Discover
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald is a 1964 American legal drama/historical fiction film directed by Larry Buchanan. It is the first speculative trial drama about Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and murderer of Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit. Produced in Dallas only a few months after the assassination and Oswald's murder by Jack Ruby, the film attempts to simulate Oswald's trial if he had lived. The prosecution asserts that Oswald committed the crime for political reasons based in his Marxist beliefs, while his attorney presents an insanity defense, claiming that he had suffered from untreated paranoid schizophrenia since adolescence. As the viewer acts as a juror, with the judge and attorneys looking straight into the camera and talking directly to the unseen "jury" several times, no verdict is given. Dallas criminal defense attorney Charles W. Tessmer appears after the film to summarize its contents and to encourage viewers to debate among themselves.
Original Release
04/22/1964
US Release
04/22/1964
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
George R. Russell | Defense Attorney Tyler / Defense Attorney |
George Edgley | Presiding Judge / Judge |
Arthur Nations | Prosecuting Attorney Atkins / Prosecuting Attorney |
Charles Mazyrack | Lee Harvey Oswald / The Defendant |
Joreta C. Cherry | Court Reporter |
Howard Ware | Bailiff |
Don Gillespie | Attorney |
Dan Terrell | Attorney |
Bill Peck | Attorney |
Jenna Jordan | Witness |
Directors
Writers
Larry Buchanan, Harold Hoffman
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
George R. Russell | Defense Attorney Tyler / Defense Attorney |
George Edgley | Presiding Judge / Judge |
Arthur Nations | Prosecuting Attorney Atkins / Prosecuting Attorney |
Charles Mazyrack | Lee Harvey Oswald / The Defendant |
Joreta C. Cherry | Court Reporter |
Howard Ware | Bailiff |
Don Gillespie | Attorney |
Dan Terrell | Attorney |
Bill Peck | Attorney |
Jenna Jordan | Witness |
Raymond Bradford | Witness |
Ted Mitchell | Witness |
Edwin Cherry | Witness |
Bill Bell | Witness |
Bill McGhee | Witness |
Jonathan Ledford | Witness |
Bill Thurman | Witness |
Charles McLine | Witness |
Tommie Russell | Witness |
Annabelle Weenick | Witness |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Harold Hoffman | Producer |