Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on Ian Simmons Vodcast, Kicking The Seat, talking the 1973 first JFK conspiracy film “Executive Action” … it’s 50th Anniversary. Why was this particular anniversary film chosen? Because today … November 22nd, 2023, is the 60th Anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination.
At a gathering in June 1963, shadowy industrial, political and U.S. intelligence figures discuss their growing dissatisfaction with the Kennedy administration. The most powerful, a geopolitical oil mogul, is Ferguson (Will Geer). The rest of these figureheads include Foster (Robert Ryan) and Farrington (Burt Lancaster), a black ops expert. When the green light is lit on the operation, Farrington recruits a team of shooters and a fall guy named Lee Harvey Oswald. Their destination? Dallas, Texas, on November 22nd, 1963, and the presidential motorcade of destiny.
‘Executive Action’ on Kicking the Seat, Hosted by Ian Simmons
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald
Kicking The Seat is...
At a gathering in June 1963, shadowy industrial, political and U.S. intelligence figures discuss their growing dissatisfaction with the Kennedy administration. The most powerful, a geopolitical oil mogul, is Ferguson (Will Geer). The rest of these figureheads include Foster (Robert Ryan) and Farrington (Burt Lancaster), a black ops expert. When the green light is lit on the operation, Farrington recruits a team of shooters and a fall guy named Lee Harvey Oswald. Their destination? Dallas, Texas, on November 22nd, 1963, and the presidential motorcade of destiny.
‘Executive Action’ on Kicking the Seat, Hosted by Ian Simmons
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald
Kicking The Seat is...
- 11/23/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Edward Lewis, an independent producer best known for “Spartacus” and “Missing,” died at the age of 99 in his Los Angeles home on July 27. He produced 33 films, which garnered 15 Oscars and Golden Globe awards as well as 90 nominations. Additionally, he co-wrote musicals, works of fiction, and screenplays with the his partner and wife, Mildred, who died April 7.
A passionate opposer of the Hollywood blacklist, Lewis was given credit for clearing the name of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo by hiring him for “Spartacus.” Lewis went on to produce “The Last Sunset,” “Lonely Are The Brave,” and “Executive Action,” all films written by Trumbo.
Lewis and his wife were nominated for a best picture Oscar for Costa-Gavras’ 1982 drama “Missing.” They worked together on a number of other projects including, “Harold and Maude” and “Brothers.” He and his wife also co-wrote the books “Heads You Lose” and “Masquerade.”
Born Dec. 16, 1919 in Camden, New Jersey, the...
A passionate opposer of the Hollywood blacklist, Lewis was given credit for clearing the name of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo by hiring him for “Spartacus.” Lewis went on to produce “The Last Sunset,” “Lonely Are The Brave,” and “Executive Action,” all films written by Trumbo.
Lewis and his wife were nominated for a best picture Oscar for Costa-Gavras’ 1982 drama “Missing.” They worked together on a number of other projects including, “Harold and Maude” and “Brothers.” He and his wife also co-wrote the books “Heads You Lose” and “Masquerade.”
Born Dec. 16, 1919 in Camden, New Jersey, the...
- 8/13/2019
- by BreAnna Bell
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Martin Sheen to is on board to narrate Rush to Judgment II, an update to the 1967 version, Rush to Judgment, which is being executive produced by Stephen S. Jaffe. He is a former staff investigator and last surviving member of the legal team run by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison who led a probe into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The original Emile de Antonio-directed documentary was based on the New York Times best-selling novel Rush to Judgment by attorney Mark Lane, in which he takes issue with the Kennedy investigation and exposes serious flaws in the conclusions made by the Warren Commission. Lane, died in 2016, will be credited posthumously as an executive producer.
The contemporary documentary, which will be produced by Dylan Howard via his Topixly label, aims to uncover the conspiracy of powerful men that resulted in the assassination of President Kennedy and...
The original Emile de Antonio-directed documentary was based on the New York Times best-selling novel Rush to Judgment by attorney Mark Lane, in which he takes issue with the Kennedy investigation and exposes serious flaws in the conclusions made by the Warren Commission. Lane, died in 2016, will be credited posthumously as an executive producer.
The contemporary documentary, which will be produced by Dylan Howard via his Topixly label, aims to uncover the conspiracy of powerful men that resulted in the assassination of President Kennedy and...
- 6/17/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
Chicago – They often are the background people, the best friends or townspeople in various film and TV parts. Two character actors, who have over 200 roles between them, passed away recently. Dick Miller and Julie Adams were both previous subjects for the lens of photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com.
’That Guy’ Dick Miller in 2014
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com
Dick Miller has over 100 film credits under his belt, and was a go-to guy during the golden age (1960s and ‘70s) in many of director Roger Corman productions, the cheap and quick films that audiences loved during the era. His Corman films include “The Little Shop of Horrors” (1960), “X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes” (1963), “The Wild Angels” (1966), “Big Bad Mama” (1974) and “Capone” (1975). He also did small and larger parts in mainstream titles such as “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), “Executive Action” (1973), “New York, New York” (1977), “All the Right Moves...
’That Guy’ Dick Miller in 2014
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com
Dick Miller has over 100 film credits under his belt, and was a go-to guy during the golden age (1960s and ‘70s) in many of director Roger Corman productions, the cheap and quick films that audiences loved during the era. His Corman films include “The Little Shop of Horrors” (1960), “X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes” (1963), “The Wild Angels” (1966), “Big Bad Mama” (1974) and “Capone” (1975). He also did small and larger parts in mainstream titles such as “The Dirty Dozen” (1967), “Executive Action” (1973), “New York, New York” (1977), “All the Right Moves...
- 2/11/2019
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Rebecca Clough Jan 20, 2017
As America gets its new President, we look at some excellent political drama films that may have slipped under your radar...
Political dramas can be entertaining, informative and even educational, opening up debates and offering new points of view. (When experiencing a year of tumultuous change like the one we’ve just had, they can also be a comforting reminder that, no matter what your situation, it could always be worse...) With the full whack of corruption, war, and conspiracy, here are 25 political dramas which deserve to be better known.
See related 25 underrated political thrillers 17 new TV shows to watch in 2017 Taboo episode 3 review The Girl On The Train review 25. The Marchers/La Marche (2013)
When teenager Mohamed (Tewfik Jallab) is shot by police, his friends want revenge, but he has a better idea: peaceful protest. Marching from Marseille to Paris, they band together with quite an assortment of characters along the way.
As America gets its new President, we look at some excellent political drama films that may have slipped under your radar...
Political dramas can be entertaining, informative and even educational, opening up debates and offering new points of view. (When experiencing a year of tumultuous change like the one we’ve just had, they can also be a comforting reminder that, no matter what your situation, it could always be worse...) With the full whack of corruption, war, and conspiracy, here are 25 political dramas which deserve to be better known.
See related 25 underrated political thrillers 17 new TV shows to watch in 2017 Taboo episode 3 review The Girl On The Train review 25. The Marchers/La Marche (2013)
When teenager Mohamed (Tewfik Jallab) is shot by police, his friends want revenge, but he has a better idea: peaceful protest. Marching from Marseille to Paris, they band together with quite an assortment of characters along the way.
- 12/22/2016
- Den of Geek
The Hollywood chorus singing President Barack Obama's praises got louder as NBCUniversal's Vice Chairman and Universal's Chairman put their names to a public letter on his recent attempts to curb gun violence in America. "Thank you," said the January 8 letter signed by Ron Meyer and Donna Langley and over 100 other Hollywood types. "Thank you for having the courage and leadership to take Executive Action on preventing more unnecessary gun violence in this country," adds…...
- 1/9/2016
- Deadline
Bradley Cooper, Olivia Wilde and Jon Hamm are among 113 stars thanking President Barack Obama for introducing new executive orders on gun control this week.
"Like you, and like most Americans, we have had Enough. We have had enough of seeing unthinkable tragedies happen and nothing being done," reads a letter signed by the stars and organized by the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence. "This level of depravity should rattle anyone with a conscience. We have seen how it has visibly."
The letter names recent mass shootings – from Sandy Hook to San Bernardino – as evidence that action needs to be taken.
"Like you, and like most Americans, we have had Enough. We have had enough of seeing unthinkable tragedies happen and nothing being done," reads a letter signed by the stars and organized by the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence. "This level of depravity should rattle anyone with a conscience. We have seen how it has visibly."
The letter names recent mass shootings – from Sandy Hook to San Bernardino – as evidence that action needs to be taken.
- 1/8/2016
- by Aaron Couch, @AaronCouch
- People.com - TV Watch
Bradley Cooper, Olivia Wilde and Jon Hamm are among 113 stars thanking President Barack Obama for introducing new executive orders on gun control this week. "Like you, and like most Americans, we have had Enough. We have had enough of seeing unthinkable tragedies happen and nothing being done," reads a letter signed by the stars and organized by the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence. "This level of depravity should rattle anyone with a conscience. We have seen how it has visibly." The letter names recent mass shootings - from Sandy Hook to San Bernardino - as evidence that action needs to be taken.
- 1/8/2016
- by Aaron Couch, @AaronCouch
- PEOPLE.com
Bradley Cooper, Olivia Wilde and Jon Hamm are among 113 stars thanking President Barack Obama for introducing new executive orders on gun control this week. "Like you, and like most Americans, we have had Enough. We have had enough of seeing unthinkable tragedies happen and nothing being done," reads a letter signed by the stars and organized by the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence. "This level of depravity should rattle anyone with a conscience. We have seen how it has visibly." The letter names recent mass shootings - from Sandy Hook to San Bernardino - as evidence that action needs to be taken.
- 1/8/2016
- by Aaron Couch, @AaronCouch
- PEOPLE.com
Chicago – Now in its second year, the Chicago Film Critics Festival opens tonight, May 9th, 2014, with the Chicago Premiere of “They Came Together,” starring Paul Rudd, Amy Poelher, Ellie Kemper, Bill Hader and Ed Helms, and directed by David Wain. Wain makes an appearance after the 7pm screening at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago. Click here for details and the complete schedule for the week long festival.
The Chicago Critics Film Festival is the first of its kind, with members of the Chicago Film Critics Association coordinating the events and selecting the films. The schedule features mainstream and independent film premieres – weeks before their general release – plus two short film programs, late night horror films, revivals and one-of-a-kind live appearances. The festival runs through May 15th.
Included in the week-long presentations are after-film Q&As by filmmakers, actors and even the subjects of the movies on tap. Here is...
The Chicago Critics Film Festival is the first of its kind, with members of the Chicago Film Critics Association coordinating the events and selecting the films. The schedule features mainstream and independent film premieres – weeks before their general release – plus two short film programs, late night horror films, revivals and one-of-a-kind live appearances. The festival runs through May 15th.
Included in the week-long presentations are after-film Q&As by filmmakers, actors and even the subjects of the movies on tap. Here is...
- 5/9/2014
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Tomorrow, November 22nd, 2013, is the 50th Anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Beyond the numerous TV programs and tributes expected for the memory, which films have lent the best perspective over the years regarding that Day in Dallas? The following offers five films for consideration.
Films and the cinema also figured in the capture of Lee Harvey Oswald. The alleged assassin ducked into Texas Theater in Dallas as he was on the run from the murder scene, and was apprehended inside the theater. A war film double feature was playing there – “Cry of Battle” (1963) and “War is Hell” (1963). It was the second film that was interrupted when police descended on Oswald.
The following five films – available for digital download, Blu-ray and DVD – provides different observations and objectives regarding November 22nd, 1963, and submits the facts, conspiracy theories and background players that were present in Dallas on that day.
Films and the cinema also figured in the capture of Lee Harvey Oswald. The alleged assassin ducked into Texas Theater in Dallas as he was on the run from the murder scene, and was apprehended inside the theater. A war film double feature was playing there – “Cry of Battle” (1963) and “War is Hell” (1963). It was the second film that was interrupted when police descended on Oswald.
The following five films – available for digital download, Blu-ray and DVD – provides different observations and objectives regarding November 22nd, 1963, and submits the facts, conspiracy theories and background players that were present in Dallas on that day.
- 11/21/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
By Lee Pfeiffer
Last evening I attended a rather remarkable event: the world premiere screening of the new highly-touted National Geographic Channel TV movie Killing Kennedy. (The program will be telecast on November 10.) What made the evening remarkable was the fact that, instead of premiering the film in a New York or L.A. prestigious venue, National Geographic in association with Cablevision, chose Greenbriar, a senior citizens community in the central New Jersey town of Marlboro. It seems the channel is taking a populist approach to publicizing their most prestigious productions and it was decided to premiere the Kennedy film before an audience of people who were alive during the events recounted on screen. Several politicos were on hand (there is an election in New Jersey next week, after all) including Jonathan Hornki, the mayor of Marlboro -who used some clout to get the event held at Greenbriar- and state...
Last evening I attended a rather remarkable event: the world premiere screening of the new highly-touted National Geographic Channel TV movie Killing Kennedy. (The program will be telecast on November 10.) What made the evening remarkable was the fact that, instead of premiering the film in a New York or L.A. prestigious venue, National Geographic in association with Cablevision, chose Greenbriar, a senior citizens community in the central New Jersey town of Marlboro. It seems the channel is taking a populist approach to publicizing their most prestigious productions and it was decided to premiere the Kennedy film before an audience of people who were alive during the events recounted on screen. Several politicos were on hand (there is an election in New Jersey next week, after all) including Jonathan Hornki, the mayor of Marlboro -who used some clout to get the event held at Greenbriar- and state...
- 11/3/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Taxi Driver, North by Northwest, The Manchurian Candidate, JFK – there's a rich history of assassinations in American film. But what's the difference between the accidental killer and the glamorously rebellious hitman?
It was Monday 31 March 1981, coming up to 2.30pm, and John Hinckley was fidgeting by the Florida Avenue entrance of the Washington Hilton, catching the attention of a police lieutenant who stopped to stare over at him. Hinckley jostled with reporters too, complaining that the press were always getting in the way, before finding a place to stand among the TV cameras. It drizzled, off and on, and the sidewalk was damp. His speech inside finished, President Reagan came out of the hotel, flanked by security men, acknowledging the few onlookers across the street and the small crowd of pressmen on the sidewalk beside him. For a moment, Hinckley asked himself the question: "Should I do this or not?" A journalist shouted to the president,...
It was Monday 31 March 1981, coming up to 2.30pm, and John Hinckley was fidgeting by the Florida Avenue entrance of the Washington Hilton, catching the attention of a police lieutenant who stopped to stare over at him. Hinckley jostled with reporters too, complaining that the press were always getting in the way, before finding a place to stand among the TV cameras. It drizzled, off and on, and the sidewalk was damp. His speech inside finished, President Reagan came out of the hotel, flanked by security men, acknowledging the few onlookers across the street and the small crowd of pressmen on the sidewalk beside him. For a moment, Hinckley asked himself the question: "Should I do this or not?" A journalist shouted to the president,...
- 10/4/2012
- by Michael Newton
- The Guardian - Film News
By Lee Pfeiffer
The Warner Archive has released the 1978 military thriller Brass Target as a burn-to-order title. The film's primary asset is its impressive cast: Sophia Loren, John Cassavettes, Robert Vaughn, Patrick McGoohan, George Kennedy, Max Von Sydow, Edward Herrmann and Bruce Davison. The quasi-factual plot centers on the premise that General George S. Patton's death in a car crash in Germany in 1945 was not an accident but a murder plot designed from stopping the legendary general from finding out that a group of corrupt American military officers hijacked a train carrying $250 million in German gold reserves in the immediate aftermath of the end of the war. The movie opens with a cleverly staged sequence in which the train is disabled inside a mountain tunnel and deadly gas is used to kill the guards. Patton personally conducts the investigation into the murderous act, making those responsible more than a bit nervous.
The Warner Archive has released the 1978 military thriller Brass Target as a burn-to-order title. The film's primary asset is its impressive cast: Sophia Loren, John Cassavettes, Robert Vaughn, Patrick McGoohan, George Kennedy, Max Von Sydow, Edward Herrmann and Bruce Davison. The quasi-factual plot centers on the premise that General George S. Patton's death in a car crash in Germany in 1945 was not an accident but a murder plot designed from stopping the legendary general from finding out that a group of corrupt American military officers hijacked a train carrying $250 million in German gold reserves in the immediate aftermath of the end of the war. The movie opens with a cleverly staged sequence in which the train is disabled inside a mountain tunnel and deadly gas is used to kill the guards. Patton personally conducts the investigation into the murderous act, making those responsible more than a bit nervous.
- 8/5/2012
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Cynicism, distrust, paranoia – with Apollo 18 out now in cinemas, here’s our list of 10 great conspiracies in science fiction cinema…
Among its numerous other functions, science fiction acts as a kind of microscope. Beneath its lens, topics such as politics, social upheaval and the meaning of life can be deconstructed and carefully examined. These examinations can take the form of grand voyages, as seen in 2001: A Space Odyssey, or intimate psychodramas, as seen in Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, or the early films of David Cronenberg.
Recent decades, meanwhile, have seen a subtle yet notable streak of cynicism and paranoia creep into sci-fi – a feeling that, in spite of their warm smiles and confident public addresses, the people who govern us can’t quite be trusted. Let’s face it, if politicians are willing to quietly have their moats cleaned out on taxpayers’ expenses, who knows what else they...
Among its numerous other functions, science fiction acts as a kind of microscope. Beneath its lens, topics such as politics, social upheaval and the meaning of life can be deconstructed and carefully examined. These examinations can take the form of grand voyages, as seen in 2001: A Space Odyssey, or intimate psychodramas, as seen in Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, or the early films of David Cronenberg.
Recent decades, meanwhile, have seen a subtle yet notable streak of cynicism and paranoia creep into sci-fi – a feeling that, in spite of their warm smiles and confident public addresses, the people who govern us can’t quite be trusted. Let’s face it, if politicians are willing to quietly have their moats cleaned out on taxpayers’ expenses, who knows what else they...
- 9/6/2011
- Den of Geek
"It's all in the eyes," Robert Ryan once said of film acting. "That's where you do most of your work."
But was it true of Ryan himself? His own narrow and heavily lidded brown eyes often registered as black disks in the lighting schemes of the late 40s and early 50s—that is, when they weren't overwhelmed by his massive forehead and his thick tangle of dark hair, or a pair of tragic eyebrows that threatened to merge with the numerous crags in his face as he entered middle age. Not to mention his lanky, extremely powerful physique. Take a close look at Ryan in The Set-Up or On Dangerous Ground and you'll get a sense of the relative frailty and delicacy of most male movie stars. In the post-war era, only Burt Lancaster was as physically imposing (Kirk Douglas was always fit but he was self-contained and self-motivated, even...
But was it true of Ryan himself? His own narrow and heavily lidded brown eyes often registered as black disks in the lighting schemes of the late 40s and early 50s—that is, when they weren't overwhelmed by his massive forehead and his thick tangle of dark hair, or a pair of tragic eyebrows that threatened to merge with the numerous crags in his face as he entered middle age. Not to mention his lanky, extremely powerful physique. Take a close look at Ryan in The Set-Up or On Dangerous Ground and you'll get a sense of the relative frailty and delicacy of most male movie stars. In the post-war era, only Burt Lancaster was as physically imposing (Kirk Douglas was always fit but he was self-contained and self-motivated, even...
- 8/13/2011
- MUBI
Taxi Driver returns to the big screen this week. John Patterson, who has seen it many times, says this American parable is ever more relevant today
I first met "God's Lonely Man" at the end of the 70s, the night before I moved to the United States. It was just something to pass the time before getting myself to the airport, but after Taxi Driver's climactic whorehouse massacre, which leaves blood, brains and hair on many a wall, I began to wonder whether this whole moving to America business was such a good idea after all.
Cut to three years later, June 1982: I take my father to a double-bill, this time in Washington DC, about four blocks from the White House. First up was a thinly attended screening of The Deer Hunter, which I and my father, a military man, concurred was utter bollocks; but before Taxi Driver...
I first met "God's Lonely Man" at the end of the 70s, the night before I moved to the United States. It was just something to pass the time before getting myself to the airport, but after Taxi Driver's climactic whorehouse massacre, which leaves blood, brains and hair on many a wall, I began to wonder whether this whole moving to America business was such a good idea after all.
Cut to three years later, June 1982: I take my father to a double-bill, this time in Washington DC, about four blocks from the White House. First up was a thinly attended screening of The Deer Hunter, which I and my father, a military man, concurred was utter bollocks; but before Taxi Driver...
- 5/6/2011
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
I'd just like to voice my disappointment that you chose to publish Graham Hill's "review" of Executive Action on your otherwise informative and entertaining site. I put "review" in quotes because the article was more to do with the writer's beliefs in real life conspiracy theories than with the merits of the film itself. I won't list my specific problems (and there are many) with the article as I'm already corresponding via email with Mr. Hill himself. Others have recently complained about the recent trend in writers on the site adding their own political commentary to the subject matter the site is ostensibly devoted to. The irony is that more often than not I agree with a lot of the commentary and have even enjoyed reading a lot of it, but that is sort of beside the point. I object to it in principle simply because it has nothing...
- 11/24/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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