[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

focused on whether Oswald was not guilty by reason of insanity instead of whether he
was innocent or guilty of the crime. There are no conspiracy theories presented.
Buchanan claimed that he was forced to withdraw the film because of “unwarranted
pressures.” 673 However, he did not say who applied this pressure or why. The film
found a second lease of life as a video and DVD. The film is notable for showing the
attitudes at the time, in which the media and many Americans accepted the evidence of
Oswald’s guilt from the authorities. However, the film also reflected journalistic
conventions of balance – even though the issue was whether Oswald was guilty by reason
of insanity rather than whether he was the lone gunman or the patsy in a conspiracy.
The film includes archival footage of Oswald in police custody, as well as the
aftermath of the assassination. However, no attempt is made to recreate the assassination
or other scenes from Oswald’s life in the film. Instead, actors are shown in a courtroom
setting, presenting the evidence and making their arguments. Interestingly, the sequence
of shots differs from the eventual Warren Commission version of the assassination.
According to the evidence at the trial, one shot hit Kennedy in the back, one shot hit
Governor Connally, and the third shot hit the president in the head. There is no “magic
bullet.” Oswald was played by Charles Mazynick, but he has no lines in the film. He
does not take the stand in his defense. In fact, when asked to plead guilty or innocent,
Oswald stays mute. The judge notes that by law, his plea would be not guilty. His
lawyer offers a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. In addition to archival footage of
673
Larry Buchanan, dir., The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, 94 minutes, (Something Weird
Video, 1964).
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