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Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment is a 1963 cinéma vérité documentary film directed by Robert Drew. The film centers on the University of Alabama's "Stand in the Schoolhouse Door" integration crisis of June 1963. Drew and the other filmmakers, including D. A. Pennebaker and Richard Leacock, were given expanded access to key areas, including United States President John F. Kennedy's Oval Office and the homes of United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Alabama Governor George Wallace. The film first aired on ABC television four months after the incident. In 2011, it was added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.
Original Release
10/21/1963
US Release
10/21/1963
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| James Lipscomb | Narrator |
| John F. Kennedy | Himself / Self - President of the United States |
| George Wallace | Self - Governor of Alabama / Himself |
| Robert F. Kennedy | Himself / Self - Attorney General of the United States |
| Vivian Malone | Herself / Self - a Negro Student |
| James Hood | Himself / Self - a Negro Student |
| Michael LeMoyne Kennedy | Self - Robert F. Kennedy's Son |
| Burke Marshall | Self - Assistant Attorney General |
| Nicholas Katzenbach | Self - Deputy Attorney General |
| John Dore | Self - Deputy Attorney General |
Directors
Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|
| James Lipscomb | Narrator |
| John F. Kennedy | Himself / Self - President of the United States |
| George Wallace | Self - Governor of Alabama / Himself |
| Robert F. Kennedy | Himself / Self - Attorney General of the United States |
| Vivian Malone | Herself / Self - a Negro Student |
| James Hood | Himself / Self - a Negro Student |
| Michael LeMoyne Kennedy | Self - Robert F. Kennedy's Son |
| Burke Marshall | Self - Assistant Attorney General |
| Nicholas Katzenbach | Self - Deputy Attorney General |
| John Dore | Self - Deputy Attorney General |
| Jack Greenberg | Self - N.A.A.C.P. Advisor |
| Creighton Williams Abrams | Self - Confrontation Planner for Military |
| Kerry Kennedy | Self - Robert F. Kennedy's Daughter |
| Peyton Norville | Self - United States Marshal |
| Henry Graham | Self - Commander of Alabama National Guard |
| Dave McGlathery | Self - a Negro Engineering Student |
| Kenneth P. O'Donnell | Self |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|
| Robert Drew | Executive Producer |
| Gregory Shuker | Producer |
