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Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment

During a two-day period before and after the University of Alabama integration crisis, the film uses five camera crews to follow President John F. Kennedy, attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, Alabama governor George Wallace, deputy attorney general Nicholas Katzenbach and the students Vivian Malone and James Hood. As Wallace has promised to personally block the two black students from enrolling in the university, the JFK administration discusses the best way to react to it, without rousing the crowd or making Wallace a martyr for the segregationist cause. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1999.

Top Cast

  • James Lipscomb

    James Lipscomb

    Narrator

  • John F. Kennedy

    John F. Kennedy

    Self

  • George Wallace

    George Wallace

    Self

  • Robert F. Kennedy

    Robert F. Kennedy

    Self

  • Vivian Malone

    Vivian Malone

    Self

  • James Hood

    James Hood

    Self

  • Nicholas Katzenbach

    Nicholas Katzenbach

    Self

Overview

During a two-day period before and after the University of Alabama integration crisis, the film uses five camera crews to follow President John F. Kennedy, attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, Alabama governor George Wallace, deputy attorney general Nicholas Katzenbach and the students Vivian Malone and James Hood. As Wallace has promised to personally block the two black students from enrolling in the university, the JFK administration discusses the best way to react to it, without rousing the crowd or making Wallace a martyr for the segregationist cause. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1999.

Rating

6.9 / 10
23 Reviews
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