Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963)

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.

Release Date : October 21, 1963

Runtime : 52m

Genre : Documentary  

Companies : ABC News, Drew Associates

Countries : United States of America

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