The Presidents in Movies: The Day Reagan Was Shot
With a title that gets to the point, The Day Reagan Was Shot is a 2001 made for TV movie about the assassination attempt made on the life of Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981. The film stars Richard Crenna as President Reagan, Holland Taylor (best known for her role in the TV show Two and a Half Men) as Nancy Reagan, Richard Dreyfuss as Alexander Haig, Colm Feore as Casper Weinberger, Kenneth Welsh as James Baker, Leon Pownell as Ed Meese and Michael Greene as George H. W. Bush.
The film is not so much about the assassination attempt itself, as about the power struggle that occurred behind the scenes following the assassination attempt. Remember Secretary of State Al Haig and his famous (for being wrong) statement "I am in charge here"? That's a prominent subplot of this movie. In the dialogue, Haig says "Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State in that order, and should the President decide he wants to transfer the helm to the Vice President, he will do so. He has not done that. As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending return of the Vice President and in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course."
The film managed to win a few awards. It won the American Cinema Editors award for Best Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television (Paul Seydor), two Satellite Awards for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film (Richard Dreyfuss) and Best Television Film, and it was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards in the category of Outstanding Male Actor – Miniseries or Television Film (Richard Dreyfuss).
If the film has an Oliver Stone quality to it, it's because Stone served as executive producer for the film, which was produced for the Showtime premium cable network. The Day Reagan Was Shot was first aired on December 9, 2001, less than two months after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. The film is one hour and forty minutes long.
Following is a scene of the assassination attempt from the film:
The film is not so much about the assassination attempt itself, as about the power struggle that occurred behind the scenes following the assassination attempt. Remember Secretary of State Al Haig and his famous (for being wrong) statement "I am in charge here"? That's a prominent subplot of this movie. In the dialogue, Haig says "Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State in that order, and should the President decide he wants to transfer the helm to the Vice President, he will do so. He has not done that. As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending return of the Vice President and in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course."
The film managed to win a few awards. It won the American Cinema Editors award for Best Edited Motion Picture for Non-Commercial Television (Paul Seydor), two Satellite Awards for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film (Richard Dreyfuss) and Best Television Film, and it was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards in the category of Outstanding Male Actor – Miniseries or Television Film (Richard Dreyfuss).
If the film has an Oliver Stone quality to it, it's because Stone served as executive producer for the film, which was produced for the Showtime premium cable network. The Day Reagan Was Shot was first aired on December 9, 2001, less than two months after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. The film is one hour and forty minutes long.
Following is a scene of the assassination attempt from the film: