Executive Action (1973) deals with this hypothesis long before Oliver Stone offered his own skewering of history in JFK. What if one of those conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of John Kennedy were true? What if the tragic event were orchestrated by powerbrokers only concerned with the bottom line and government officials who disagreed with Kennedy's policies toward the budding Vietnam crisis? Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan and Will Geer head a cast of characters who, dressed in business suits as if they were at a corporate board meeting, coolly discuss the murder of a president.

Interwoven with the fictional story is real footage of events and people. We see the actual assassination, clips of Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby murdering him, and other pivotal scenes straight out of history's archives.  

History mavens will know which parts of the story line are fact and which are fictional, but this rest of us have to wonder. For instance, was there really a 30-minute communications outage in government offices when Kennedy was shot? Did the head of security really opt to remain in Washington rather than go with the presidential detail to Dallas? Was security really as lax as purported to be in the film? This information is no doubt available on the Internet, but at this point in history, how many of us will care enough to do the research?

Although the subject matter in Executive Action is intriguing, the plot twists and turns until it warps into a confusing mess. 

Executive Action is part of Warner Home Video's Burt Lancaster-The Signature Collection that includes The Flame and the Arrow, Jim Thorpe All-American, His Majesty O'Keefe, and South Sea Woman.

Special Features

• November 22, 1963: In Search of an Answer - the stars, Executive Producer Edward Lewis, and writer Dalton Trumbo, are interviewed. Lewis talks about the process of bringing the film to the screen, calling the material "enormously provocative."

• Burt Lancaster Trailer Gallery.

Director: David Miller

Writers: Dalton Trumbo (Screenplay), Mark Lane and Donald Freed (Novel)

Cast: Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Will Geer

Rating: PG

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 2 and a half out of 5 stars

DVD Release Date: 10/23/2007

Run Time: 91 minutes

Studio: Warner Home Video

Format: Color, letterbox

Photos © Warner Home Video