MovieChat Forums > Executive Action (1973) Discussion > Please, folks

Please, folks

posted 8 years ago by pt100
3 replies | jump to latest

This board is filled with so much misinformation that it's not worth trying to point it all out. I think a board like this naturally tends to attract a lot of biased, sloppy-minded conspiracy theorists.

And what no one seems to realize/remember is that Oswald's own brother Robert, after visiting Lee in jail shortly before he was killed by Jack Ruby, was, based on what Lee said to him, absolutely certain that Lee was the assassin. And recent modern forensic reconstructions prove that he was the only gunman.

I'm not going to rebut every harebrained theory or false notion--it's just not worth it. But if folks really want to bother, they can find out the truth with a bit of digging. There's no mystery here. The film tries to show an alternative theory, but it just doesn't fit the facts/evidence. Period.

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.–J.B. Haldane

[–] SixtiesHoldout 8 years ago

Exactly. Some people will believe anything. I had vaguely recalled seeing this in a theater when it first came out, so when it came around again just now on TCM I decided to see it again. And it makes no more sense now than it did back then.

It's sort of an earlier generation's version of JFK: somewhat interesting fantasy, but that's all (although overall, this film was better than JFK). Several excellent forensic documentaries released in the last few years really do put the case to rest.

And yes, I also recall the interview with Robert Oswald. Based on that and all the recent forensic examinations, it's pretty clear that Oswald was the lone assassin. And as others have pointed out in other threads, it would be impossible to have such a conspiracy and never have a crack in it after all these years. It just doesn't happen. Somebody always talks eventually.

❇ If you can remember the '60s, then you probably weren't there. ❇

[–] ZurichGnome 8 years ago

And yes, I also recall the interview with Robert Oswald. Based on that and all the recent forensic examinations, it's pretty clear that Oswald was the lone assassin.

Yes, as I recall, Robert Oswald said that although Lee did not explicitly admit assassinating JFK during that final conversation, when Robert looked into Lee's eyes for some clue, Lee said coldly to him, "Brother, you won't find anything there."

That chilling conversation convinced Robert of Lee's guilt. If Lee's own brother was convinced, I think that's pretty strong additional evidence.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C. Clarke

[–] Moon_Doggie 8 years ago

Thanks for the post. In addition to what has been said so far in this thread, JFK was not Oswald's first target. On April 10, 1963, as extreme right-wing General Edwin Walker was sitting at a desk in his dining room, a bullet struck the wooden frame of his dining room window. Walker was injured in the forearm by fragments. Marina Oswald later testified that her husband told her that he traveled by bus to General Walker's house and shot at Walker with his rifle. Marina said that Oswald considered Walker to be the leader of a "fascist organization."

Before the Kennedy assassination, the Dallas police had no suspects in the Walker shooting, but Oswald's involvement was suspected within hours of his arrest following the assassination. A note Oswald left for Marina on the night of the attempt, telling her what to do if he did not return, was not found until ten days after the Kennedy assassination. The bullet was too badly damaged to run conclusive ballistics tests, but neutron activation tests later determined that it was "extremely likely" the bullet was a Carcano bullet manufactured by the Western Cartridge Company, the same ammunition used in the Kennedy assassination.

Oswald was clearly unstable and quite capable of shooting both figures. The evidence about the admitted Walker shooting plus all the JFK assassination forensic evidence are pretty conclusive.

A person's a person, no matter how small. -- Dr. Seuss