The Silly Bastard Next to the Bed

Full Frame Audience Award Short 2014

NEW DOCS

During his presidency, John F. Kennedy recorded more than 260 hours of telephone calls, dictated letters, and conversations in the Oval Office. This persistently pithy, yet inescapably poignant, short film reveals the flip side of a brewing government scandal through two phone recordings made in July 1963. That summer Kennedy was splitting time between his presidential duties in D.C. and family visits to his pregnant wife and their children in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. As Jacqueline had suffered difficult pregnancies in the past, modest preparations were made so the First Lady could deliver the baby at the only hospital nearby, on Otis Air Force Base. But when a local newspaper covered the story, a simple and tidy hospital ward was converted into a VIP suite decked out in fancy furnishings purchased on the government’s dime. We listen in as Kennedy tries to sort out, using some rather salty language, just what went wrong: What was bought? How much was spent? And who was that silly bastard next to the bed?  WFM

Director

Scott Calonico

Producer

Jeff Radice

Editor

Scott Calonico

Cinematographer

Nathan McGinty

Release Year

2014

Festival Year

2014

Country

United States

Run Time

9 minutes

Premiere

World Premiere