assassination movies

[Jim Feemster]

I don't write new posts too much but I have just seen the movie, " THE PACKAGE ", starring Gene Hackman and Tommy Lee Jones, from around 1988 I think.

It covers almost to a " T ", the way I think the JFK assassination went down except of course Hackman's character kills Tommy Lee Jones' sniper character at the end of the movie. That's not giving away the ending cause you know its going to happen fairly early on.

An Ozwald like character named Walter Hinke is " Sheep dipped" to use a Garrison term, by injecting him into a right wing organization to get their smell on him so he will appear to be someone who would be likely to commit an assassination. He is pulled right out of the ranks of the U.S.Army and told he is to become a hero. That they [ being CIA, Army Intel , black op boys ] need him to do a great service for his country.

Hinke is seen handing out leaflets on the street, participating in demonstrations, and they set him up in an office over looking the upcoming assassination site.

Check your local listings or rent it if you haven't seen it and marvel at the simularities of the JFK assassination plot with Ozwald as the patsy.

jim

[John Geraghty]

If you have registered with veoh.com you can watch the package there online.

Executive action is available on youtube as well.

[Jim Feemster]

If you have registered with veoh.com you can watch the package there online.

Executive action is available on youtube as well.

Thanks John,

I'm still on dial-up so I can't download stuff very easily. DSL isn't available in my area.

I used to have Executive Action, The Parrellax View, JFK, Ruby, and others. However, after 3 divorces one tends to lose things in the mix!

jim

[William Kelly]

If you have registered with veoh.com you can watch the package there online.

Executive action is available on youtube as well.

Thanks John,

I'm still on dial-up so I can't download stuff very easily. DSL isn't available in my area.

I used to have Executive Action, The Parrellax View, JFK, Ruby, and others. However, after 3 divorces one tends to lose things in the mix!

jim

I thought I'd revive this thread with the recent interest in assassination films in other threads.

BK

[William Kelly]

Douglas Caddy posted this on another thread, and I think it's interesting enough to carry further.

John Geraghty mentions that Executive Action is available on YouTube.

Are there any other assassination films like that available on line?

What assassination films are available on DVD and video, and which ones are not available at all?

I'd like to see an Assassination Film Festival if one could be put together.

BK

Best Assassination movies

By: Joe Holleman: Life Sherpa

St. Louis Today

April 16, 2010

http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/yakk...hit-man-movies/

Sometimes, a lot of times, the best ideas come from readers. About a week ago, a reader wrote to the Life Sherpa: “While watching a movie this weekend with my husband, I began to wonder why so many movies have been made about assassins. What is the appeal of assassin movies? Maybe you can make a Top Ten list …”

Well, sure, why not?

To make it a bit more challenging, I made a few rules. First, the movie could not simply be a hit-man movie, there had to be a specific assassination plot. Second, the word “assassination” is defined the killing of a public figure, so we’re not talking about whacking a mobster or private citizen. Finally, the assassination had to be the central plot device, so excellent biopics that culminate in assassinations, like “Malcolm X” and “All the King’s Men” (1949 version), were not considered. With all that behind us, the list lies ahead of us:

When Chevy was funny

10. Foul Play (1978): Why not start out this serious subject with a comedy. Chevy Chase is a San Francisco detective and Goldie Hawn is a librarian who gets caught up in a plot to kill the Pope. Dudley Moore is hilarious as a symphony conductor with some unusual sexual inclinations.

9. The Parallax View (1974): Warren Beatty plays a newspaper reporter who becomes suspicious after a woman who says she has information about a senator’s assassination ends up committing suicide (maybe). His probing leads to his discovery of a shadowy company. Good performances from Beatty and Hume Cronyn.

Chairman of the Hit

8. Blow Out (1981): OK, the assassination of the governor/presidential candidate happens right away, but the follow-up investigation by sound engineer John Travolta, who was collecting stock sounds and inadvertently captures the killing on tape, is a top-notch thriller from Brian DePalma.

7. Suddenly (1954): This little-seen film stars Frank Sinatra as psychotic hit man John Baron, who takes a family hostage in a small California town, as he waits for the president to arrive for a nearby fishing trip. One of Sinatra’s better performances. (His best is coming up.)

6. JFK (1991): There are holes in this movie that are big enough to drive a truck through, with room to spare on the sides. But Oliver Stone’s over-the-top celluloid rant about the Kennedy assassination is filled with strong performances, especially from Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman and Kevin Costner as D.A. Jim Garrison.

5. The Bourne Identity (2002): Let’s not forget that this excellent film begins with the botched attempt by programmed killer Jason Bourne to kill former African dictator Wombosi. After being shot several times during the attempt, Bourne returns to Europe to find out his true identity.

Good book, good movie

4. Day of the Jackal (1973): Based on a popular book by Frederick Forsyth, Edward Fox stars as “The Jackal,” a professional killer who attempts to kill French president Charles de Gaulle. An excellent film with a relatively unknown cast, it was directed by Fred Zinnemann, who also helmed “High Noon” and “Man For All Seasons.”

3. In the Line of Fire (1993): Clint Eastwood stars in this gripping tale of an aging Secret Service agent who has to thwart a plot to kill the president, even though his colleagues think he’s too old. John Malkovich shines as the brilliant and disturbed killer who baits Eastwood along the way.

2. Taxi Driver (1976): Robert De Niro’s frightening performance as disillusioned cabbie Travis Bickle carries Martin Scorsese’s unflinching look at the growing violence in American society. After being turned down by the U.S. senator’s comely aide (Cybil Shepherd) and a child prostitute (Jodie Foster), Bickle decides to assassinate the senator.

1. The Manchurian Candidate (1962): Some brilliant direction from John Frankenheimer and excellent performances from Sinatra as a tortured Army officer, Angela Lansbury as an evil mother and Laurence Harvey as a damaged pawn in an assassination plot. the Denzel Washington remake was good, but not in the same league as this original.

Here is the solitaire scene from “The Manchurian Candidate”:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K_xrgeQfOI" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

[Michael Hogan]

This is my favorite "assassination movie." I've yet to see it.

http://www.marksobel.com/promo.htm

http://www.marksobel.com/myfilm1.htm

[Pat Speer]

Douglas Caddy posted this on another thread, and I think it's interesting enough to carry further.

John Geraghty mentions that Executive Action is available on YouTube.

Are there any other assassination films like that available on line?

What assassination films are available on DVD and video, and which ones are not available at all?

I'd like to see an Assassination Film Festival if one could be put together.

BK

Best Assassination movies

By: Joe Holleman: Life Sherpa

St. Louis Today

April 16, 2010

http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/yakk...hit-man-movies/

Sometimes, a lot of times, the best ideas come from readers. About a week ago, a reader wrote to the Life Sherpa: “While watching a movie this weekend with my husband, I began to wonder why so many movies have been made about assassins. What is the appeal of assassin movies? Maybe you can make a Top Ten list …”

Well, sure, why not?

To make it a bit more challenging, I made a few rules. First, the movie could not simply be a hit-man movie, there had to be a specific assassination plot. Second, the word “assassination” is defined the killing of a public figure, so we’re not talking about whacking a mobster or private citizen. Finally, the assassination had to be the central plot device, so excellent biopics that culminate in assassinations, like “Malcolm X” and “All the King’s Men” (1949 version), were not considered. With all that behind us, the list lies ahead of us:

When Chevy was funny

10. Foul Play (1978): Why not start out this serious subject with a comedy. Chevy Chase is a San Francisco detective and Goldie Hawn is a librarian who gets caught up in a plot to kill the Pope. Dudley Moore is hilarious as a symphony conductor with some unusual sexual inclinations.

9. The Parallax View (1974): Warren Beatty plays a newspaper reporter who becomes suspicious after a woman who says she has information about a senator’s assassination ends up committing suicide (maybe). His probing leads to his discovery of a shadowy company. Good performances from Beatty and Hume Cronyn.

Chairman of the Hit

8. Blow Out (1981): OK, the assassination of the governor/presidential candidate happens right away, but the follow-up investigation by sound engineer John Travolta, who was collecting stock sounds and inadvertently captures the killing on tape, is a top-notch thriller from Brian DePalma.

7. Suddenly (1954): This little-seen film stars Frank Sinatra as psychotic hit man John Baron, who takes a family hostage in a small California town, as he waits for the president to arrive for a nearby fishing trip. One of Sinatra’s better performances. (His best is coming up.)

6. JFK (1991): There are holes in this movie that are big enough to drive a truck through, with room to spare on the sides. But Oliver Stone’s over-the-top celluloid rant about the Kennedy assassination is filled with strong performances, especially from Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman and Kevin Costner as D.A. Jim Garrison.

5. The Bourne Identity (2002): Let’s not forget that this excellent film begins with the botched attempt by programmed killer Jason Bourne to kill former African dictator Wombosi. After being shot several times during the attempt, Bourne returns to Europe to find out his true identity.

Good book, good movie

4. Day of the Jackal (1973): Based on a popular book by Frederick Forsyth, Edward Fox stars as “The Jackal,” a professional killer who attempts to kill French president Charles de Gaulle. An excellent film with a relatively unknown cast, it was directed by Fred Zinnemann, who also helmed “High Noon” and “Man For All Seasons.”

3. In the Line of Fire (1993): Clint Eastwood stars in this gripping tale of an aging Secret Service agent who has to thwart a plot to kill the president, even though his colleagues think he’s too old. John Malkovich shines as the brilliant and disturbed killer who baits Eastwood along the way.

2. Taxi Driver (1976): Robert De Niro’s frightening performance as disillusioned cabbie Travis Bickle carries Martin Scorsese’s unflinching look at the growing violence in American society. After being turned down by the U.S. senator’s comely aide (Cybil Shepherd) and a child prostitute (Jodie Foster), Bickle decides to assassinate the senator.

1. The Manchurian Candidate (1962): Some brilliant direction from John Frankenheimer and excellent performances from Sinatra as a tortured Army officer, Angela Lansbury as an evil mother and Laurence Harvey as a damaged pawn in an assassination plot. the Denzel Washington remake was good, but not in the same league as this original.

Here is the solitaire scene from “The Manchurian Candidate”:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K_xrgeQfOI" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

A couple of years ago I saw a double feature of Executive Action and Winter Kills. Winter Kills, with John Huston as a Joe Kennedy-type ultimately responsible for the death of his own son, was the far-better movie.

[John Geraghty]

Parralax View

http://veehd.com/video/2383018_THE-PARALLA...rren-Beaty-Baby

JFK

http://stagevu.com/video/jejvkhwuqfvi

7 days in May (not strictly assassination, but a coup movie)

Blow out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVjBiiN8JDU

Executive action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VAOVhwLkEU

Edited April 19, 2010 by John Geraghty

[Peter McGuire]

I'm still on dial-up so I can't download stuff very easily. DSL isn't available in my area.

I used to have Executive Action, The Parrellax View, JFK, Ruby, and others. However, after 3 divorces one tends to lose things in the mix!

jim

Executive Action is available on DVD now. Here is an old NY Times review of the film, a story by Donald Freed and Mark Lane, and includes a comment by Mr. Lane. The movie does an excellent job of portraying the framing of Oswald and features some great lines such as “why don't you take a flying leap to the moon”, says the fake Oswald to the used car salesman he talks to a few days before the assassination (or at the shooting range) I can’t remember which. I sold my VHS copy a while back so I have not seen it for a few years. It is a great movie that does an excellent job with the shooting sequence and the framing of Oswald. Martin Luther King's famous speech is blended into the film and is in my opinion very moving.

Executive Action (1973)

November 8, 1973

Suspense Film Dramatizes Kennedy Assassination:The Cast

By NORA SAYRE

Published: November 8, 1973

If disbelief is one of our healthiest national reflexes, at least it has been well exercised in the years between the Warren Report and the latest protestations about the nonbeing of those Presidential tapes. The only danger is that fact itself can be a victim of disbelief: Ugly news that happens to be true becomes easier to ignore, and good news gets rejected with a cackle.

"Executive Action," which opened yesterday at the Coronet, offers a tactful, low-key blend of fact and invention. The film makers do not insist that they have solved John Kennedy's murder; instead, they simply evoke what might have happened, according to various researchers, including Mark Lane.

The result is a cool, skillful, occasionally confusing argument for conspiracy. Wealthy rightwingers (Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan) wanted Kennedy removed because he was going to sign the test-ban treaty, "lead the black revolution" and probably pull out of Vietnam. The last two points may give you the hiccups, but that is what these characters say.

Like calm businessmen, they organize the event. While three talented marksmen rehearse by shooting at dummies in a car driven through the desert, the conspirators search for a nut to use as a patsy.

Throughout the stress is on technology — even Oswald's name comes out of a computer. The movie follows the "second Oswald" theory, and this part of the plot is deftly constructed, as is the disappearance of the three marksmen, also the calculations to "have the F.B.I. watching the C.I.A." and vice versa, while relying on the inefficiency of the Secret Service. [ and not pointing the finger at Secret Service; also, the film does not include the calling off of the Agents at Love nor does it go into their inaction in Dealy.( which was probable a good move)]

The conspirators are cleverly cloaked in the style of Camelot itself. Lancaster and Ryan appear as pensive, practical semi-academics, rationally planning an act as bloody as a small foreign invasion. (They admit that they sometimes "sound like gods," since they are also planning the world's future — "Well, somebody's got to do it.") Both have the confidence and the casual class that we recall in many Kennedy appointees. Lancaster, looking miraculously young, overdoes the "sincerity" at moments—an old habit of his. And there are too many shots of the conspirators smiling ironically at once another. But Ryan is wonderfully benign and wry, wisely underplaying where others might have gone all out for evil.

However, it is far more painful to think of Ryan's death — a few weeks after this movie was finished — than Kennedy's. And that is the problem lurking in this movie. Television footage is used to paw at the public's sentiments; we see Kennedy smiling and golfing and kissing his children, as well as making speeches. But "Executive Action" is emotionally disconnected from history to the degree that those with an affection for suspense can enjoy the build-up of the plotting — even though we know how the assassination turned out.

Despite the flags crawling down flagpoles and the drumbeats, a national trauma has become a competent thriller. And it is just as well. Reliving the shock of that killing would hardly benefit any kind of audience now.

So whether you chime with this interpretation, or, like a few I know, decide to embrace all the conspiracy theories of the assassination, the movie is useful in rousing the questions once again. The film's sternest and strongest point is that only a crazed person acting on his own would have been acceptable to the American public — which, at that time, certainly did not want to believe in a conspiracy.

The Cast

EXECUTIVE ACTION, directed by David Miller; screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, story by Donald Freed and Mark Lane; director of photography, Robert Steadman; film editor, George Grenville and Irving Lerner; music, Randy Edelman; producer, Edward Lewis; released by National General Pictures. At the Coronet Theater, Third Avenue at 59th Street. Running time 91 minutes. This film is classified PG.

Farrington . . . . . Burt Lancaster

Foster . . . . . Robert Ryan

Ferguson . . . . . Will Geer

Paulitz . . . . . Gilbert Green

Halliday . . . . . John Anderson

Gunman . . . . . Paul Carr

Tim . . . . . Colby Chester

Edited April 19, 2010 by Peter McGuire

[William Kelly]

I'm still on dial-up so I can't download stuff very easily. DSL isn't available in my area.

I used to have Executive Action, The Parrellax View, JFK, Ruby, and others. However, after 3 divorces one tends to lose things in the mix!

jim

Executive Action is available on DVD now. Here is an old NY Times review of the film, a story by Donald Freed and Mark Lane, and includes a comment by Mr. Lane. The movie does an excellent job of portraying the framing of Oswald and features some great lines such as "why don't you take a flying leap to the moon", says the fake Oswald to the used car salesman he talks to a few days before the assassination (or at the shooting range) I can't remember which. I sold my VHS copy a while back so I have not seen it for a few years. It is a great movie that does an excellent job with the shooting sequence and the framing of Oswald. Martin Luther King's famous speech is blended into the film and is in my opinion very moving.

Executive Action (1973)

November 8, 1973

Suspense Film Dramatizes Kennedy Assassination:The Cast

By NORA SAYRE

Published: November 8, 1973

If disbelief is one of our healthiest national reflexes, at least it has been well exercised in the years between the Warren Report and the latest protestations about the nonbeing of those Presidential tapes. The only danger is that fact itself can be a victim of disbelief: Ugly news that happens to be true becomes easier to ignore, and good news gets rejected with a cackle.

"Executive Action," which opened yesterday at the Coronet, offers a tactful, low-key blend of fact and invention. The film makers do not insist that they have solved John Kennedy's murder; instead, they simply evoke what might have happened, according to various researchers, including Mark Lane.

The result is a cool, skillful, occasionally confusing argument for conspiracy. Wealthy rightwingers (Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan) wanted Kennedy removed because he was going to sign the test-ban treaty, "lead the black revolution" and probably pull out of Vietnam. The last two points may give you the hiccups, but that is what these characters say.

Like calm businessmen, they organize the event. While three talented marksmen rehearse by shooting at dummies in a car driven through the desert, the conspirators search for a nut to use as a patsy.

Throughout the stress is on technology — even Oswald's name comes out of a computer. The movie follows the "second Oswald" theory, and this part of the plot is deftly constructed, as is the disappearance of the three marksmen, also the calculations to "have the F.B.I. watching the C.I.A." and vice versa, while relying on the inefficiency of the Secret Service. [ and not pointing the finger at Secret Service; also, the film does not include the calling off of the Agents at Love nor does it go into their inaction in Dealy.( which was probable a good move)]

The conspirators are cleverly cloaked in the style of Camelot itself. Lancaster and Ryan appear as pensive, practical semi-academics, rationally planning an act as bloody as a small foreign invasion. (They admit that they sometimes "sound like gods," since they are also planning the world's future — "Well, somebody's got to do it.") Both have the confidence and the casual class that we recall in many Kennedy appointees. Lancaster, looking miraculously young, overdoes the "sincerity" at moments—an old habit of his. And there are too many shots of the conspirators smiling ironically at once another. But Ryan is wonderfully benign and wry, wisely underplaying where others might have gone all out for evil.

However, it is far more painful to think of Ryan's death — a few weeks after this movie was finished — than Kennedy's. And that is the problem lurking in this movie. Television footage is used to paw at the public's sentiments; we see Kennedy smiling and golfing and kissing his children, as well as making speeches. But "Executive Action" is emotionally disconnected from history to the degree that those with an affection for suspense can enjoy the build-up of the plotting — even though we know how the assassination turned out.

Despite the flags crawling down flagpoles and the drumbeats, a national trauma has become a competent thriller. And it is just as well. Reliving the shock of that killing would hardly benefit any kind of audience now.

So whether you chime with this interpretation, or, like a few I know, decide to embrace all the conspiracy theories of the assassination, the movie is useful in rousing the questions once again. The film's sternest and strongest point is that only a crazed person acting on his own would have been acceptable to the American public — which, at that time, certainly did not want to believe in a conspiracy.

The Cast

EXECUTIVE ACTION, directed by David Miller; screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, story by Donald Freed and Mark Lane; director of photography, Robert Steadman; film editor, George Grenville and Irving Lerner; music, Randy Edelman; producer, Edward Lewis; released by National General Pictures. At the Coronet Theater, Third Avenue at 59th Street. Running time 91 minutes. This film is classified PG.

Farrington . . . . . Burt Lancaster

Foster . . . . . Robert Ryan

Ferguson . . . . . Will Geer

Paulitz . . . . . Gilbert Green

Halliday . . . . . John Anderson

Gunman . . . . . Paul Carr

Tim . . . . . Colby Chester

Robert Ryan, like Jack Lemon a decade or so later, was at the end of his career, actually his life since he knew he had cancer when he made Executive Action. He did it to make a statement, as did Lemon, who also made an anti-Nuke movie with Jane Fonda, Missing and JFK.

Missing should also be in the mix since it is about the coup in Chile and the assassination of an American journalist living there at the time.

BK

[Cliff Varnell]

Arguably the best assassination/coup film ever has yet to be mentioned:

Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dInC81EuuyI

Directed by Costas-Gavras, the guy who did Missing and State of Siege,

the latter also a top-notch political assassination flick.

Edited April 19, 2010 by Cliff Varnell

[Pat Speer]

Arguably the best assassination/coup film ever has yet to be mentioned:

Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dInC81EuuyI

Directed by Costas-Gavras, the guy who did Missing and State of Siege,

the latter also a top-notch political assassination flick.

It was at a screening of Z that I met Oliver Stone. He was there to tell the audience that Z was the inspiration for JFK.

Edited April 19, 2010 by Pat Speer

[John Dolva]

I'm still on dial-up so I can't download stuff very easily. DSL isn't available in my area.

I used to have Executive Action, The Parrellax View, JFK, Ruby, and others. However, after 3 divorces one tends to lose things in the mix!

jim

Executive Action is available on DVD now. Here is an old NY Times review of the film, a story by Donald Freed and Mark Lane, and includes a comment by Mr. Lane. The movie does an excellent job of portraying the framing of Oswald and features some great lines such as "why don't you take a flying leap to the moon", says the fake Oswald to the used car salesman he talks to a few days before the assassination (or at the shooting range) I can't remember which. I sold my VHS copy a while back so I have not seen it for a few years. It is a great movie that does an excellent job with the shooting sequence and the framing of Oswald. Martin Luther King's famous speech is blended into the film and is in my opinion very moving.

Executive Action (1973)

November 8, 1973

Suspense Film Dramatizes Kennedy Assassination:The Cast

By NORA SAYRE

Published: November 8, 1973

If disbelief is one of our healthiest national reflexes, at least it has been well exercised in the years between the Warren Report and the latest protestations about the nonbeing of those Presidential tapes. The only danger is that fact itself can be a victim of disbelief: Ugly news that happens to be true becomes easier to ignore, and good news gets rejected with a cackle.

"Executive Action," which opened yesterday at the Coronet, offers a tactful, low-key blend of fact and invention. The film makers do not insist that they have solved John Kennedy's murder; instead, they simply evoke what might have happened, according to various researchers, including Mark Lane.

The result is a cool, skillful, occasionally confusing argument for conspiracy. Wealthy rightwingers (Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan) wanted Kennedy removed because he was going to sign the test-ban treaty, "lead the black revolution" and probably pull out of Vietnam. The last two points may give you the hiccups, but that is what these characters say.

Like calm businessmen, they organize the event. While three talented marksmen rehearse by shooting at dummies in a car driven through the desert, the conspirators search for a nut to use as a patsy.

Throughout the stress is on technology — even Oswald's name comes out of a computer. The movie follows the "second Oswald" theory, and this part of the plot is deftly constructed, as is the disappearance of the three marksmen, also the calculations to "have the F.B.I. watching the C.I.A." and vice versa, while relying on the inefficiency of the Secret Service. [ and not pointing the finger at Secret Service; also, the film does not include the calling off of the Agents at Love nor does it go into their inaction in Dealy.( which was probable a good move)]

The conspirators are cleverly cloaked in the style of Camelot itself. Lancaster and Ryan appear as pensive, practical semi-academics, rationally planning an act as bloody as a small foreign invasion. (They admit that they sometimes "sound like gods," since they are also planning the world's future — "Well, somebody's got to do it.") Both have the confidence and the casual class that we recall in many Kennedy appointees. Lancaster, looking miraculously young, overdoes the "sincerity" at moments—an old habit of his. And there are too many shots of the conspirators smiling ironically at once another. But Ryan is wonderfully benign and wry, wisely underplaying where others might have gone all out for evil.

However, it is far more painful to think of Ryan's death — a few weeks after this movie was finished — than Kennedy's. And that is the problem lurking in this movie. Television footage is used to paw at the public's sentiments; we see Kennedy smiling and golfing and kissing his children, as well as making speeches. But "Executive Action" is emotionally disconnected from history to the degree that those with an affection for suspense can enjoy the build-up of the plotting — even though we know how the assassination turned out.

Despite the flags crawling down flagpoles and the drumbeats, a national trauma has become a competent thriller. And it is just as well. Reliving the shock of that killing would hardly benefit any kind of audience now.

So whether you chime with this interpretation, or, like a few I know, decide to embrace all the conspiracy theories of the assassination, the movie is useful in rousing the questions once again. The film's sternest and strongest point is that only a crazed person acting on his own would have been acceptable to the American public — which, at that time, certainly did not want to believe in a conspiracy.

The Cast

EXECUTIVE ACTION, directed by David Miller; screenplay by Dalton Trumbo, story by Donald Freed and Mark Lane; director of photography, Robert Steadman; film editor, George Grenville and Irving Lerner; music, Randy Edelman; producer, Edward Lewis; released by National General Pictures. At the Coronet Theater, Third Avenue at 59th Street. Running time 91 minutes. This film is classified PG.

Farrington . . . . . Burt Lancaster

Foster . . . . . Robert Ryan

Ferguson . . . . . Will Geer

Paulitz . . . . . Gilbert Green

Halliday . . . . . John Anderson

Gunman . . . . . Paul Carr

Tim . . . . . Colby Chester

Robert Ryan, like Jack Lemon a decade or so later, was at the end of his career, actually his life since he knew he had cancer when he made Executive Action. He did it to make a statement, as did Lemon, who also made an anti-Nuke movie with Jane Fonda, Missing and JFK.

Missing should also be in the mix since it is about the coup in Chile and the assassination of an American journalist living there at the time.

BK

It also includes significant persons from the Hollywood Ten era.

Another one prob not considered is the fast paced action futuristic (triple X two) ''xXx - the next level'', '(or ''state of the union'' dep which country/zone you get it) with Ice Cube leading a team of outlaws in tankjacking and blowing a hole in the white house to save the president against a generals coup. Pretty hot cars too.

Another, ''Murder at 1600'' which is more about a character assassination that turns into an assassination attempt but a few JFK references are there like about Oswald getting to the Coke dispenser in such and such a time. This is mostly banter, but it adds flavour. The detective (Denzel Washington**) is (in the movie) a Civil War buff.

**Sorry : Wesley Snipes. (I keep mixing them up in this movie for some reason)

Edited April 19, 2010 by John Dolva

[Jim Feemster]

Pat, I also liked " WINTER KILLS ", although i have only seen it once on TV years ago. i really liked the scene of the assassins hiding their weapon in the Dal-Tex building immediately after the deed was done implying at least one shot came from there. [ i hope my memory serves me on this point ].

jim

[Pat Speer]

Pat, I also liked " WINTER KILLS ", although i have only seen it once on TV years ago. i really liked the scene of the assassins hiding their weapon in the Dal-Tex building immediately after the deed was done implying at least one shot came from there. [ i hope my memory serves me on this point ].

jim

To be honest, I can't remember the references to the JFK assassination beyond that Jeff Bridges, playing the younger brother to an assassinated President, tries to track down his brother's killers, only to find out his old man, a corporate tycoon, was behind it.

There was a Q and A afterward, and the director told a long story about how he fought to get, and eventually succeeded in getting, access to Joe Kennedy's old suite in the Chrysler Building for the climactic scene of the movie, where the younger brother confronts his father.

I also recall that in the beginning of the movie, the younger brother is called back from self-imposed exile on a floating oil rig. The rig--none other than Howard Hughes' infamous Glomar Explorer.