Robert F. Kennedy

CHICAGO – The movie star Marilyn Monroe, arguably the brightest star in the history of Hollywood, led a life of triumph and tragedy, up to and including her death in 1962. The recent Netflix release of “The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes” – directed by Emma Cooper – is a documentary that seeks truth, through never-heard-before audio interviews.

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review on “The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes,” the latest documentary on the movie star who passed away in 1962 but is still revered. The film will stream on Netflix beginning April 27th.

CHICAGO – It was 50 years ago today – August 28th, 1968 – that Chicago Police and Viet Nam War protestors clashed in front of the Hilton Chicago Hotel on Michigan Avenue, while the Democratic National Convention was in town nominating Hubert Humphrey as their presidential candidate. As the police used excessive force on the protestors, the “whole world was watching.” This included witnesses actor/director Warren Beatty, comedian Robert Klein, and the production crew – including future director Andrew Davis – of the Haskell Wexler film “Medium Cool.”

CHICAGO – It was 50 years ago today – June 6th, 1968 – that Robert F. Kennedy died, struck down by an assassin’s bullet while in California on the presidential campaign trail. His press secretary, Frank Mankiewicz, delivered the news to the media, emphasizing that RFK was only “42 years old.” Frank Mankiewicz was the father of Ben Mankiewicz, the current host of Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

CHICAGO – It has been nearly 40 years since the Vietnam War truly ended, with the desperate events during the Fall of Saigon. “Last Days in Vietnam” is a brilliant new documentary that puts it all in perspective, the final surreal folly of America’s nightmarish involvement in the Vietnam War. Director Rory Kennedy – the youngest daughter of Robert F. Kennedy – generates a precise and gripping document that lingers long after it has been experienced.

CHICAGO – How can one man bring down a ruthless industry? By building a union that never backs down, because he never backed down. ‘Cesar Chavez’ depicts the United Farm Workers union organizer in the 1960s who sought justice against virtual slave conditions for immigrant labor, assuring his place in history.