MOVIE/DVD REVIEW -- "Executive Action" (1973)
David Von Pein
MOVIE / DVD REVIEW:
"EXECUTIVE ACTION" (1973)
DVD released by Warner Home Video on 10/23/07
http://images.dvdempire.com/gen/movies/1359091h.jpg
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1973's "Executive Action" stars Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, and Will
Geer as three top-level (but never fully-defined or fleshed out)
behind-the-scenes plotters who are secretly arranging President John
F. Kennedy's demise via a "One-Patsy, Three-Gunmen" assassination
ambush, which is to take place at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas,
during President Kennedy's visit to that city on the tragic date of
November 22, 1963.
Now, where have I seen that type of "plot" being proposed before? Oh,
yes, Oliver Stone's the man. He's got exactly the same type of crazy
three-shooter, ONE-"patsy" scheme cooked up for his blockbuster motion
picture, "JFK", which premiered almost two decades after "Executive
Action".
I guess the three assassins who were popping away at JFK's head (as
depicted in both "EA" and "JFK") just prayed that the rotten and
corrupt U.S. Government would be wanting to frame the VERY SAME PATSY
named Oswald after the bullets stopped flying in Dealey Plaza.
Otherwise, I cannot see how on the face of this globe that Mr.
Lancaster, et al, could have thought they had a snowball's chance in
Hades of their loony THREE-gun plan being successful.
Oh, well....I guess we'll just let the Government worry about those
trivial little details, like covering up or getting rid of all the
bullets and bullet holes in JFK's body that didn't have any chance of
being traced back to the one lone "patsy" in the Texas School Book
Depository Building on Elm Street.
About the only redeeming feature in this fairy-tale of a movie is some
very nice aerial footage taken of Dealey Plaza and the Book Depository
(filmed by Warner Brothers from a helicopter, circa early 1973).
The remainder of this conspiracy-oriented film is total fiction, but
unlike Oliver Stone's tripe that would surface 18 years later, the
producers of "Executive Action" were at least honest and forthright
enough to tell their audience right from the very beginning of the
movie that "much of this film is fiction". During the opening credits,
we find these words printed on the screen.....
"Although much of this film is fiction, much of it is also based on
documented historical fact. Did the conspiracy we describe actually
exist? We do not know. We merely suggest that it could have existed."
A fatal flaw within the type of script that a film like "Executive
Action" heavily relies on is that Lee Harvey Oswald (the so-called
"patsy" in this film as well as in Oliver Stone's "JFK" eighteen years
later) has been almost completely lost within the sea of unsupportable
and invented conspiracy-tinged speculation. At the very least, Oswald
has been severely misrepresented in films like "Executive Action" and
"JFK".
These type of pro-conspiracy movies about the assassination of
America's 35th President rely almost exclusively on fanciful
guesswork, conjecture, and a perceived motive that 'so-and-so'
supposedly had for wanting President Kennedy killed in 1963.
In "Executive Action" (which made its debut in U.S. movie theaters on
November 7, 1973, fifteen days prior to the 10th anniversary of JFK's
death), we're told that the bottom-line motives that these fictional
bigshots in the movie had for desperately wanting JFK dead were:
Vietnam, Kennedy's civil-rights policies, and JFK's negotiations with
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev (specifically, the Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty was being frowned upon in a big way by the assassination
plotters). God forbid that peace should prevail in the world, huh?
<chuckle>
But, amid the conspiracy plot being hatched by Lancaster and Company,
the PERSONALITY of John F. Kennedy's real killer, Lee Harvey Oswald
(and LHO was, indeed, Kennedy's lone assassin based on every scrap of
hard evidence to be found when investigating the JFK case), has been
totally lost and/or ignored by the filmmakers.
And that's truly a shame. Because if there was ever a person who had
the perfect profile and personal make-up of a potential Presidential
assassin (a REAL assassin/triggerman, that is, and not just a person
to use as a "patsy"), it was probably 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald.
For a balanced counterpoint to movies like "Executive Action" and
"JFK", I'd highly recommend watching the 1964 documentary film "FOUR
DAYS IN NOVEMBER".
www.amazon.com/review/R1ACSVLKDMJIL2
And I'd also recommend reading two books, Vincent Bugliosi's
"RECLAIMING HISTORY" (2007) and Jean Davison's "OSWALD'S GAME" (1983),
both of which are a mile deep in something called the "true facts"
surrounding the events of 11/22/63, and both of those books are also
richly steeped in the largely-overlooked truth about a man named Lee
Harvey Oswald, who was the man that owned the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle
that was proven to have killed President Kennedy.
www.amazon.com/review/R2R0RQ0Q9AZY0M
www.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/9c2238388f0a72c3
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DVD BONUS FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS:
This first-ever DVD release of "Executive Action" includes an
interesting bonus supplement in the form of a 10-minute "Vintage
Featurette" entitled "November 22, 1963: In Search Of An Answer".
That featurette is a pretty good behind-the-scenes type of program,
with 1973 interviews with the film's main stars (Lancaster, Ryan, and
Geer), plus interview segments with producer Edward Lewis and
screenplay writer Dalton Trumbo as well.
The Warner Home Video DVD (which came out on October 23, 2007) also
includes one additional bonus item, a "Burt Lancaster Trailer
Gallery", which consists of four theatrical trailers for films
starring Mr. Lancaster, including the original trailer for "Executive
Action" and one for the similarly-themed 1964 movie "Seven
Days In May".
This DVD presents "Executive Action" in good-looking Anamorphic
Widescreen (1.85:1 aspect ratio), with a Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
soundtrack (English only).
The film is in color and has a running time of 91 minutes.
Subtitles: English; French.
Chapters: 9.
=======================
David Von Pein
November 2007
www.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/browse_thread/thread/6e4075d078991d1c
bigdog
Good review. I bought the DVD last night on Amazon along with a DVD of
ABC's assassination coverage. The ABC DVD didn't have much of a
description on exactly what it contained so I took a little bit of a
chance. I'm hoping it will have ABC's same day coverage of the event.
NBC's coverage is on two VHS tapes, the first of which is out of stock
and being VHS, I doubt it will be offered again. I'm hoping this will
eventually come out on DVD as well.
Someday, I'd like to see a conspiracy movie with Oswald as the
shooter. It is the only one that would make any sense since we know
beyond all doubt, reasonable or unreasonable, that Oswald pulled the
trigger. Why so many CTs can't get this through their heads is beyond
me. Not that I think there is any evidence for such a conspiracy, but
the physical evidence for a single gunman conspiracy would be the same
as for a lone nut assassination. At least you wouldn't have to drive a
square peg in a round hole to make such a conspiracy theory work.
David Von Pein
www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showthread.php?t=264292
>>> "While I appreciate the detail and attention David Von Pein gives to EXECUTIVE ACTION, I don't agree with his disdain for this intelligent, effective and entertaining thriller. Nor do I agree with all the film's representations of the assassination, but I do recognize that it is an honest and sincere attempt to deal with the facts that were available in 1973. I've also followed the JFK assassination trail throughout my life -- and I have a bookcase devoted to the subject to prove it -- and I remember how well this film reflected the beliefs and understandable suspicions of 1973. Millions of people felt this way. EXECUTIVE ACTION is a first-rate thriller. I welcome its release on DVD and I recommend it to everyone who likes thrillers." <<<
It's an okay "fictional thriller", yes. But when examining the
proposed "Patsy" plot, you'll see that the purported plot being
hatched by Lancaster and his murderous cronies (and the exact same
plot is proposed in Stone's film too, 18 years later), you'll see that
Oswald is being set up to take the lone fall well in advance of
11/22/63, with attention to detail that's absolutely remarkable--not
to mention hilarious in its overdone and seemingly-totally-unnecessary
nature.
But then, after grooming Lee Oswald as a lone patsy for many weeks/
months, what do the assassins do on Game Day? -- They decide they're
going to shoot the President from THREE different directions and then
just hope and pray that Oswald gets blamed for the whole nine yards.
Can anyone but me see the built-in illogic and stupidity of this kind
of plot?
The movie also wanders outside the known facts of how Oswald got his
job in the Book Depository, with Lancaster insinuating that LHO was
"placed" in the building by plotters, which is absurd and everybody
knows it.
Plus, in that same scene showing the diagram of Dealey Plaza, it's
revealed by one of the bigshot henchmen controlling everything that
the 11/22 luncheon site was going to be the Trade Mart...and he's
supposedly saying this on October 17th, almost a full MONTH before the
Trade Mart was finalized as the luncheon site by JFK's good friend and
aide, Kenny O'Donnell.
Blending fiction with facts would work better if the filmmakers would
STICK TO THE KNOWN AND PROVABLE FACTS, which neither Edward Lewis nor
Oliver Stone does in either of their JFK motion pictures.
bigdog
Of course, it is ridiculous to use three shooters and try to frame a
lone gunman. The ballistic and medical forensics alone would destroy
that theory. This is also why it would make no sense for the plotters
to have planted CE399. Why would they do this. If they used Oswald's
MC to kill JFK, why would they plant another bullet from the same gun?
If they used another gun(s) to kill JFK, by introducing a bullet from
the MC, you are almost assured of having bullets from multiple guns in
evidence which blows the lone gunman scenario right out of the water.
The plotters would have to have had forehand knowledge that no other
bullets would be found. And how could they know this or even expect
this. But CTers would have us believe that they sent someone to
Parkland with a spare bullet from the MC just to be sure. The scene of
Jack Ruby sneaking into Parkland to plant that bullet in the Oliver
Stoned movie is comical.
David Von Pein
>>> "The grassy knoll shot was only taken because Oswald's rifle jammed." <<<
DVP (A NON-KOOK) NOW UTTERS:
And Tony Marsh was right beside the killer on the 6th Floor and saw
the gun jam.
We ought to be prosecuting Marsh as a conspirator. After all, he knows
things that ONLY an "insider" could possibly know. So he must have
been there helping out with the "patsy" plot.
>>> "Any chance that you'll ever stop making up straw man arguments?" <<<
Any chance you'll ever quit being a conspiracy-loving moron with a
chip on his shoulder the size of the Depository?
Silly kook.
aeffects
> MORE GARBAGE FROM TONY MARSH:
everyone you disagree with is/has "garbage". Did the thought ever,
EVER occur to you.... forget it, you went over the edge 2 years
ago.... you're lost, son! Banned to Lone Nut wilderness where 70%+ of
all mankind understand JFK was murder through a conspiracy..... GAWD,
you must be lonely!
David Von Pein
Yeah...but I'm really, really rich. (That monthly CIA Disinfo check
remember. Those boys ain't cheapskates.)
David Von Pein
www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showpost.php?p=3264382
www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showpost.php?p=3264598
>>> "You have a way of missing the point. EXECUTIVE ACTION reflects the knowledge and understanding of 1973. 1973. That's 1973." <<<
Oh, I see now! You mean, since it was only 1973, that the American
public thought it was perfectly fine to believe in the kind of
impossible-to-pull-off "3-Gun, 1-Patsy" conspiracy scenario that Mr.
Lewis and Mr. Miller (the Director) placed up on the big screen in
"Executive Action". Is that it?
I think you've missed the (main) point. That point being: Such a plot
is just idiotic. Period. In 1973. In 1991. Or in 2099.
>>> "To condemn a feature film for not reflecting knowledge and information gleaned decades after it was made, is, shall we say, unfair, if not odd." <<<
The stuff I talked about in the post you berated me for is ALL stuff
that was KNOWN IN 1963-1964; it wasn't only "gleaned decades" later.
Such as: The decision to have the luncheon at the Trade Mart. That
info is right there in the Warren Report, on Page #31 (below), which
positively proves that Ken O'Donnell made the final "Trade Mart"
decision, and that decision wasn't finalized until November 13 or 14,
1963, a month AFTER Lancaster and Co. said it had been decided upon in
"EA":
http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/html/WCReport_0028a.htm
And the information about how Oswald got his TSBD job in mid-October
has been available for all Americans to read in the Warren Report and
the 26 supporting volumes since September '64. That info wasn't merely
gleaned many years later. The same is true with the "Backyard Photos".
It was fully known in 1964 that Marina had taken them. It's just that
conspiracy believers just flat-out do not want that information to be
true. Simple as that. ....
http://history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/html/WCReport_0075a.htm
David Von Pein
www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showpost.php?p=3264730
www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/showpost.php?p=3265154
>>> "Have you noticed that at least two of the three backyard photos have the same head on Oswald's body?" <<<
That's just nonsense. There's no proof of that at all.
Plus, even if that sort of fakery DID occur, can anyone tell me WHY
the photo-manipulators wanted to use the SAME picture of Oswald for
THREE different backyard poses? Didn't they think that maybe some
crackerjack investigator might figure this fakery out?
Plus, if you believe those multiple backyard photos are
phonies...you're going to have to go a long way toward convincing me
that some band of photo-fakers would have been silly enough to even
WANT TO FAKE MULTIPLE PICTURES THAT ARE DEPICTING THE EXACT SAME
THING. [LOL.]
What possible reason would there be to fake MULTIPLE photos of Oswald,
showing the exact same thing? It's just....stupid.
Why wouldn't just ONE photo be enough? (Obviously, one would be
enough, and much less risky for any such "Patsy Plotters".)
I suggest you read the official House Select Committee report
regarding the Backyard Photos, wherein the HSCA concludes, quote, "The
panel detects no evidence of fakery in any of the backyard picture
materials." -- HSCA Report; Volume VI
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/photos.txt
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THE "BACKYARD PHOTOS" OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD -- REAL OR FAKE?:
www.google.com/group/alt.conspiracy.jfk/msg/abf2ea54c9dddca4
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aeffects
the websites suck, Dave -- there's no money in oldtime television
DVD's, nor contemporary jazz on the net.....Find a author that can
sell books, no money in JFK related material, unless of course you
work for da *spookies*
David Von Pein
Mr. Healy. It's bad stuff. Use a better dealer who can get his hands
on better stuff. Your posts will benefit (albeit only barely) from a
higher grade of illegal substances in your system.