An Essay on Death: A Memorial to John F. Kennedy

An Essay on Death: A Memorial to John F. Kennedy (1964) blends Drama and Documentary elements. Top cast includes Christopher Plummer, Helen Gahagan, and Morris Carnovsky. The narrative builds around escalating stakes, urgent decisions, and action-driven momentum.

Actor: Christopher Plummer • Genre: Drama movies

In 1964, National Educational Television decided to make a program as a memorial to President Kennedy. Since he had been assassinated just a year before, it seemed unnecessary to recite the events of his death again. Executive Producer, Brice Howard, discussed with Hurwitz the possibility of making a film for television that, instead of engaging the assassination head on, would deal with the inevitablity of mortality and its trauma. Essay On Death uses a story of a camping trip by a father and son to weave the thoughts about death that intercede in our everyday affairs. The commentary is made up of writings, ancient and modern, on the life and death. Beautifully realized, it succeeds at a task that mainstream television rarely attempts.