In September 1963, former President John F. Kennedy staged his assassination in a homemade movie, seamlessly blending chilling fact and fiction just two months before his actual death in Dallas. Consequently, this event cast the eerie film in a prophetic light.
Mail Online reported that weeks before his real-life assassination, JFK dramatized his death in a film he created with his wife Jackie at their Rhode Island estate.
The project unfolded at Hammersmith Farm, Newport, during the weekend of September 21-22, 1963. During this time, Kennedy, his wife Jacqueline, and their inner circle decided to produce a cinematic piece inspired by the popular James Bond movies of the era. Moreover, deep into his presidency and the stresses of Cold War politics, Kennedy eagerly embraced this artistic endeavor.
Furthermore, under Jackie’s direction, White House photographer Robert L. Knudsen joined the production for his skill and discretion, capturing Kennedy’s private artistic explorations. Notably, the scenes they filmed were particularly striking, featuring the scripted assassination of the President himself.
Involved in the film were close friends, family members, and even Secret Service agents turning the weekend into a unique blend of personal life and profound artistic statement. Kennedy's friend Red Fay was among the participants, bringing an extra layer of intimacy to the project. "We were bored, and we decided to put the photographer to good use," Fay told the Associated Press decades later, shedding light on the casual beginnings of what would become a haunting artifact.
The team staged elaborate setups during filming, including an ambush where JFK pretended to be "shot," using ketchup as fake blood to simulate the grimace of assassination. Secret Service agents, assigned roles within the film to rush to the staged scene, heightened the sense of realism.
Jackie, showing a directing acumen, instructed the agents with clarity and purpose. She orchestrated the staging, briefing them, "We're making a movie about the president's murder, and we'd like you and the other agents to drive up to the front of the house, then jump out and run toward the door," which they executed under her watchful eye from the staircase.
The Kennedys hosted private viewings of their film after the weekend’s shoot, beginning with a screening at the White House theater with friends and later with Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. Initially, these screenings were social and lighthearted; however, they took on a much darker tone after the events of November 1963.
After Kennedy's assassination in Dallas, the homemade film was revisited with a mix of fascination and horror. Knudsen, reflecting on the president's involvement, wondered about its implications: "Kennedy wrote the script himself, and there were several different takes. I wondered if it was a premonition he had or a quirk of fate."
Mckinley Cheshire, a psychiatrist based in Palm Beach, viewed the film through a psychological lens, proposing that "The film could easily have been just a fantasy to release a lot of his internal fears and counter his phobic behavior—an effort to face the reality that his life was indeed in danger."
The film’s existence peels back a layer on Kennedy’s perception of his presidency and the inherent risks involved. Long before the actual tragedy, Kennedy was acutely aware of the threats he faced. "Crowds don't threaten me. It's that fellow standing on the roof with a gun that I worry about," he once noted, a chilling prelude to the method of his real assassination.
On the morning of his actual death, Kennedy’s conversation with Jackie was imbued with an ominous tone, reflecting on the ease with which an assassination could be carried out. "You know, last night would have been a hell of a night to assassinate a president. I mean it; there was the rain and the night, and we were all getting jostled... Suppose a man had a pistol in a briefcase. Then he could have dropped the gun and the briefcase and melted away in the crowd."
The film symbolized either a morbid premonition by JFK or a daring artistic exploration of his mortality as a public figure. Both perspectives suggest that Kennedy's actions went beyond mere coincidence, reflecting his deepest fears and, perhaps unintentionally, his fate.
