"Kennedy" (1983) TV mini-series

Director:

Jim Goddard

Writer:

Reg Gadney (writer)

Release Date:

20 November 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

Biography of the 1961-1963 presidency of John F. Kennedy.

Plot Keywords:

John F Kennedy | Assassination | U.S. Senator | Lyndon Johnson | Patriarch

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Martin Sheen	...	John F. Kennedy
John Shea	...	Robert F. Kennedy
E.G. Marshall	...	Joseph P. Kennedy
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Rose Kennedy
Vincent Gardenia	...	J. Edgar Hoover
Blair Brown	...	Jacqueline Kennedy
Kevin Conroy	...	Ted Kennedy
Charles Brown	...	Martin Luther King Jr.
Nesbitt Blaisdell	...	Lyndon B. Johnson
Peter Boyden	...	Pierre Salinger
Kent Broadhurst	...	Richard Paul Pavlick
James Burge	...	Peter Lawford
William Cain	...	Gen. Lyman Lemnitzer
Joanne Camp	...	Eunice Shriver
Veronica Castang	...	Evelyn Lincoln

Runtime:

282 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Alan Landsburg Productions

Trivia:

First aired on NBC on Sunday, November 20, 1983 at the same time that ABC was airing ‘The Day After’ (1983).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The helicopter shown right before the scene with the baby Patrick is a Bell Jet Ranger. They did not exist in the Military until the Johnson Administration.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Goonies (1985)

One of the best TV movies I have seen.

I remember when this movie was first aired in 1983 on the 20th anniversary of JFK's assassination. I was fed-up with all the Kennedy-mania at that time and I normally don't care for Martin Sheen. I remember seeing the ads for this movie on TV and I recalled that Martin Sheen had portrayed Bobby Kennedy in The Missiles of October, which was a very dry, 1974 TV movie that I couldn't sit through. Based on those factors, I decided not to watch this one when it originally aired. A few years later it was rerun on the 25th Anniversary of the JFK assassination. Between the time it first aired, and the 1988 rerun, I had seen a TV movie called Hoover Versus The Kennedys – the Second Civil War with Jack Warden and was very intrigued by it so when this one aired in 1988, I decided to watch it, and tape it, and I was not disappointed. As I pointed out, Martin Sheen is not my favorite actor but he is absolutely superb in this mini-series. This mini-series was very well done and has some big name actors in it which you do not normally see in made for TV movies. Historically and objectively, the movie is pretty good. As one reviewer stated, it shows "their warts" as well as their triumphs. A couple of historical mistakes – there are cars from the 1980s seen on the street as Jackie is conversing during a car ride. Also, Ethel Kennedy makes a reference to Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to JFK during a family event that takes place in 1963. I do not recall which event it was in the movie but Monroe actually died in August 1962 so it could not have happened the way that it is portrayed. Perhaps the writers just had to fit it in where they could. E.G. Marshall was stunning as Joseph Kennedy Sr. and Geraldine Fitzgerald was excellent too. The entire supporting cast was great and I really liked Vincent Gardenia's J. Edgar Hoover. The fact that Hoover's scenes were usually done in low light perhaps portrayed him as more sinister than he was but hey, it's a TV movie. I agree with the other reviewer who calls it "The Best Kennedy movie ever." It is very good. I believe the History Channel now owns it. Definitely worth taking the time to watch.