EXECUTIVE ACTION (1973)

[The Burgomaster]

Interesting look at a possible conspiracy scenario behind the JFK assassination.  Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, and Will Geer are the main wealthy, right-wing businessmen who plot the assassination.  Ed Lauter and Dick Miller are members of the assassination team.  Actual footage of JFK, Martin Luther King, Lee Harvey Oswald, and other prominent people is edited in to add realism.  Dalton Trumbo's tight screenplay keeps the story moving along at a nice pace and the whole thing gets wrapped up in 90 minutes (unlike Oliver Stone's lengthy film that covers the same ground).  One thing I didn't like was during the assassination sequence they edited in brief shots of actors playing JFK and Jackie.  Even though they appear for only a few seconds, it is obvious they are not the real JFK and Jackie and it's sort of distracting.  Other than that, this is a nice little film that would make a good double feature with THE DAY OF THE JACKAL.

[lester1/2jr]

How many of these things are there:

the parellax view
winter kills
capricorn one
3 days of the condor


I think this trend in movies was because of two things

1. nixons expansion of government surveiilence

2.  the latest american pastime: pot smoking.

[trekgeezer]

Thanks Burgo, I was thinking about this film and couldn't remember the name of it.  I saw it in about 1974.

[peter johnson]

Winter Kills is the best of the bunch --
peter johnson/denny conspiracy

[The Burgomaster]

I bought the WINTER KILLS DVD a couple years ago and I didn't really like it.  I'll give it another try though . . .

[Yaddo 42]

I saw it years ago on TV, thought it made a nice companion piece to JFK, since they covered much of the same ground. I but other than as a part of the JFK conspiracy/70s conspiracy trend I consider it a mildly interesting footnote at best, also IIRC it may have been Robert Ryan's last film.

I'm also a big fan of Winter Kills, and was so glad that seeing it when I bought the DVD after years of just knowing its reputation paid off for my expectations. Interesting paranoid political thriller with some great satirical dark humor thrown in. It's more enjoyable if you have some knowledge of the JFK assassination and the conspiracies surrounding it, but not entirely necessary. Also includes awesome hammy performances from Anthony Perkins and John Huston.

I'd also include The Conversation in lester's list.