roducer David Wolper and then-unknown director Mel Stuart created the first independent documentary about the assassination, premiering in theatres during the first anniversary. Unfolding chronological, the film includes original kinescopes from the live TV coverage of the motorcade and Oswald shooting, plus rare footage of witness interviews and events like Oswald’s funeral. Conspiracy theories not explored, but for many researchers it was the first time they had seen the actual assassination in live-action; included was the Orville Nix home movie taken from across the Grassy Knoll. Recreated scenes done with precision and on-location. So skillful did Stuart incorporate crowd sounds into the silent newsfilm footage of the motorcade that critic Sylvia Meagher accused Stuart of aborting the sounds of the shots for dramatic effect. Stuart innovates with a tasteful approach to a sensitive subject and the use of a somber musical score. Segment from BBC show That Was the Week That Was is unexpected but riveting. Narrated by Richard Basehart. Stuart later directed the moving The Unfinished Journey of Robert F. Kennedy. Wolper produced the 1993 NBC movie Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald. MGM/UA video.

One-hour documentary challenging conspiracy theories and tactics of New Orleans DA Jim Garrison, making news for his investigation into Oswald’s activities in the city during the summer of 1963. Half-hour rebuttal by Garrison shown July 15, 1967. No video release.

mbitious project “to restore a much-needed sense of balance;” from a major US television network, broadcast over four nights. Reportedly taking nine months and costing $500,000, the series was hosted by Walter Cronkite assisted by Dan Rather and Dallas news director Eddie Barker. First of four one-hour segments asked “Did Lee Harvey Oswald shoot President Kennedy?” He owned a rifle and the backyard photo was authentic; using a disassembled Mannlicher-Carcano, Rather recreates the “package” Oswald took to work on the 22nd. Last person known to have seen Oswald placed him on the sixth floor; Oswald had sufficient time to reach the second floor lunchroom; the “Mauser” story is rebuked. Using eleven volunteer marksmen at the H.P. White Ballistics Laboratory in Maryland, a recreation tested the Mannlicher-Carcano’s rate of fire and accuracy over distances. According to blur analysis by photo expert Charles Wyckoff and physicist Luis Alvarez, the first shot missed at Z186, and the double hit occurred at Z222 or Z223 (very close to the Z223/224 lapel flip disclosed in Posner’s Case Closed). Second segment featured a recreation of the SBT by Dr. Alfred G. Oliver, the same expert used by the Commission. Oliver fired bullets through a series of gelatin blocks and a sheet of masonite designed to crudely mimic the path of CE399. In another test, a bullet fired through a blub showed an explosion opposite the firing point, said to resemble the explosive cloud seen in Z313. Third segment looked into the death of DPD Officer J.D. Tippit, slain by fugitive Oswald 45 minutes after the assassination. Several witnesses were interviewed and a ballistics expert who IDed one of the bullets to Oswald’s revolver. Fourth segment looked at the Warren Commission and conspiracy theories, interviewing member John McCloy. Eric Sevareid thought Americans conspiracy-minded by nature, and to think the Commission knowingly misbehaved was “idiotic.” Discussion of show in Should We Now Believe the Warren Report? Program critiqued in Lane’s A Citizen’s Dissent. Clips from show have been incorporated in subsequent programs. No video release.

collection of complete front-pages from 91 newspapers across America, covering November 22 to 25. Selection by the UPI news agency gives context to assassination with regional perspective and local stories of happenings not related to Dallas. News reporting is called “the first draft of history.” Much of the info in some of these rush-to-print articles would later prove false. Opening article “The Murder of the Young President” (written Nov. 23) by UPI White House reporter Merriman Smith, who would win a Pulitzer for his Dallas coverage. Softcover, 100 pages.

elected excerpts from NBC’s continuous newscast during assassination week, supplemented by related and familiar photos, and contemporaneous video stills. Great record of how the story unfolded on one television network and the case against Oswald built. Includes many segments that recount highlights of JFK’s life, an aspect that accounted for most of the TV coverage in general. Ten pages, mostly video stills, devoted to Oswald slaying, as NBC was the only network to carry it live; Tom Peppit’s famous description is included. Book opens with photos of Love Field arrival, a poor-quality spread of the Altgens photo, grainy stills from Muchmore and Nix, and the Moorman Polaroid; but the highlight is a good-quality spread of a dramatic photo by amateur Justin Newman showing Secret Serviceman Clint Hill spread-eagled over the President’s seat as the limousine races down Stemmons. Jean Hill interview shown 50-minutes after shooting (but her claim of shots “from the hill” in original broadcast not included in book). Oswald’s request for lawyer John Abt and Abt’s decline mentioned Saturday night. NBC reporter Robert MacNeil (later of PBS’s MacNeil-Lehner Newshour) appears on Sunday night to recap Oswald’s actions, yet doesn’t recall (as he would later) having encountered Oswald as MacNeil entered the Depository within minutes of the shooting. In 1988, A&E screened uninterrupted NBC’s original five hours of coverage. Unillustrated version Seventy Hours and Thirty Minutes previously published same year by Scarecrow Press. Hardcover, 160 pages, 228 B/W photos, no DJ.

ane addresses critical reaction to his 1966 book Rush to Judgment; with chapters on the making of the film of the same name and resulting controversy. Claims director Emile de Antonio and him were granted, then denied, routine access to review for purchase outtakes of CBS’s 1964 documentary on the Warren Report. Lane admits using pseudonym Robert Blake for one filmed interview, fearing Dallas authorities were after him. “A World Premiere” details airing of film on BBC-2 on January 29, 1967; film shown in four parts within a four-plus hour discussion show called “The Death of Kennedy.” A “prearranged script” favored Lane’s co-participants Belin and Spector, whom Lane alleges were included in rehearsals he knew nothing about. A section (and pages elsewhere) critiques “CBS News Inquiry: The Warren Report” aired the summer of 1967. Some witnesses seemed to now support the official findings and the new rifle, ballistic and camera tests had some faulty assumptions. Hardcover, 290 pages. Fawcett paperback 1969.

Earliest bibliography specific to JFK assassination. No reviews, just straight-shootin’ publisher stats with titles arranged alphabetical. Relied on by early researchers. Nice testament to early efforts. Initial publication contained 40 pages; in 1971, a 15-page Supplement was affixed to the inside back cover.

Veteran news editors choose published reactions to the assassination from around the world. Categorized by regions, and groups like “The Capitol” and “The Kennedy Compound.” Contends speed of modern communication contributed to sense of loss. Title refers to moment when press aide Malcolm Kilduff announced Kennedy was dead. Hardcover, 243 pages, 39 B/W photos.