John Simkin Posted April 13, 2010 Author Share Posted April 13, 2010 I don't know the answer to your question, but I'll bet Peter Janney does. Peter tells me he had a very interesting interview with Ben Bradlee when he was writing his book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter McGuire Posted September 11, 2010 Share Posted September 11, 2010 (edited) Has anyone seen "An American Affair" based upon Mary Pinchot Meyer? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0899138/ Washington DC, 1963: the Cuban Missile Crisis is last year's news, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy's young administration is starting to hit its stride. Behind the scenes, however, winds of discontent are swirling. Thirteen-year-old Adam Stafford has his own problems to deal with. At that uncomfortable age when both everything and nothing seems possible, he's a bit of a loner, a kid who spends too much time wrapped up in his own thoughts as he suffers through the daily grind of nuns, bullies, and girls at Holy Cross School. Until the evening his adolescent yearnings come to life: Adam spies a beautiful naked woman in the house across the street, and his curiosity is inflamed. Catherine Caswell, a stunning thirty -something blond beauty, has just moved in. Captivated, Adam is determined to learn all he can about his new neighbor. Catherine is an artist, a divorcee and a confidante (if not more) of JFK. Against all odds, an unlikely friendship blossoms between the innocent young boy and the world-weary survivor. But friendship is never enough, not in Washington, and not at the height of the Cold War Catherine's hidden past soon catches up with them as she and Adam find themselves enmeshed in the growing confusion and intrigue leading to the assassination of the President. Edited September 11, 2010 by Peter McGuire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter McGuire Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 (edited) Has anyone seen "An American Affair" based upon Mary Pinchot Meyer? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0899138/ Washington DC, 1963: the Cuban Missile Crisis is last year's news, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy's young administration is starting to hit its stride. Behind the scenes, however, winds of discontent are swirling. Thirteen-year-old Adam Stafford has his own problems to deal with. At that uncomfortable age when both everything and nothing seems possible, he's a bit of a loner, a kid who spends too much time wrapped up in his own thoughts as he suffers through the daily grind of nuns, bullies, and girls at Holy Cross School. Until the evening his adolescent yearnings come to life: Adam spies a beautiful naked woman in the house across the street, and his curiosity is inflamed. Catherine Caswell, a stunning thirty -something blond beauty, has just moved in. Captivated, Adam is determined to learn all he can about his new neighbor. Catherine is an artist, a divorcee and a confidante (if not more) of JFK. Against all odds, an unlikely friendship blossoms between the innocent young boy and the world-weary survivor. But friendship is never enough, not in Washington, and not at the height of the Cold War Catherine's hidden past soon catches up with them as she and Adam find themselves enmeshed in the growing confusion and intrigue leading to the assassination of the President. Was Mary Pinchot Meyer the first to go? http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1785071129/ Edited October 25, 2010 by Peter McGuire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Andrews Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 (edited) I have to say that while I enjoyed some isolated moments of that picture, I thought it was a shrinking violet as far as dealing accurately with Cord Meyer, James Angleton (whom it seemed to conflate into a composite figure with Allen Dulles), and the "Georgetown Crowd." A potboiler - I hope any future films about the assassination's "supporting cast" pussyfoot around a lot less. Edited October 25, 2010 by David Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter McGuire Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 I have to say that while I enjoyed some isolated moments of that picture, I thought it was a shrinking violet as far as dealing accurately with Cord Meyer, James Angleton (whom it seemed to conflate into a composite figure with Allen Dulles), and the "Georgetown Crowd." A potboiler - I hope any future films about the assassination's "supporting cast" pussyfoot around a lot less. Personally, I don't take these kinds of film seriously. That being said, it is nice that the subject was touched upon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Andrews Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 (edited) I have to say that while I enjoyed some isolated moments of that picture, I thought it was a shrinking violet as far as dealing accurately with Cord Meyer, James Angleton (whom it seemed to conflate into a composite figure with Allen Dulles), and the "Georgetown Crowd." A potboiler - I hope any future films about the assassination's "supporting cast" pussyfoot around a lot less. Personally, I don't take these kinds of film seriously. That being said, it is nice that the subject was touched upon. Well, I see your point - but I love cinema generally and obviously am interested in the assassination. I'd like to combine those interests: I've written a couple of unproduced scripts - and may be doing a rewrite on a 19th-C. historical script that stands a chance of being produced. So when I see a couple million dollars and two hours of the public's time wasted on tangential stuff done wrong, I start wishing for better scripts, research, and interpretation. I watched a few minutes in the middle again on cable, and found the depiction of the Angleton-Dulles composite character rather counterproductive to understanding the Meyer case. The Meyer character's speech about "taking a bullet for the president" when a Marine guard refuses her entrance to the White House was just irresponsible and unenlightening screenwriting* - an HBO or Showtime cable movie would have had more rigorous standards applied to it, judging by their many successful historical films. And how can you leave out so many of the best parts of the Meyer-Kennedy story, such as Angleton surprised at lockpicking to retrieve her diary. One of the problems here is the Summer of '42-style frame story of Meyer half-seducing the underage neighbor boy, through whose eyes we see the Meyer story. That takes up so much time and is so unprofitable. The trouble is, to do the story right, JFK would have to be a character in it, played by an actor - and we would have to see details of the affair/relationship/friendship. HBO, which put JFK and RFK into its movie The Rat Pack, along with the title characters, and Sam Giancana, Marilyn Monroe and DiMaggio, wouldn't have shrunk from putting Kennedy and Meyer into an embrace. In An American Affair we end up with a sex potboiler where the most important sex is never witnessed, or interpreted. *OK - handled better in a better film by better filmmakers, it might have worked. In this version it was just an annoying non sequitur. Edited October 31, 2010 by David Andrews Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepard G. Montgomery Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 (edited) Netflix has "An American Affair" in its inventory, available for instant watching to subscribers. http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/An-American-Affair/70115623?strackid=6e2fcb3eb3376d42_0_srl&strkid=1456625362_0_0&trkid=438381#height2453 Edited October 31, 2010 by Shepard G. Montgomery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter McGuire Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 (edited) I have to say that while I enjoyed some isolated moments of that picture, I thought it was a shrinking violet as far as dealing accurately with Cord Meyer, James Angleton (whom it seemed to conflate into a composite figure with Allen Dulles), and the "Georgetown Crowd." A potboiler - I hope any future films about the assassination's "supporting cast" pussyfoot around a lot less. Personally, I don't take these kinds of film seriously. That being said, it is nice that the subject was touched upon. Well, I see your point - but I love cinema generally and obviously am interested in the assassination. I'd like to combine those interests: I've written a couple of unproduced scripts - and may be doing a rewrite on a 19th-C. historical script that stands a chance of being produced. So when I see a couple million dollars and two hours of the public's time wasted on tangential stuff done wrong, I start wishing for better scripts, research, and interpretation. I watched a few minutes in the middle again on cable, and found the depiction of the Angleton-Dulles composite character rather counterproductive to understanding the Meyer case. The Meyer character's speech about "taking a bullet for the president" when a Marine guard refuses her entrance to the White House was just irresponsible and unenlightening screenwriting* - an HBO or Showtime cable movie would have had more rigorous standards applied to it, judging by their many successful historical films. And how can you leave out so many of the best parts of the Meyer-Kennedy story, such as Angleton surprised at lockpicking to retrieve her diary. One of the problems here is the Summer of '42-style frame story of Meyer half-seducing the underage neighbor boy, through whose eyes we see the Meyer story. That takes up so much time and is so unprofitable. The trouble is, to do the story right, JFK would have to be a character in it, played by an actor - and we would have to see details of the affair/relationship/friendship. HBO, which put JFK and RFK into its movie The Rat Pack, along with the title characters, and Sam Giancana, Marilyn Monroe and DiMaggio, wouldn't have shrunk from putting Kennedy and Meyer into an embrace. In An American Affair we end up with a sex potboiler where the most important sex is never witnessed, or interpreted. *OK - handled better in a better film by better filmmakers, it might have worked. In this version it was just an annoying non sequitur. I am glad there is interest in this person who was killed because of her association (real close "association) with Kennedy and I am impressed with your film knowledge. You never know the motivation of the filmmakers when it comes to Kennedy Assassination Genre. They may have tried their best. They may have had limited knowledge of the matter. The film may be disinformation. When I picked up the broadcast that had already started I was immediately drawn to it before I knew what it was about. When I figured out that it was based on Pinchot Meyer, the film was almost over. The actor portraying her captivated me throughout. What young man never had a fantasy (or a thousand) about being with a beautiful older woman. She quite honestly had me in a trance the whole film. ( She is now a younger woman to me, and quite attractive at that) With that being said, do I take this part of a thousand parts in the government elimination of a sitting president President John Fitzgerald Kennedy seriously? You bet I do. Edited October 31, 2010 by Peter McGuire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepard G. Montgomery Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 I just finished watching the film on Netflix; I enjoyed it. However, beware, the film suffers from extremely poor sound editing; it is impossible to hear what the actors are saying at some points. I agree with Peter that Gretchen Mol is absolutely captivating... Wow! The story merely alludes to the Pinchot affair for much of the script, but it does a great job of creating an atmosphere of what 1963 Washington DC must have been like... very worthwhile film for students of the assassination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Andrews Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 It didn't seem to me to be anything like what the Georgetown or other political atmosphere was like. Starting with the only person mentioned by his right name being Kennedy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted September 20, 2011 Author Share Posted September 20, 2011 I see that Peter Janney's book, Mary's Mosaic: Mary Pinchot Meyer & John F. Kennedy and Their Vision for World Peace is due to be published in January 2012. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKmeyerM.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Fokes Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I see that Peter Janney's book, Mary's Mosaic: Mary Pinchot Meyer & John F. Kennedy and Their Vision for World Peace is due to be published in January 2012. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKmeyerM.htm For some background on the permutations of this book, see: Beware: The Douglas/Janney/Simkin Silver Bullets By James DiEugenio http://www.ctka.net/djm.html PF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kelly Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I see that Peter Janney's book, Mary's Mosaic: Mary Pinchot Meyer & John F. Kennedy and Their Vision for World Peace is due to be published in January 2012. http://www.spartacus...k/JFKmeyerM.htm For some background on the permutations of this book, see: Beware: The Douglas/Janney/Simkin Silver Bullets By James DiEugenio http://www.ctka.net/djm.html PF I'd like to hear John Simkin's view of these events, if he can put it into fewer words. BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William Kelly Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I see that Peter Janney's book, Mary's Mosaic: Mary Pinchot Meyer & John F. Kennedy and Their Vision for World Peace is due to be published in January 2012. http://www.spartacus...k/JFKmeyerM.htm For some background on the permutations of this book, see: Beware: The Douglas/Janney/Simkin Silver Bullets By James DiEugenio http://www.ctka.net/djm.html PF I'd like to hear John Simkin's view of these events, if he can put it into fewer words. BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Simkin Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 I see that Peter Janney's book, Mary's Mosaic: Mary Pinchot Meyer & John F. Kennedy and Their Vision for World Peace is due to be published in January 2012. http://www.spartacus...k/JFKmeyerM.htm For some background on the permutations of this book, see: Beware: The Douglas/Janney/Simkin Silver Bullets By James DiEugenio http://www.ctka.net/djm.html PF I'd like to hear John Simkin's view of these events, if he can put it into fewer words. BK I dealt with all this on 10th October 2007: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=11208 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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