The Day Kennedy Died

Produced for the Smithsonian Channel and narrated by Kevin Spacey, Leslie Woodhead's documentary recalls the events of November 22, 1963, tracing the final hours of John F. Kennedy's life and the tumult that followed the news of his assassination. Woodhead draws on a wealth of rarely seen newsreel footage leading up to the fatal motorcade ride, including the final speech that Kennedy delivered that morning before a breakfast meeting of business leaders in Fort Worth (First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy arrived late, but her stylish appearance led the president to joke that “nobody cares what Lyndon and I are wearing”). The film notes the significant tension in Dallas because of right-wingers' perception of the president as being soft on Communism, but it doesn't call much attention to the backlash over Kennedy's efforts to promote civil rights (one news clip does show a blatantly racist placard and a Confederate flag at an anti-Kennedy protest meeting). Not surprisingly, the much-seen amateur video taken by spectators is repeated during the production, but also included are new interviews with witnesses to the event, including Secret Service agent Clint Hill (the man who jumped on the back of the presidential limousine after the shots rang out) and friends of Lee Harvey Oswald during his stay in the city. A solid examination of an unprecedented tragedy in modern American history, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)