MovieChat Forums > Suddenly (1954) Discussion > I don't believe the film's premise is be...

I don't believe the film's premise is believable.

posted 13 years ago by fictionalman
13 replies | jump to latest

This movie was playing in my doctors waiting room the other day. I was not following the dialogue and action scenes very closely. However I was able to determine that Frank Sinatra and crew were able to trick a family into believing they were FBI agents to gain entry into their strategically located home to kill the president. I did see one gun fight scene with the bad guys killing some good guys early on. My question to viewers is even if that were possible, wouldn't actual FBI and Secret Service agents have investigated the home as well? Wouldn't the actual FBI and Secret Service have vetted that house in advance and have real government agents watching it? . I am aware that the real Secret Service does a very thorough job of vetting the presidents travel routes.I don't believe the film's premise is believable.

[–] ScotchRox 13 years ago

You should watch it again with the volume on...

The secret service agent in charge found out the owner of the house was a retired secret service agent that he had worked with in the past.
The town sheriff took him to the house to meet his old friend and vet the house.
It was also 1954, a much simpler time than now...

[–] the_expeditersd 12 years ago

Nobody wondered where the top SS agent was all that time? Wouldn't he be missed?? Oh Well...

[–] andrewwjohnson 12 years ago

The house over looked a railroad station platform were the President was going to step off a train and the Secret Service had reliable intelligence an assassination attempt was going to take place at that location. Things may have been more relaxed during the fifties but even then they would have had agents covering every window no matter who lived there. The possibility of gunmen taking over the house would have been obvious.

TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.

[–] the_expeditersd 12 years ago

In a creditable threat- the prez would not even be on the train, they would prob just switch the mode of transportation to a plane...

[–] gribfritz2 12 years ago

Did you half-watch it in your doctor's office as well? He is missed and eventually they send an agent to the house to check up on his whereabouts. The mother is forced to make excuses and get him to leave.

[–] jayrussell1993 11 years ago

What I found unbelievable is that some shadowy gorup would hire criminal hit men to kill the president. The Russians? No, they're too experienced. South American commies? No, they wouldn't trust American criminals with the job. Mafia? No, they'd use their own people. Relatives of space aliens captured by the Truman administration and kept at area 51? hmmmmm, mayyybee.

[–] Darcsyde01 9 years ago

It's not totally inconceivable.
If a foreign government, for example, wanted the U.S. President dead, and they knew, based on history (which is discussed in the movie) that no-one has done it and not got captured and/or killed..they might not want to use their own guys,...guys who could be, possibly, tied back to them. So sending a murder-happy thug who has no idea (and doesn't care) who hired him or why might be the way to go. Pay him 250K up front knowing he will never live to collect the rest, and if he does live can't tell the Feds anything. For a mere 250K you get a dead opponent, and no ties back to you...money well spent.
Nowadays you could just follow the money using computers, back in the 50's.....not so much.

"I can arrange for you a humiliating death. And, so we're on the same page, it will involve sheep."

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

jayrussell1993 says > Relatives of space aliens captured by the Truman administration and kept at area 51? hmmmmm, mayyybee.

You might have something there. The old 'relative of aliens' angle isn't utilized nearly enough though it probably explains a lot. LOL

Seriously though, they were very careful not to name names in the movie but there are possibilities other than the ones you name for who might be behind the hit. For instance, people might assume it's a foreign entity but it could be an inside job. Some of those would include:

- someone within our own government (to gain power like the VP or to satisfy a political vendetta like a political rival)

- any 'regular' American (to settle a personal score or to differences in ideology)

- any nut or other criminal (disagreement over policy, to seek fame like John Hinkley, or to distract or re-allocate resources from other crimes, investigations) etc.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] movies789 9 years ago

In those days, site-vetting wasn't that thorough. It was years after this movie that the Dallas book depository went unvetted, so it's not so surprising that, in the mid-50s, a house was missed.

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

You beat me to the punch. When the OP said the premise was 'unbelievable' it's clearly from our perspective. Back then a casual check of the house would probably have sufficed.

They might have focused on the more immediate locations near the train station but clearly, based on what we know happened in Dallas almost ten years later, the Feds were not as careful vetting all locations that had clear sight to the President's proposed path.

I believe the book depository and other buildings were vacated but Oswald managed to get in and, well, we know what happened. Things were still so relaxed at that point, the President was allowed to travel in an open top convertible. In fact, Oswald supposedly watched this very movie just prior to that fateful day in November 1963.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] davidwile 8 years ago

Hey folks,

Movies789 and Mdonin are right on the mark with their comments. Prior to the JFK assassination in 1963, security for the president was nothing like it has been since that time.

Whether or not Oswald shot Kennedy from the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository building is something we cannot know with any certainty. Whether or not anyone shot Kennedy from that building is also something we cannot know with certainty. What we do know, however, is that a surplus rifle and some empty casings were found in a room in that building afterward, and that clearly indicates the building was obviously available as a shooter site.

I have visited Dealey Plaza on three occasions, and I can assure you there are numerous locations where shots could be made at that time. The film's premise certainly is believable.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

[–] mdonln 8 years ago

Thanks for the support! Things have changed so much in recent years, I can see why it's hard for some people to believe that security was ever so lax'd.

I watch a lot of old movies and documentaries and notice that everyday life was a lot different than what we know today. We've come a long way in some areas but, unfortunately, not always for the better.

In regards to the incidents at Dealey Plaza, I don't know what to think. Not having personally experienced it, I don't have the emotional pull in any one direction. It's all very fascinating; there were so many players: the Russians, Oswald, Castro, Ruby, the mob, etc. but trying to figure it all out or even make sense of it, especially at this point, can drive a person crazy. I don't think we're apt to uncover any new details because all the leading characters, or most, have died.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] davidwile 8 years ago

Hey Mdonin,

I suspect you are correct that we will never learn the truth as to what happened to Kennedy that day. I do not believe Oswald was a lone shooter. In fact, I would not be surprised if Oswald never even fired a shot at Kennedy. I suspect there were more than one shooter, but there is no hard evidence to prove that. If there was a conspiracy as I suspect, who was behind it? I have no idea, and like you said, will likely never know.

For what was depicted in this film, however, I am certain its premise is easily believable. It actually happened in Dallas ten years later.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile