i was alive when this movie took place. so i'm just wondering when nixon called frost the night before the last interview and talked about cheeseburgers and other things why did he not remember making the phone call? was he just playing coy and acting like he didn't know? or did he really forget ?
shareand for whatever reason someone can provide for the above question
why at the end of the movie did nixon bring up the phone call again claiming he didnt remember it?
Nixon was well-known for making phone calls in the middle of the night to his associates and forgetting entirely that he had made them, or what he said, the next day. It may have been akin to sleepwalking -- he was not fully awake when he made these calls (he was a restless sleeper) and so he was in more of a dreamlike state and didn't remember it later. Kissinger and Haldeman gave orders that no one was to act on anything the "Chief" said in these nocturnal calls without double checking with them.
As for the question about bringing up the phone call when he met David Frost at the end -- as I recall it was Frost who brought it up, and Nixon who acted puzzled, not remembering the cheeseburger conversation.
The phone call was actually the only bit in the film which had no basis in reality. Writer Peter Morgan has been quite open about making it up.
shareThe phone call was actually the only bit in the film which had no basis in reality
True enough, yes. But that particular phone call was entirely made up. Just making the point.
share