant, accounting for a major share of the film’s errors. Groden had a brief cameo as the courtroom projectionist. A 90-minute documentary interviewing actual witnesses and reviewing real evidence was also released. Called Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy, it was included with the JFK movie in some packages and was sold on its own (Warner Studios video). A book called JFK: The Book of the Film (Applause Theatre large-format softcover, Aug. 1992) was also released. Warner Studios video / “Director’s Cut” widescreen video / “Director’s Cut” DVD.

his episode began innocently enough, with a live-remote interview with Marilyn Sitzman, and Marilyn Willis and her daughter Linda on the Grassy Knoll in Dealey Plaza. Sitzman’s unwavering recollection of the black couple and their bottle-breaking explains the Black Dog Man shape and dispels the “puff of smoke” sightings. Of course, none of the critics watching in the studio associated the mundane events described by Sitzman with the “better” evidence they had developed of a shot from the Grassy Knoll. Before the show ended, Groden inadvertently confirmed Sitzman’s recollections with a rotoscoped clip from the Nix film showing the overhanded swinging motion of the bottle-breaking. No video release.

he 25th anniversary sparked an unusual number of documentaries, but also one docudrama The Kennedys of Massachusetts (based on a book by Doris Kearns Goodwin). For the occasion, Carson offers a four-page comprehensive review of TV productions celebrating “the only family that Americans unselfconsciously call a dynasty.” He notes The Missiles of October was among the early attempts at docudrama involving modern history. More elaborate productions followed with the landmark Kennedy (1983, Sheen) and heroic Robert Kennedy and His Times (1995, Brad Davis). Approving of Blood Feud but Hoover vs. The Kennedys by same producers “a misfire.” Mention of 1977 The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald as being more satisfying than sentimentalized JFK treatments because of fantasy of “tidying up the unresolvable.” Interestingly, Carson discovered one of “the best TV treatments of John Kennedy” in LBJ: The Early Years (1997, Randy Quaid); a movie that for me set the standard for portraying the Kennedy Era. (lead-off spread shown)

Remarkable 11-page cover story on the pre-release controversy of the JFK movie, from author of 1975 “They’ve Killed the President!” Traces how Oliver Stone was drawn to the Garrison story, despite warnings from some critics. Tells of John Newman’s reservations towards Prouty’s research. Suggests Stone scuttled Libra movie project.

ive-page critical review of soon-to-be-released JFK movie by Oliver Stone, whose past work suggests the director “screams bloody murder for a living.” Finds irony in “liberal icon” of Dances with Wolves making heroic the disreputable Jim Garrison. As “part history book, part comic book,” the craft that went into JFK resulted in a cinematic “knock-out,” punctuated with “great visual aids.” Can accept movie as plausible since docudrama may invoke “gossip that becomes gospel.” Illustrated boxes compare movie scenes with contradictory evidence, including shots fired, Single-Bullet Theory, head snap, rigged autopsy and Kennedy’s Vietnam intentions. Companion three-page interview with Oliver Stone, who maintains artists have right to interpret, describes “an unelected parallel government,” places stock in Oswald’s denial, and predicts younger generation more receptive to film’s hypothesis. Personal distrust of authority began through his experience in Vietnam War. Dissolution of the Soviet Union previous week put Gorbachev on the cover. (lead-off page shown)

OUR-PAGE cover story examines merits of soon-to-be-released JFK movie noting problems with docudrama style (compression of events, clarity out of messiness) is compounded by basing film on highly-speculative Garrison theories. Stone’s documentary-style rendering of reconstructions dubious, and the younger generation, who are Stone’s principal target (ie: film’s dedication and study guide), are vulnerable having no firsthand experience with the event. Lists facts omitted from film, including: Oswald owner of rifle ballistically-tied to bullets that struck the men; autopsy and medical reviews found all shots hit JFK from the rear; eyewitnesses who identified Oswald as Tippit murderer; Garrison staff became alarmed at his behavior. Quotes McGeorge Bundy dismissing 1,000-man withdrawal as shift in Kennedy’s Vietnam. Box “What Does Oliver Stone Owe History” interviews director (“parallel covert government has existed through the past 28 years;” “people like me, sons of Garrison, promulgate the theory”). Companion article “A Troublemaker for Our Times” on Stone is forgiving of his “Mr. Smith Goes to the Assassination” Garrison, urging it “is perhaps best viewed as a movie convention rather than as a real man;” also credits Stone with doing justice to the multilayered complexities of the assassination controversy. Three-page end piece “Bottom Line: How Crazy is it?” reported some of the conspiracy theories and researchers encountered at the 1991 JFK Assassination Symposium in Dallas, detecting reservations about Garrison.

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