alabama,civil rights,john f. kennedy,racial segregation,integration,oval office,racism,university,cinéma vérité,direct cinema,preserved film

Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963)

Poster for 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.

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Cast & Crew

Director
Robert Drew
  • Profile picture of John F. Kennedy
    Self John F. Kennedy
  • Profile picture of George Wallace
    Self George Wallace
  • Profile picture of Robert F. Kennedy
    Self Robert F. Kennedy

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Keywords

  • alabama
  • civil rights
  • john f. kennedy
  • racial segregation
  • integration
  • oval office
  • racism
  • university
  • cinéma vérité
  • direct cinema
  • preserved film