ABC MINISERIES, AN: JFK: RECKLESS YOUTH {PART 1 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television production focuses on the first twenty-nine years of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, leading up to his election to Congress. The program opens in 1936 at Boston's Peter Bent Brigham Hospital as young Jack Kennedy sneaks out of the institution to party at a nightclub with pal Lem Billings. Upon returning to the hospital hours later, Jack nearly faints and is readmitted as a patient. In bed, Jack reflects back to March 17, 1920, when he was a young boy watching a political rally in Boston. Later, his father Joseph tells him that he has scarlet fever, and that he'll get the best medical help available. The family moves to a new home in nearby Brookline, after which Jack and his older brother Joe Jr. attend the Dexter School, a private Protestant school. The protests of mother Rose, a staunch Irish Catholic, are ignored by Joseph. The boys are soon targeted by their classmates due to their heritage, so Joseph teaches them how to fight. In 1927, at the family's compound in Hyannisport, Joseph tells the family that he's bought a motion picture company. In 1933 at the Choate boarding school in Wallingford, Conn., the disheveled, ever-tardy Jack watches as Joe is singled out for being an exemplary student. Back at the compound, Lem attends one of the family's prestigious soirees. There, Jack is immediately drawn to socialite Olive Cawley, not realizing that she is Joe's girl. At dinner, Jack is chastised by his father over reports of him goofing off at Choate. Later, Jack pays special attention to his retarded sister Rosemary, as younger sister Kathleen gets chummy with Lem. In 1935 at Choate, Jack and Lem play hooky for an excursion to a New York City bordello, where Jack loses his virginity. The boys are caught and threatened with expulsion by Choate headmaster George St. John and his assistant, J.J. Maher. Jack's retaliatory pranks bring him into conflict with his father, after which he pledges to change his ways. Back at the hospital in 1936, a doctor tells Jack that he may have leukemia. Lem and Sadie discuss the prognosis with him, which Jack laughs off. At Harvard University, Jack goes to see Joe, who's been blackballed by all the clubs due to his Irish-Catholic origins. Meanwhile, Kathleen complains about attending a convent school. At the compound, Jack competes against Joe and Kathleen in a sailing race, and loses. Jack later takes his mother to task for not visiting him when he was sick. Playing football after enrolling at Harvard in 1937, Jack talks with Joe and their friend Torbert Macdonald about getting accepted into the university's clubs. They invite WASP classmate Skeeter Orton and his girlfriend Ann Cannon to the Ritz-Carlton as a means of gaining access. Jack is soon smitten with Ann and begins to pursue her.
Later, Jack tries to make up to Skeeter for having stolen Ann from him. Later, Jack bring Joe and Joseph to the exclusive club into which he's finally gained entrance. Joseph then tells the boys that he's to be the first Irish-Catholic ambassador to England. He asks Joe to be his aide. As a result, Jack tells Ann that he wants to spend a semester in Europe to observe as a second world war looms. At the American Embassy in London of 1939, Joseph presides over the Kennedy family as Rosemary and Kathleen prepare to be presented to royalty. Jack leaves with Torbert to tour the continent as Torb admits his attraction to Kathleen. On the road, they run into German hitchhiker Beate, whom Jack later seduces. Jack, Torb, and Beate go to a beer hall, where Jack nearly gets into a fight with a German soldier. Later, diplomat Alex Kirk from the American Embassy in Berlin gives Jack a letter to be delivered to Joseph, stating that Germany will attack Poland in a week. Back in England, Jack and Joseph disagree over whether America should fight the Nazis, with Joseph hoping to keep America out of war. Later, the family has to go to a bomb shelter, making Joseph more adamant in his position. Once back in the family's lodgings, Kathleen sides with Jack, as Joe and Joseph form their own front. Kathleen is particularly saddened to see her boyfriend Billy Cavendish -- who has just enlisted -- depart for battle. Upon returning to Boston, Jack goes to see Ann, determined to ask for her hand in marriage. However, the plan is squelched when Ann introduces Jack to her fiance, John Hersey. Jack subsequently writes a book about his observations in Europe. He then dines with his father, who has been dismissed from his diplomatic position. Jack takes umbrage when he learns that his father is cheating on his mother. Joe and Jack argue further when Joe says that America must stay neutral and Jack argues for war. Meanwhile, Joe worries about Rosemary and says that a lobotomy could help her. Joe and Jack subsequently join the Navy. Later, Joseph says that Rosemary's operation didn't go well and that she must be institutionalized. In Washington D.C. in October 1941, Jack visits Kathleen, who introduces him to her friend, Inga Arvad. Jack flirts with Inga, asking about her career as a journalist, which leads to a romp in the bedroom. Later, Jack warns an amorous Joe to stay away from Inga. Jack then takes Inga to Boston to meet his grandfather, "Honey Fitz." Seeing how serious Jack has become toward Inga, Kathleen tells him that Inga is married. Inga maintains that she has never loved her elderly husband. Jack and Inga ultimately reconcile, with Jack not realizing that his conversations have been bugged. Soon, Joe stops by the house and tells Jack that the newspapers are reporting on Jack's affair with a married woman. Still furious, Joe says that the FBI thinks Inga is a spy, though Jack maintains that he wants to marry her. Tape ends abruptly before the closing credits. Includes commercials. This program is closed-captioned.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: November 21, 1993 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:55:42
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:30481
- GENRE: Docudrama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Docudrama
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1993
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Allstate life insurance
- TV - Commercials - Boys Town National Hotline
- TV - Commercials - Buick automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Campbell's soups
- TV - Commercials - Comet cleanser
- TV - Commercials - Compact Presario computers
- TV - Commercials - Continental airlines
- TV - Commercials - Discover credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Domino's pizza
- TV - Commercials - Duracell batteries
- TV - Commercials - Hyundai automobiles
- TV - Commercials - JCPenney stores
- TV - Commercials - Kellogg's granola bars
- TV - Commercials - Lubriderm moisturizer
- TV - Commercials - Magnavox televisions
- TV - Commercials - Max Factor cosmetics
- TV - Commercials - Mercury automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Miller Lite beer
- TV - Commercials - Nestle hot chocolate drinks
- TV - Commercials - Panasonic camcorders
- TV - Commercials - Powerline vacuums
- TV - Commercials - Preferred Stock cologne
- TV - Commercials - Sears stores
- TV - Commercials - Sears stores
- TV - Commercials - Snickers candy bars
- TV - Commercials - Sprint services
- TV - Commercials - Tampax tampons
- TV - Commercials - Tavist-D cold relief
- TV - Commercials - The Glaxo Institute for Digestive Health organization
- TV - Commercials - Totts Blanc de Noir champagne
- TV - Commercials - Tums heartburn relief
- TV - Promos - "ABC Sunday Night Movie: There Are No Children Here"
- TV - Promos - "A Gala for the President at Ford's Theatre"
- TV - Promos - "Day1One"
- TV - Promos - "Full House"
- TV - Promos - "Grace Under Fire"
- TV - Promos - "Home Improvement"
- TV - Promos - "Joe's Life"
- TV - Promos - "Matlock"
- TV - Promos - "Missing Persons"
- TV - Promos - "Monday Night Football"
- TV - Promos - "Monday Night Football"
- TV - Promos - "Roseanne"
- TV - Promos - "The American Music Awards 20th Anniversary Special"
- TV - Promos - "Thea"
- TV - Promos - "World News Now"
CREDITS
- Judith A. Polone … Executive Producer
- Harry Winer … Producer, Director
- Dennis Stuart Murphy … Co-Producer
- David Simmons … Associate Producer
- William Broyles, Jr. … Writer
- Nigel Hamilton … Based on the book by
- Cameron Allan … Music by
- Patrick Dempsey … Cast, John Fitzgerald Kennedy
- Terry Kinney … Cast, Joseph P. Kennedy
- Loren Dean … Cast, Joe Kennedy, Jr.
- Yolanda Jilot … Cast, Inga Arvad
- Robin Tunney … Cast, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy
- Andrew Lowery … Cast, Lem Billings
- Stan Cahill … Cast, Torbert Macdonald
- Claire Forlani … Cast, Ann Cannon
- Malachy McCourt … Cast, John Francis "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald
- James Rebhorn … Cast, George St. John
- Diana Scarwid … Cast, Rose Kennedy
- Natalie Radford … Cast, Rosemary Kennedy
- Cedric Smith … Cast, Bruce Hopper
- Greg Spottiswood … Cast, Skeeter Orton
- Andrew Miller … Cast, Rip Horton
- Pixie Bigelow … Cast, Nurse Barkley
- Nicole de Boer … Cast, Olive Cawley
- Karyn Dwyer … Cast, Sadie
- Ray Jewers … Cast, Patriotic Man
- Henriette Ivanans … Cast, Fan
- Bruce Gray … Cast, Alex Kirk
- Nigel Hamer … Cast, Joachim
- Heidi von Palleske … Cast, Beate
- Gerard Parkes … Cast, Priest
- Susan Westmoreland … Cast, Joan
- Doug O'Keeffe … Cast, Laughing Man
- Raymond Marlowe … Cast, Ritz-Carlton Maitre d'
- Marc Donato … Cast, Jack (age 3)
- Lance Paton … Cast, Jack (age 7-10)
- Graham Losee … Cast, Joe, Jr. (age 5)
- Corey Sevier … Cast, Joe, Jr. (age 9-12)
- Alyssa Gerbert … Cast, Eunice Kennedy (age 3)
- Adrian Hough … Cast, Billy Cavendish
- Deborah Jones … Cast, Mona
- Damir Andrei … Cast, Polish Ambassador
- Liza Hocura … Cast, Kennedy Maid
- Robert Ridaman … Cast, J.J. Maher
- Rick Roberts … Cast, Jimmy Rousmaniere
- Chantal Craig … Cast, Nora
- Michael Killinger … Cast, John Hersey
- Francois Klanfer … Cast, Dr. Buchan
- David Huband … Cast, Photographer
- Victor Erdos … Cast, Bobby Kennedy
- Natasha Matteau … Cast, Pat Kennedy (age 10)
- Melody Johnson … Cast, Eunice Kennedy (age 13)
- Jared Cook … Cast, Teddy Kennedy (age 9)
- Hailey Goldberg … Cast, Pat Kennedy (age 4)
- Deanna Way … Cast, Jean Kennedy (age 12)
- Katie Zegers … Cast, Rosemary Kennedy (age 6-9)
- Jennifer Mimoso … Cast, Katherine "Kick" Kennedy (age 7)
- Shileen Paton … Cast, Jean Kennedy (age 7)
- John David Wood … Cast, Bobby Kennedy (age 9)
- Fraser McGregor … Cast, Teddy Kennedy (age 3)
- Ryan Brown … Cast, Dexter School Boy #1
- David Pearson … Cast, Dexter School Boy #2
- David Gardner … Cast, Henry Luce