VHS / DOCUMENTARY REVIEW -- "NBC White Papers: The Kennedy Era"
David Von Pein
2-TAPE VHS VIDEO SET
NTSC / "SP" TAPE SPEED
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John Fitzgerald Kennedy Remembered, Via Lots Of Seldom-Seen Film
Footage From The 1940s, '50s, And '60s......
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"NBC White Papers: The Kennedy Era" is a 2-Tape VHS set distributed by
"New Video Group" in 1997-1998. The two VHS cassettes in this set serve
as a video diary and scrapbook of John F. Kennedy's life, beginning in
the late 1930s and early 1940s when JFK was in his early 20s and still
in college at Harvard.
With the exception of short contemporary introductions (which serve as
"bookends" on both parts of the documentary) by NBC's Tom Brokaw, these
two videos consist entirely of older, vintage, black-and-white film
footage (circa 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s).
It seems as though a camera was always being aimed at the young
politician from Massachusetts named Jack Kennedy, who almost always had
that broad and infectious JFK smile on full display for any and all
picture-takers. It's easy to see from these old films that Mr. Kennedy
had a certain "way" about him that's very difficult to dislike. There's
a built-in magnetism, charm, and boyishness that's virtually impossible
not to instantly take a liking to.
These two "White Paper" programs originally aired on consecutive
Sundays in 1966. Part 1, subtitled "The Early Years", was first
telecast on May 29th of 1966, which would have been JFK's 49th birthday
if an assassin in Dallas had not taken the life of the young President
two-and-a-half years earlier. Part 2 ("The Presidency") aired on June
5th, 1966.
Chet Huntley of NBC-TV News serves as narrator for both of the
programs. Whenever I hear the voice of Mr. Huntley, I'm immediately
transported back to an earlier television age; and this two-part
documentary is no exception in that regard.
On Tape #1 ("The Early Years"), there is a large amount of excellent
archival 1940s and 1950s black-and-white film footage (both silent and
sound footage) showing JFK "on the stump", as Kennedy campaigns for
public office throughout his home state of Massachusetts, attempting to
win a seat in the House of Representatives and, later, the U.S. Senate.
He was successful in each campaign.
Actor Henry Fonda can also be heard on Tape #1, as he reads and speaks
words that were written by John Kennedy himself at various times
throughout his life. The JFK excerpts spoken by Fonda add another
distinguished touch of class to this documentary.
Tape #2 ("The Presidency") deals with JFK's all-too brief term in
office as the thirty-fifth President of the United States. A good deal
of rarely-seen film clips are presented in this second segment of the
documentary as well, with several of Kennedy's speeches highlighted,
including a meaty chunk (almost 5 minutes) of an inspiring and forceful
speech President Kennedy made in May 1962 at the United Auto Workers
Convention.
A portion of that UAW speech has always been a favorite "JFK Moment" of
mine, when the President says this to the UAW audience and to the
American people: "I believe it is the business of the President of the
United States to concern himself with the general welfare and the
public interest, and if the people feel that it is not....then they
should secure the services of a new President of the United States".
The Peace Corps, the Alliance For Progress, Vietnam, civil rights, the
Bay Of Pigs fiasco, and the frightening Cuban Missile Crisis are all
topics which are given a slice of time within Part 2 of "The Kennedy
Era" documentary.
These programs have a "time capsule" effect, in my opinion, in that
they were produced and originally aired so many years ago, in the
mid-'60s, long before the majority of JFK "retrospectives" (both on the
life of the nation's 35th President and on his tragic assassination in
1963) were ever conceived.
To that end, I tend to appreciate the "old-time" quality of programs
like these 1966 "White Papers" more than some of the newer,
sometimes-flashier documentary pieces that highlight John F. Kennedy.
And the wealth of excellent pre-Presidential Kennedy film footage that
is supplied here is quite interesting, thus raising this VHS set even
higher on the "must own" meter.
The on-screen main title of this two-part documentary is "The Age Of
Kennedy". It was re-titled for the home-video release. The producer,
writer, and director of this well-done and concise look at the Kennedy
years was Al Wasserman. A consultant on the program was Arthur
Schlesinger, Jr.
NBC and New Video have produced a slick and attractive 2-Tape VHS set
here, which comes complete with a sturdy slipcase box to store both of
the videocassettes. Each video runs for approximately 50 minutes. Tape
speed is Standard (SP). The image aspect ratio is 1.33:1 (Full-Frame
format).
A collector of vintage and/or "classic" material on the subject of John
Fitzgerald Kennedy will probably want this nostalgic video twin-pack of
in their library of such Kennedy-connected items.
David Von Pein
June 2006