1 / 8
ERA
Did you know
53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Executive Action
"Assassination conspiracy? The possibility is frightening."
1973 1h 31m EN
👍
6.5
SOLID
🍅
60%
FRESH
⭐
6.7
IMDB
★6.5TMDB · 53🍅60%Rotten Tomatoes★6.7IMDB · 3,378
Thriller
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Rogue intelligence agents, right-wing politicians, greedy capitalists, and free-lance assassins plot and carry out the JFK assassination in this speculative agitprop.
“Assassination conspiracy? The possibility is frightening.”
Cast
Burt Lancaster
Farrington
Robert Ryan
Foster
Will Geer
Ferguson
Gilbert Green
Paulitz
John Anderson
Halliday
Paul Carr
Gunman (Chris) - Team A
Colby Chester
Tim
Ed Lauter
Operations Chief - Team A
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- David Miller
- Writers
- Dalton Trumbo, Donald Freed, Mark Lane
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by David Miller, shot by Robert Steadman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Randy Edelman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor George Grenville shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan and Will Geer carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "Assassination conspiracy? The possibility is frightening.".
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0070046 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
Only 53 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
David Miller directs. Robert Steadman behind the camera. Randy Edelman scores. George Grenville cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 153 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 2Directed by David Miller, shot by Robert Steadman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 3Original score by Randy Edelman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 4Editor George Grenville shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 5Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan and Will Geer carry the top of the cast.
- 6Marketing tagline: "Assassination conspiracy? The possibility is frightening.".
- 7IMDB entry: tt0070046 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 8Only 53 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Robert Steadman
- Original score
- Randy Edelman
- Editing
- George Grenville
- Production design
- Kirk Axtell
- Makeup / hair
- Carl A. Russell
- Runtime
- 91 min · 1h 31m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- PG
- Rotten Tomatoes
- 60% 🍅 Fresh
- IMDB rating
- 6.7/10 · 3,378 votes
- MPAA
- PG
Also by
David Miller
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- John Chard★ 6.5/10
Actors movie and a conspiracy theorists dream. Executive Action is directed by David Miller and written by Dalton Trumbo, Donald Freed and Mark Lane. It stars Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Will Geer, Gilbert Green and John Anderson. Music is by Randy Edelman and cinematography by Robert Steadman. In essence it’s a film that is offering up a different theory to the Warren Commission’s report that ruled Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating John F. Kennedy. Plot has Lancaster and Ryan as shady conspirators who plot the downfall of JFK on that fateful day November 22nd 1963. There’s lots of talking, with the actors chewing into the dialogue whilst brooding considerably, their motives explained clearly, the framing of Oswald brought to life, and it rounds up to a triple gunmen scenario. We then get a startling revelation about what befell a number of eyewitnesses from that infamous day. It’s engrossing without being truly riveting, but the cast make it worth time spent. While if you like to buy into the conspiracy theory surrounding the assassination, then it carries some extra entertainment value. 7/10
Production companies
Who made it
- WA
Wakeford / Orloff
Key crew
- Makeup ArtistCarl A. Russell
- CastingCaron Beaver
- Title DesignerBill Brown
- Camera OperatorSean Doyle
- SoundBruce Bisenz
- Makeup ArtistByrd Holland
- GafferVic Goss
- Supervising Sound EditorRichard S. Brummer
- Associate ProducerHarry N. Blum
- Associate ProducerRobert H. Greenberg
- Production ManagerHarry Caplan
- Property MasterRamiro Jaloma
- SoundKirk Francis
- SoundJock Putnam
- Special EffectsHarry Woolman
- Music EditorAnthony Magro
- EditorGeorge Grenville
- ProducerEdward Lewis
- Production DesignKirk Axtell
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- sniper
- assassin
- central intelligence agency (cia)
- assassination
- lee harvey oswald
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1973-11-07PG
