Tomorrow (November 22nd) is the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and TCM is commemorating this tragic event by airing a series of films tonight (November 21st) that document his presidency. Four of the five films were directed by Robert Drew, a LIFE magazine photographer and editor who pioneered the cinéma vérité movement in the 1960s that attempted to “capture truth on film by observing, recording, and presenting reality without exercising directorial control” (The Film Encyclopedia, Seventh Edition, 2012).
Robert Drew’s films have informed our perception of John F. Kennedy’s presidency for decades. They provide us with a candid snapshot of history as it unfolded and today it’s impossible to watch them with any emotional detachment. They’re a stark reminder of how brief Kennedy’s time in office was but they also celebrate his historic accomplishments during those few short years. Here’s brief rundown of the Robert Drew films that are airing tonight on TCM*.
In PRIMARY (1960) audiences get an up-close and personal look at presidential hopeful John F. Kennedy and his opponent Hubert H. Humphrey as they try to win the hearts and minds of voters in Wisconsin during the 1960 Democratic primary. PRIMARY is a very evenhanded film and Humphrey comes across as a down-to-earth candidate but it’s not hard to see why Kennedy would go on to become the 35th President of the United States. His charisma is clearly evident as he expertly maneuvers through the election process. Next to the older and more world-weary Humphrey, Kennedy’s youthful exuberance, good looks and easy-going personality seem to effortlessly win over young voters who rush to greet him. Women swoon over him and men swoon over Kennedy’s beautiful and nervous young wife, the eloquent Jacqueline Kennedy.
Occasionally you get to hear from disgruntled voters who seem mostly bothered by Kennedy’s Catholic faith and wonder how he can govern a nation when he has to answer to a “higher power.” Even though I was well aware of the problems Kennedy faced as a Catholic candidate, it’s surprising to hear citizen’s reasonable concerns about mixing religion and politics in 1960. Today American presidential candidates are pressured into attending religious events and are encouraged to flaunt their faith at every opportunity. Watching PRIMARY makes me long for a time when American voters seemed to know how important it was to keep a healthy distance between church and state.
ADVENTURES ON THE NEW FRONTIER (1961) is a short film that documents two days in Kennedy’s presidency, which originally aired on television. This was the first time that anyone had been allowed to film a president working in the White House and it gave viewers an intimate behind-the-scenes look at our political process. It also helped create a more personal and friendly relationship between the president and the public that would reverberate across America when he was eventually assassinated. The president was no longer a distant stranger dictating the law of the land behind closed doors. He was suddenly a very real and very charismatic young man who was creating policy in our living rooms.
Besides its invaluable look at the presidency, ADVENTURES ON THE NEW FRONTIER also provides us with a snapshot of the people Kennedy was surrounding himself with. One highlight includes celebrated American author John Steinbeck and John Kenneth Galbraith (United States Ambassador to India) discussing the impact of the President’s inaugural speech during a limo drive. Both men were obviously deeply affected by Kennedy’s words but when John Kenneth Galbraith gently asks Steinbeck how long he plans to support the Kennedy administration the author humorously answers, “Twenty-four hours” suggesting that he’ll soon find disagreement with the politics and practices of a President he endorsed.
CRISIS (1963) was made three years after PRIMARY and in the film President Kennedy and his brother, Attorney General Robert “Bobby” Kennedy, are faced with enforcing a federal court order that will allow two black students (Vivian Malone and James Hood) to enroll in the University of Alabama for the first time. In 1963 Alabama was the last state still fighting integration and Alabama’s Governor George Wallace vowed that he would personally block the door of the University if the black students attempted to enter it. The Kennedy brothers, along with Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, try to calmly come up with non-aggressive solutions to the crisis they’re facing and it’s absolutely fascinating to watch.
The tense drama that unfolds in CRISIS is interwoven with some genuinely moving moments, such as when the African-American student James Hood proclaims that he would like to be the Governor of Alabama one day. This important event would lead President Kennedy to introduce his Civil Rights Act in a historical televised speech that is showcased at the end of the film and which seems especially poignant following President Barack Obama’s election.
But this isn’t just the President’s show. His brother Bobby makes an unforgettable impression in CRISIS while juggling phone calls and navigating through the old government establishment. When he makes his joy known in a wide grin after learning that Vivian Malone has successfully entered the University with help from the Federal government it’s impossible not to smile along with him.
FACES IN NOVEMBER (1963) is a brief and somber film focusing on John F. Kennedy’s funeral in November of 1963 and it shines a subtle light on the sad and confused faces of many of the statesmen and American citizens who attended. This is not easy viewing but it does offer us an intimate look at the way people publicly grieved President Kennedy’s assassination. Future presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is no longer the hopeful Attorney General that we saw in CRISIS just a few months earlier and the shock, grief and anger he’s clearly feeling after his brother’s murder is palpable. Jackie Kennedy is also no longer the smiling wife we saw on the campaign trail in PRIMARY. Her lovely face has been transformed into a somber mask of anguish shrouded by a black veil. Watching her mourn her husband so openly with her young children in tow is absolutely heartbreaking and profoundly moving.
Robert Drew and his talented crew, which included two of the most groundbreaking documentary filmmakers of the sixties, D.A. Pennebaker (DON’T LOOK BACK; 1967, MONTEREY POP; 1968, ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS; 1973, etc.) and Albert Maysles (SALESMAN; 1968, GIMME SHELTER; 1970, GREY GARDENS; 1975, etc.), made an extraordinary contribution to history when they shot these films and I hope viewers will tune in to see them when they air on TCM tonight. They are incredible records of a turbulent time in America and a wonderful example of how filmmakers in the 1960s were transforming cinema and changing the way we watch movies.
*Some of these observations were originally published in my personal blog.