JFK News

Recreate JFK's trip from San Antonio to Dallas for never-before-seen video and more historical artifacts

Rare photo of JFK on his way to downtown Dallas.

Photo courtesy of Richard Clark Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Texans putting their history hats back on for the school year may be learning soon about a certain president's trip to San Antonio in November, the day before he died. If they're willing to make their own trip to the DFW, just like President John F. Kennedy did the next day, there is even more depth to be found.

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas will commemorate the 60th anniversary of JFK's assassination with a special exhibition, "Two Days in Texas," which revisits his November 1963 trip to Texas through eyewitness accounts and his own words.

Opening November 8, the exhibitiontakes a new approach by tracing the President’s footsteps through each of the cities on his last presidential tour, giving greater insight into the purpose and impact of his visit.

The exhibition will include original film footage, photographs, news articles, personal items, and new acquisitions, including the original Air Force One passenger manifest detailing the President’s trip throughout Texas, and a newly produced video of the Kennedy motorcade in Dealey Plaza incorporating amateur footage.

President Kennedy opened his Texas visit on November 21, 1963, with speeches in San Antonio and Houston that focused on Texas' role in medical research, space exploration, and national security.

The next morning, on November 22, he delivered an impromptu speech for a crowd of several thousand that waited in the rain to see him at his Fort Worth hotel, before giving what would be his final speech at a breakfast hosted by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce.

He then traveled to Dallas, where he was assassinated in a motorcade at 12:30 pm on the way to a luncheon. A planned visit to Austin would go unrealized.

Drawn from the museum’s collection of more than 95,000 artifacts relating to the assassination, highlights include:

The original Air Force One passenger manifest with details of the President’s trip to Texas and back to Dulles International Airport (VA)
A photograph from The Dallas Morning News depicting a crowd chasing after the presidential motorcade in San Antonio on November 21, 1963
A trombone played by Eastern Hills High School band member, William Cravens, at the Fort WorthChamber of Commerce breakfast, which marked the last time “Hail to the Chief” was performed for President Kennedy
A newly produced sequential video of the Kennedy motorcade in Dealey Plaza, using amateur home movies to fully document the turns from Main Street to Houston Street to Elm Street, the assassination, and the limousine speeding beneath the Triple Underpass on its way to Parkland Memorial Hospital. This innovative video showcases the Museum’s extensive holdings of eyewitness films, including the recent acquisitions of the Mark Bell and Jack Daniel 8mm home movies.
The bloodied shirt of Dr. Robert McClelland, who was among the physicians inside Trauma Room One in Parkland’s Emergency Room during the resuscitation efforts for President Kennedy following the shooting. Juxtaposing what was planned with what had happened, the shirt is paired with an image of the table setting for the Dallas Trade Mart luncheon that President Kennedy was expected to attend.
The record album sent to Texas Welcome Dinner ticketholders by the State Democratic Executive Committee featuring the President’s three delivered speeches on the trip to Texas and text of the undelivered speeches in Dallas and Austin

“In commemorating 60 years since this American tragedy, we wanted to reflect more deeply on President Kennedy’s time in Texas through his words, and the words and experiences of everyday Texans who he encountered, from the vantage point of today,” said Nicola Longford, Chief Executive Officer of The Sixth Floor Museum, in a statement. “In them, we can find truths that resonate with the current political moment, and the very ideals and struggles that continue to shape the public discourse.”

Designed to preserve the memory of the national tragedy, "Two Days in Texas" will also convey the turbulence felt by Texans who witnessed the events of November 21 and 22, 1963.

The exhibition, on view through June 16, 2024, is part of a series of 60th anniversary programming organized by The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza; additional initiatives will be announced in the coming months.

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Movie Review

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 plays to the interests of video game fans

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Sonic the Hedgehog (Ben Schwartz) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3

The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie in 2020 was one of the few video game adaptations that managed to appeal to both fans of the Sega game and those who just want to watch a fun movie. As the series moved into a second and now third film, though, it’s become increasingly reliant on giving the video game fans what they want, with not as much attention paid toward simply telling a good story.

In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) continues to live with human friends Tom (James Marsden) and Maddie (Tika Sumpter), as well as Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba), who stuck around after the events of the second film. Dispensing with any kind of narrative coherence, the trio is called away by an undefined military force to help with the escape of Shadow (Keanu Reeves), another alien hedgehog who has been locked away off the coast of Japan for many years.

Suffice it to say that the trio does not initially fare well against the powerful Shadow, forcing Sonic to do the unthinkable: Ask his nemesis, Dr. Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey), for help. What Sonic doesn’t anticipate is that Shadow has a history that left him with a grudge against most of human society, and he’s intent on using his powers — with a little help from his former mentor, Gerald Robotnik (also Carrey) — to exact his plans for revenge.

Made by the same team of director Jeff Fowler and writers Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the film is a combination of manic action, jokey sequences, and a dash of heart. The addition of Shadow ups the mayhem considerably, and the filmmakers rarely slow things down (although, oddly, the super-speed of Sonic and company feels lessened this time around).

The initial casting of Carrey gave the comic actor permission to indulge in whatever wackiness he could imagine, and giving him two roles in this film means double the nonsense. Ivo and Gerald (who’s Ivo’s grandfather, for the record) face off in a number of silly scenes, none more absurd than a dance sequence aboard a space station threatening to explode Earth (yeah, this movie is a lot).

Does the plot make a lick of sense? Absolutely not, but the filmmakers seem to acknowledge that fact, throwing anything and everything at the screen to try to entertain kids and/or fans of the video game series. It should come as no surprise that the end credits tease yet more characters from the video games joining the franchise, making it abundantly clear who is expected to get the most enjoyment out of the series going forward.

In addition to Carrey, the voice actors continue to make the characters fun. Schwartz and O’Shaughnessey provide the cartoon-style acting, while Elba and now Reeves give a nice counterbalance with their deep and serious voices. Marsden and Sumpter aren’t given much to do this time around, and Krysten Ritter shows up as Director Rockwell, a character who’s mostly there to move what little plot there is further along.

A four-quadrant movie is one that appeals to all ages and genders; Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a one or maybe two-quadrant movie at most. But it’s more fun than the other family-friendly offering this Christmas season, and fans of the video game will likely love the depiction of their favorite characters on screen, so it’s doing something right.

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is now playing in theaters.

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