Adventures on the New Frontier

Adventures on the New Frontier (1961)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Filmmaker Robert Drew was given full access to John F. Kennedy during the Wisconsin primary and the end result was the film PRIMARY. The two had such a strong friendship or at least a strong respect that Kennedy gave Drew full access to the White House once he was elected and this documentary shows what exactly the president does on a day-to-day basis. ADVENTURES OF A NEW FRONTIER was produced by ABC and it's easy to see that the filmmakers just wanted to show the president as a normal man trying to deal with some very big issues. The main highlight of the film happens when there's discussion about the unemployment levels and how they are two times higher in West Virginia. The camera then introduces us to a miner who finds himself out of job, with eight kids and very little hope for the future. It's these moments here where I think the film works the best but it's also quite interesting getting to see Kennedy behind the scenes. The documentary certainly does a nice job at showing him as a human and doing simple stuff like just laughing at a joke being told to him. At just over 50-minutes the film does contain quite a bit of filler or stuff that just doesn't keep you too entertained but Kennedy buffs will certainly want to check this out.