Kennedy Videos

[Pete Mellor]

Thanks David.  Great to hear Evelyn Lincoln.

[David Von Pein]

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by David Von Pein

[David Von Pein]

.....

Edited November 7, 2023 by David Von Pein

[David Von Pein]

 

[David Von Pein]

 

[David Von Pein]

-----------------------------------------------

As the 60th anniversary of President Kennedy's death quickly approaches here in November of 2023, I wanted to renew a little bit of interest in what is, in my opinion, the very best motion picture film or documentary ever produced about JFK's 1963 assassination....with that film being David L. Wolper's 1964 masterpiece, "Four Days In November".

Here's a review for the film that I wrote at Amazon.com in July 2001:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Four Days In November is my all-time favorite program dealing with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. You really get a sense of re-living the events of November 22-25, 1963, when America's all-too-young, 46-year-old leader was gunned down on the sunny streets of Dallas, Texas.

This 1964 black-and-white documentary, skillfully narrated by actor Richard Basehart, was filmed only months after the events, making the re-creations that were filmed for this movie all the more effective, since the people involved, the locations, the landmarks, and even the automobiles had not changed to a great degree (if at all) since the tragedy occurred. I truly had the sense of being there BEFORE it happened because of the very good re-created scenes.

This wonderfully-edited chronological documentary guides the viewer through all four of those dark November days that shocked the nation in late 1963. An integral part of this program lies in its outstanding musical score, by Elmer Bernstein. Mr. Bernstein's stirring score fits just perfectly here, adding emotional impact to each portion of the film.

In addition to many re-created scenes, there is a hefty amount of stock news footage presented throughout this 122-minute film, some of which you probably have seen before, and some you probably haven't. The Joan Crawford/Richard Nixon clip was one I'd never seen in the past, as well as the footage of Lee Harvey Oswald's funeral, which nearly no one attended.

One particular re-created scene in the film that has an especially eerie feeling to it is the scene where we see Wesley Frazier driving his 1954 Chevrolet sedan toward the "drab bulk" of the Texas School Book Depository Building, which looms ahead in the foreground. Frazier was the 19-year-old Depository co-worker of Lee Harvey Oswald's who gave Oswald a ride to work on the morning of the President's assassination.

The Zapruder Film is not represented in this documentary. It was to be yet another 11 years before the public at large was to see Mr. Zapruder's infamous film. Four Days does include a sequence from the Nix Film, however.

Wolper Productions sidestepped all the conspiracy theories [thank goodness] and stuck by the Warren Commission Report for this documentary.

Many of the facts surrounding JFK's assassination have been disputed and debated by researchers for decades. And this tragic crime will likely remain a topic that shall cause heated discussion for many more years to come.

But what the film Four Days In November does accomplish is to allow the viewer to re-live those sorrowful November days, in the order in which the events transpired, based on the evidence available. This is definitely one program that deserves to be in anyone's JFK collection.”

David Von Pein
July 2001

--------------------------------------

Related "Four Days" Links:

 

Edited November 7, 2023 by David Von Pein

[David Von Pein]

 

[David Von Pein]

 

[David Von Pein]

November 18, 1963.....

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by David Von Pein

[David Von Pein]

1975 interview with assassination eyewitness Charles Brehm:

 

[David Von Pein]

The speeches made by John F. Kennedy on Thursday, November 21, 1963:

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by David Von Pein

[David Von Pein]

Video Recommendation....

The "Oral History" interview with Vivian Castleberry linked below is an absolute treat. I watched it for the first time today [November 21st, 2023] after learning that it is one of Stephen Fagin's favorite programs he has ever done for The Sixth Floor Museum's ongoing Oral History project. (Fagin is now the curator of the Museum.)

And after just one viewing, this 2004 interview with this remarkable lady (who was 82 years old at the time) now ranks as one of my favorite assassination-related interviews as well:

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by David Von Pein

[David Von Pein]

 

[David Von Pein]

 

[David Von Pein]