Murder of a President

Abe Lincoln was the first president murdered by an assassin and John Kennedy was murdered during the television generation--so not surprisingly, they are extremely famous presidents. However, poor old James Garfield and William McKinley weren't so lucky(?) and are pretty much forgotten by most Americans today. It's a shame, especially in the case of Garfield, as he was by most reports a decent and reasonably honest president. This episode of "American Experience" is a two-hour long tribute to the man, his death and the extremely disturbed man who killed him.

The episode is pretty typical--with narration, photographs and paintings, recreations using actors as well as experts who give their take on all this. And, it's typical because it's fascinating, very well made and extremely interesting. Well worth seeing and very the least bit dull.

This PBS docudrama,combining acted scenes with vintage photos and articles of the time, focuses on the life and political career of the 20th U.S. President James A. Garfield, ably portrayed by Shuler Heasley, Garfield was only in office 200 days when he was shot by the mentally deranged Charles Guiteau, eventually succumbing to his wounds.

As usual, I found this PBS film, part of its American Experience series, to be meticulously researched and detailed, and much enhanced by the narration of Michael Murphy. Except for perhaps the drawn out scenes of Garfield slowly succumbing to his wounds, I thought this docudrama was highly informative and engrossing.

It's uncanny how many of the same issues of those days are remarkably similar to those of today. For example, how blocs of states (today called Red and Blue) , in the 1880 Presidential Election, would vote a particular way and it would come down to one or a few swing states to determine the result. Also, the dichotomy between Garfield's championing equal opportunities for the masses, black or white,versus the rich so-called "Robber Barons" and power brokers of the Industrial Revolution.

One thing that has changed is the protection afforded the President, and others, by the Secret Service. In Garfield's day, he could walk down the street or anywhere unprotected, with most people feeling, at the time, that in a democracy this was the best way to go. Even after Lincoln's assassination the consensus of thought was that such a horrific act was just an anomaly.

All in all, I found this film, written and directed by Rob Rapley, based on the book "Destiny of the Republic" by Candice Millard, to be a most interesting and informative watch, especially if you like history, like I do.

Interesting material but only a middling production in my opinion.

I am not convinced that dramatized scenes are appropriate in a documentary. Using voice actors speaking the actual words of the historical figures is more accurate an acceptable in my mind. Some of these scenes depend far to much on interpretation in my mind by both the writers and the actors.

I understand that the focus is upon the assassination and it is a compelling and sad story, but I would have liked more time on the backstory of James Garfield. The narrative just seems to jump quite quickly through his life and I would have liked more background.