INT. CAR • NEW ORLEANS FRENOI QUAJLTEJL • DAY
EISE:-fHOWEft . ... The conjunction•:;; a.n immer.se m.ili:'..i.ry esubf shment ~ a !arge urns industry 1s new in the Ameril!a.l ,.xperien~. ~ 10,, i irl';yence •· e.con«nic. ~lineal. even spiriruaJ ..• is felt j,, ~very dty. 1rv',;~~y ~'!;A~ h{;,use. every ofr.ce of t1'1e Fe.den! Govemment..ln the ct1un.c'ils ot IV'\";,;'\'H-r1~nt ~~{". must ,uatd ~iai.nst the acqu1si con of unwarnnted influenc;e, whelher sou1:1t c..r un~~'.lht. by thE miliwy 1ndusaial ~mple l. The potential for the ::iisasterous rise cl !1'US_pl1.~~ power exisu uid -.ill persnL .. We must never let the we;jht o( this combin!l,,;,.::,.;i endan,~r out liberties or democncc proces:i.es. We shotil.c\ w.ie nothin& for g7.~Illed...
2. ELECTIO~ I'.\tAGER Y •· c1rnpaign.in1, the 1V debates. Nixon vs. Krnnedy, ~ayor Dale} . Keri.nedy victorious... Ken 'iedy ir:1u3uration
VOICE (2) Sovember, 1960 -· Senator John F. Ken~rdy of M:.suchusens wins one of <he natTO-.r..est elf't"T'inn victories in Am~ric~ ~ti~tory c;/w-~ tM Yi:ce-Presidenc R.ichatri Ni.xoa by a lictJ,. ,nop rhm 100.00J votes. Rt1"i~'!OrS &t>o\•:.!id tha~he sm1' I.he elecaon in n•inou lM.IJl11 ~~•: l...:!r~,-atic po'.stical machme of ~ay:or Daley...
3. BAY OF PIGS IMAGERY·· on the bead, ~ b,~11t-a1dmertt. the roundin1 up of prisonen. Kennedy's public apoloc, Allen Dulles...
V01~(3) He inheriis a seem ...,ar 11.ainst the Gx,1.-r1unist C.asw dicutonhip in Cuba. a *at run by the CIA and anpy Cuban exil~ out of bases ir. me Southern United States.. Panama. ~icara,ua and Quaiemala. This...,., culminates ,n the d.isasterous Bay of Pip uwas1on in April 1961 whim KeMedy apparerid~ tefuses '~/: p~ air c:ova for che ex.ue bri&ade, Of lbe 1600 ftft who invld-:i. i 14 ~ lai?ed. 1200 are capNRd. The Cubans and the ClA • furious wid~Kt:nnedy's irresolution... Kennedy, takina public responsibility for rhe failure. pri\'lte!y clNmS the CtA misled him on the IJ"Ue nllWe of the operation. He vows to splint~: d-.e CIA il\i!o a thcusand pieces and ruts Allen Dulles. Rkhud IH.sMll &.~ Oartes CabelL the u,p lwienhip of the 0A
' · _SECRET WAR IMAOERY.. ,Cuban n.llfas. any avai1~b!e foou1e ~r nininl camps. espiona,c activities. bom. ~ d wupons. JM/wave •~ the Univ~""Siry of Miami. Roben Kennedy .. Joh.n Roselli (cin::a 1977 if neces.,ary) Sam Ciiac~..."i~ ~ancos Tn.fflcante. llichard Helm.1 (the ne• 0A chieO. BW fwvey. head o( ZJVR.lft.!. Howard Hunt..•
VO}CE(4) ...The CIA. however, ,onatiues iu ~cret ...,a, on Castro "ith dozens or YboU&e uid assa.uination anempu unde;• its ZR/Rif1e Ind MONOOOSE snosnms involv,n& au 10 or1,niud crime elementS St..Jr,hi as John f1Qs.eUi. Sam OianeanL and Santos Tf'lffia.1ic.e. whose casino opentions in C~ba worth rrillliou~a yur in income. Ca.sa-o hu terminated. . .
S. C1,;8AS MISSll..E CRISIS .. Kroschev. Kennedy on 1elevmon. meean1s ..,.,u, C1b1ne1. RurnU1 vessels 1n Canbbean. t.;S nuclear blSes on uen.. C1V1Lians 1ou,110 unckrsround we ueas. ~a-o ·.:-.~ R'Jss 1.1n ship 1urn1n1 uound. the counC")' smiling ...
[n October 1962. the world comes 10 the brink of nuclear wv when Kennedy
/vv·1. rrules off Amencan shores. The Joint Chiefs o( Sw( and the CIA call for an uwa.s1on. ~~~ Kenned:-, refuses. Sov,et ships \ol,'\U\ more rrussiles streamin& towards the island. but at _ !) the list rmment tum back. The wortd breathes v.,th relief but backsQ1e in Wuhineton, "fv\'\. ✓ rumon abound that JFK has cut a secret de.al v.,th Russian Preauu Knnchev not to
vade Cuba in rerun, for Russian withdrawal o( missiles. MJny inside people claim these
Jt~ ~11~ss1les ~ve never be.en wilhdnwn. These suspicions cont\rm the 110...,;n& feelin1 f ,"'\¥ that Kennedy is "soft on Communism··... However. Kennedy's popularity wnJ\ the public II soars.
6. NUCLEAR TeST BAN CMAGERY ... closin& down Cuban CMnps. uke Poncha1rain, Louisiana (if (ootAge avajJable), McSamara speaJcing. Khrushchev and Kennedy. ·the hot line" telephone system inaugurated. Kennedy wi1h Jacltie 111d children sailin1 off Clpe Cod. defense bues... VIE'rnAM intrOducoon. early shots. Green Berets. counterinsurgency prop-ims. Ed Landsdale (if av11lable), leadin& up 10 the Test Ban si1nin1s. Kennedy 111d MacMillan. Khrushchev...&hen JFK at Amcncan Uaivcrsuy, 'June 10.
...In the ensuin1 months. Kennedy clamps do~ on Cuban exile aclivities. closin1 camps. resaictin& coven operations. not aJJowin1 auns to be shipped out o( the couna-y. He is mow,1 in many direc1ions at once. In Much '63. his Secrewy ol'Defense McNaman announces the dosin1 of 52 miliwy installations in 25 states. and 21 overseas bases. Larae cuts are to be ( made in the defense bud&et. In November 1963. he beps die wilhdrawal of the fine lCOO D"oops ol the 16,(D) stationed in Vietnam. He tells scvenJ d his intimates that he \\o'\11 withdnw all Vietnam a-oops after the '6' election. sayin1 t0 lhe Assistant Secretary of Swe. Roaer Hilsman.. '"The Bay of Pip has tau1ht me a number of thinss. One. not to crvsr aenert.ls o.- the CIA. and the second is that if the American people do noc want to use American a-oops 10 remove a C-ommunist re,une 90 mila from our cout. how can I ask them u, use 1r00ps u, remove a Communist reliffle 9.000 miles away?· .. Ftnally. in Aupsa 1963. followina lenlthy nepaciofts. rhe United Scales. Orw Britain and the ScMet Union sip a limited , nuclear tes1 bin naty (mt,iddin& the umospheric testinl ol nuclat weapons. The trury is oppoaed by the Joinr Oiefs ol Staff... Early that fateful sonvner. Kennedy spew of his new v;sio_n aa American Uniwrsiiy in Wtshinston.
7. KE~DY CONO..UD[NO IMAGERY ... Oipl0fflltS at the United Nations.. .Adlai Stevenson. Ambasudor Arwood. Or. Rene Vallejo. Usa Howud - TV journalist. Cuao...Mirti~ l.ulher l(jn1 \ and the TTW"Ch oa Wuhin1ton (a sna1ch of his "I Have a 0ream• speech).:.Bobby Kennedy and Jirr~v
Hoffa go,n& u !!_... US Steel Olairma.1,s remms ,n t.hc steel faceoff. men &oirl& t0 courtrooms -..it.h briefcases . . .Teddy Kennedy. Rose. Joe. the Kennedy fa.rruly. a.JI teeth ll'ld 1ood looks... and of COI.Uie John Clmpll&nltlf, always campaignin&, shwng hands. srruling, that supn:mely wazm srrule 11'\d ~~~ of grace a.rid abLlity to con...-ey to crowds ltlc1t be1n& one .....-11.h him. .forever...culminaunc 1n I.he more specific Te~a.s shoc:s ... ....,th Jaclc,je in San Antonio. and Houston ... r.hen at Fon Wonh ... then at Lo..,.e Field .. 1hc last Oose t:ps o( the man...on, the wmac: sha.Jcinl hands. srmlin1, into the mot~e. .lhc do-. niov. n screets of Dallas. mobbed. the post.en ca.llin& for his atTest ror a-eason. wavin&, then:
VOICE (7) More rumon emer1e of JFK's baclcdoor effon.s to establish d,jaJocue with Fidel ~m, throu&h channels at the United Nations in New York. KeMedy is rock:in1 !he boat oa scven.J frontS. Three months after Kennedy submits a sweepin& civil ri&hu bill to ConiJ"'SS. Manin Luther Kin& leads 250.CXX> in a march on Wuh.inJton. Roben KeMedy. as Attorney Genera!. for the fint time ever vi1orously prosecutes the ~w ui American life. brinfin1 and winnin1 a record number of cues. Kennedy also wes oa Bi& Business. fo~in& back steel prices. winnin& 45 of 46 anritrUst cases dwin1 1963 and. most worrisome, threatening to end the much-misused oil depletion aJJo..,anu. Bil chan1es are foreseen after JFK's asswned reelection in 196'. Foremost 1n the political consciousness of the country is 1he possibility of a KeMedy dynasty. Roben Kennedy in ·68, Teddy Kennedy in ·16. In November. 1963 John Kennedy travels 10 Texas. his populariry !.al&inl to 59, lar1cly due to his civil ri&hu stand for which is partJcularty hated in the South. Texas is a crucial state ror him to carry in ·64. Wilh him is Vice-President. Tuan Lyndon Johnson and Tew Governor John CoMally. On November 21. they visit Houston and San Antonio. On November 22. in the momin& he spew in Fort Wonh. then rues 15 minutes 10 Love Field in Dallas. where he takes a mocorcade throu&h downcown Dallas on his way to~ 1112:30 u \he In1emarion&I
A massive overhead shoe ol lhe Plaza as it lay then. Hold. CREDITS CONQ.UDE under •· and we have the subtitle.: ''November 22. 1963.•
A YOL~G MAN weann1 peen army faaiue, suddenly coH1pses near the front of door ol the Texas School Book Depository. He is havu,1 a V10lent epileptic fit that an:ncu sunoundin1 aaention. The Dall~ Policeman Nnninl owr. ,,.
AMBULANC! lcedin1 the -YOUNG MAN and takin1 otf.
AMBUlANCE VOICE We an en rouae t0 Putiand
MONTAGE.; JHE SHOOTING
KENNFD Y in the last seconds wtvutl tumin1 the comer at Houston tram Main... TV FOOTAGE and l piece of ZAPJtUDER FlLM heft (buc before the shootin1).. .fnJ11lCnted i.mlacs ..•
VOICE We'll b( there in aboul five minutes...
A motortycle OFFlG:Jt part.ltelin& !he Kennedy car bie.s to use his 1'1djo. h's ilTnrncd. The sound o( lhe janvned dic:ubelt drives the rest o( the sequence.
ZAPR UDER. a shon middle-aced man shootin& his I mm film from the Orusy ~I.
On JACK.IE JCF.N'NEDY •· f1o1tin1 on film. her "oice. hiah soft:
JACKlE KENNEDY v.o. (suaed) And in the mocoreade. you know t usually would be Yi&vin& mostly 10 &he left side and he "'U •avin& mostly 10 lhe ri&ht. which is one ruson you're not looldn111 uch other i;cry much. And ii was 1crribly hot. Just blindina all o( us ...We could see a tuMel us (ronc ~ us. Everythin& ,..as ruJly slow I.hen. And I remember irunkin1 it weyld be so cool under that 1unnel...
A ~• on Jackie. lntem,1 lhe overpass. JF1C wavina...MRS. CONNALLY rumin& to Jf1t. A crazy sbot. fractured. sunul POV
Tben the SHOTS: A vc&y soundin& like a motcrq,cle back:ftft. A OUMPSE rA a Ml.1ZZLE Ft..ASH ... smott.
Tbe lcXAS SOfOCl. BOOK DEPOSrrolY - 111 in line wich the •officiar venioa of cventS...BUT lHE SCRE~ (OU'l SCR!.EN) OOES OREY u did the CBS TV ftnl bu.Dains to lhe councry. ,
CBS 8Ull.ETtN {FULL SCRIEM) -"~this propam to brinJ you to this nuh bulleun. ThRe shots •ere ru-ed • Presidena JCennecly's motorcade "' dow,nown DaJJ•
V -:>ices, Wida 6k. ,._ ewrywhae coDldln& la conludon and t.ams.
OH NOi MY 0001HEY1lE oorNO TO IClLL US A1JJ It sdlL Yc,q're &oin& to be aD dpt, LETS OET OlTI' OF HEU. WE1U! Hffl LAWSON, nus IS KEl.LnMAN. WE ARE Hn'. OET US 10 nm HOSPITAL l>AMEDIAffl.. Y. Ml. OUT OF 11iE MOTORC.ADIL TAXE US 10 THE N!.AREST ~PrrAl.
CBSIUUEnN --lbe &st rq,ons say that President Kennedi has beu seriously wounded by the sho0rinc. Mare dew.ls just arrived. United Presa s:ay die ftt0Unds to Presidem
Jtwiedy perhaps could be raw. Repeatin& Presi~ reanedy hu been shot by a ~ uswin in Dall•
IT CA~tE FRO~ n1ER.E. SEC1.:R.E TI-i.A TAR.EA BEHr.-m n<E FE~Ce. ITS 1liAT BUll.DING \,;P niER£. Oh my God. they'"¥e shot my husband ...l lo._e you Jack ...
S i:rens. SCTeeChing tires. All a&a.i.ns1 GREY SCREEN randomly intem.it ..;th Vwildly tnck:ln& POV$ a \he CRO\1/0 li.lM1n1 towards the GRASSY KNOLL. Up the titLle Kt of swn. More (Jces. SOMEONE in a suic stops our camer1. Secret Suva?
Tbc briefest GLJMPSE from lhe 7.APRUDER fU.M ·• MRS. JCE.NN'EDY is out o( the car ruchin& r~ help, then the AGENT is pushin& her back in. The car speedin1 a..-iy rinally. (These are frisme,nted m)·sri!yin1 shou. the main effect one of BLACKOUT•· or noc k.nOWVII, or bein1 in the dart •· u ~ ill were back lheA.
r.--a. JIM GARRISON'S OFFICE • NEW ORLEANS· SIMULTANEOUS DAY
Pause. The lovely old china clock on the wall ruds 12:35. tick.ins sounds. silence. Movin& pa.st framed photos ol JlM as a youn1 pi1oc. his sn,,dfathu shwn1 hinds tt1th William Howard Tait. ftm u Dachau. nut to piles or 1aunc bodies, the youna lawyu in coUese. law decrees, a fnmed lit roedal. 1-ta.z:na Ganison, movin& to a thick desk with a chess set and a c.omp1e1e Worb of William Shake~ oa it. a Nui helmet with a bullet hole in it the OiSlrict Attorney's office is spacious and depnc. dominated 01 all 'ffalls ~ books. lecaJ and other. hardly a=A·s offlc:&. In IJ\is Urde capsuled time. we diJmver lhe qu1aer intelJect ol EAJUJNO CAR GARJUSON, "ItM· (or shon. 43. u his desk. a&le·boned paaici&a looldn& man ill an ele&&nt suit and Iii. C • P2use. A ax,mmt before the World once rm Nshes in hls doer in aD iu sound and fury- chis time• · c::twice his life (OftVer. LOU IVON. his chief investi1acar, burly, JaL
Tun looks up from his paperi, stunned.. J1.e loot o( horror and shock speaks the same tan,uaae of all the (ac.es ac:rau America dw day. .
run aeu op.._., npidJy r« the doar.
LOUIVONCffMI, (
•
\ 7 ):!.,-- I~ ·y Plau. We have no further 1nform~11on on the Prtsidtnt's condition but there u a
eonlirrned l"'l:pon he v.-as stJ"UCk by u lust one bullet i.n the h~. A ppUtrll.ly l)\r,:e
I buUeu were ~ but this is uncon(u,ned. Go'Vemo, c:cnn&lly aJso appean:d 10 be h.it.
Sur aeons in the emer1ency· room &re ...
JlM Maybe lhcre's still a cha.nc:e...
L'T. TORT0RICHl'S RESTAURANT • THE QUARTER .• DAY
Red and white table clew /The midday aJS'TOMERS al1 swin1 solemnly u the TV set hi&h in the comer of I.he room. The MAITRE 'D in black and white with a bow De is &Shen, seMn& Jim Ind LOU drinks.
MArrR.E 'D (Ttalian accenc) I don'& believe it I don't believe iL H~. in this couacry. (Tam ruchin& 10 pay) ...Oa the house pntlernen..
( They aJJ loot vp, upecut u CRONXlTE insenupu on the TV, in bis inimitable lhrow-a..,ay uyle.
~ 1V ANNOUNCER (Walter Oonki1t) From 0aDu. Teau - the flash •~ndy official, Presidenl lennedr died u t pm. Ctnnl Standard Tune. 2 o'clock Ea.stun Sw,dard Time. scene 31 D"Unutes a,o. (chcbd pame) Vice-President Jchnson has left the hospill.l ill DaDu but fit do IM:ll DOit ID tthere he W Pf'OC'eeded. Presumably, he will l,e II.kins lhe 01th of office shar1ly, and become the 36dl President~ the United Swa.