An exploration of certain conspiracy theories surrounding the JFK assassination from Jack Ruby's perspective. Ruby owns a run-down strip club in Dallas, and does what he can for credibility,... Read allAn exploration of certain conspiracy theories surrounding the JFK assassination from Jack Ruby's perspective. Ruby owns a run-down strip club in Dallas, and does what he can for credibility, both by giving information to the FBI and by doing the odd favor for his mafia contacts. ... Read allAn exploration of certain conspiracy theories surrounding the JFK assassination from Jack Ruby's perspective. Ruby owns a run-down strip club in Dallas, and does what he can for credibility, both by giving information to the FBI and by doing the odd favor for his mafia contacts. When hitman Action Jackson is hit, Louie Vitali asks him to help get crime boss Santos out... Read all
- Telephone Trixie
- (as Jane Hamilton)
- Proby
- (as Richard Sarafian)
Featured reviews
The real question is how was Jack Ruby able to walk right up to the most heavily guarded man in America, guarded as he was by Secret Service, FBI, CIA, Texas State Troopers, and Dallas Police, and shoot him at point blank range. That alone should tell you that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.
The government would tell you that Ruby acted alone, for reasons of grief and rage, etc, but they don't want you to know the truth. They don't think we could handle the truth. They don't want us to know that JFK and his father made a deal with Sam Giancana to get elected and, once elected, the Kennedys reneged on their end of the deal.
By the way, did you know that Lee Harvey Oswald was raised by his uncle in New Orleans, who was a bookie, and did you know that in 1963 all bookmakers worked for the mob? Why would the New Orleans District Attorney (Garrison) get involved in a crime that took place in Dallas? It is all related.
Did you know that several weeks after the JFK assassination the Texas State Attorney General held a press conference and announced that Oswald worked for the CIA? Did you know that Oswald attended Naval Intelligence School, and shortly thereafter he went to Russia, officially as a US dissenter, but more likely as a spy?
The one problem this movie seems to have is that it sits uncomfortably between mainstream cinema and art-house material. This becomes most apparent in the bombastic, completely unsuitable musical score which wants to make some kind of Godfather out of Ruby. But for the rest, this movie is well worth some time of the viewers attention.
It opens with a frontal shot of Ruby's face. He starts talking: You're sitting somewhere in a motel room, alone and miserable, and the telephone starts ringing". This introduction of a strip act in his club pretty accurately describes Ruby's circumstances. He is a kind of a displaced person who does not seem to belong anywhere, waiting for a call. His activities seem pretty incoherent, his grasp of what is happening around him uncertain. He is proud to be a member of the show business industry, where dreams come true.
Had this movie been less mainstream, I imagine that many scenes concerning the events before the assassination of the President would have had a more dreamlike atmosphere. I would like to believe that a lot of what is going on in the movie is going on uniquely in Ruby's head, the head of a lonely man who is about to loose his sanity and strives to gain a certain presence, a certain stature. The script accommodates such a viewpoint which probably comes closest to Ruby's motives for shooting the man who shot the President.
The acting is mostly very good. Danny Aiello's and Sherilyn Fenn's performances were brilliant, the good chemistry between them makes the relationship between Ruby and his dream woman" special and heartwarming. It also defines Ruby as someone who cares, probably another motive for his action. I am a big fan of Marc Lawrence who is absolutely terrific as the head mobster. He does not speak more than four or five sentences and yet his presence is awesome. The assassination of the President is reenacted with subtlety and tact much better than in Stone's JFK. I found the casual way in which the real locations in Dallas were introduced absolutely stunning. The editing between TV stock material and specially filmed details is masterful.
The best character in this was Maxwell played by Arliss Howard. The scenes and dailogue were both funny and seriously violent that if you would or someone you know would want to rent this movie, you couldn't help but chuckle, or maybe you would take it seriously. All in all, it's still a good movie about the J.F.K. Assassination and the life and times of Jack Ruby.
Don't rent this if you're in the mood for a really serious drama. What I liked about it was that it was comical, a drama, good, bad, and ridiculous in it's own way. And I've always liked movies that are like this one. But don't take my word for it. See it for yourself. :)
This is "Not a Documentary".
I came to this movie from a perspective of having no idea who Jack Ruby was, as I have no interest in American political history, so I treated this as just a movie. Although, I do like gangster type movies eg. "The Untouchables" and found this to be in a similar police/criminals vein.
Knowing Sherilyn Fenn and having a good regard for Danny Aiello's acting style, I thought this would be a good movie and I wasn't disappointed. Danny brings a strong, stable almost calming effect to this movie, while Sherilyn brings a simple cuteness and innocence, yet with a driving ambition and I think they work well together. The thing I didn't really like was the CIA character, just a bit far fetched for me.
Was it ever destined to win an Academy Award?... hmmm... not likely, but I found it to be a good, solid, entertaining movie and worth the dollar I spent on the DVD at the discount shop. Anyone who gives this less than three stars is in for a rude shock because there are a lot worse movies than this out there.
Did you know
- TriviaOn the morning of November 24, 1963, while being transferred from a jail cell to an interrogation office, Lee Harvey Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner, allegedly acting out of rage and anguish over the death of the president. Ruby was tried and found guilty of murder (March 14, 1964) and was sentenced to death. In October 1966 a Texas appeals court reversed the conviction, but, before a new trial could be held, Ruby died of a blood clot, complicated by cancer (Jan. 3, 1967).
- GoofsA title card tells us it's 1962. A few scenes later, Ruby watches Joe Valachi on TV testifying about the Mafia before Senator John L. McClellan's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The hearings took place in September, 1963.
- Quotes
Jack Ruby: Where you from?
Sheryl Ann DuJean: [doesn't answer]
Jack Ruby: You come in the Lubbock bus?
Sheryl Ann DuJean: I ain't from nowhere.
Jack Ruby: I've been there. What's it called?
Sheryl Ann DuJean: Rising Star, Texas.
Jack Ruby: I'm from Chicago, myself. Where you headed?
Sheryl Ann DuJean: Out of Rising Star, Texas.
- Alternate versionsA version of the film aired on the U.S A&E network in the early 2000s removed around 20 minutes of footage including the entire Cuban sequence (and references to it later in the film).
- SoundtracksBlues in the Night
Written by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen
Performed by Amy Weston and Sherilyn Fenn
Produced by Barry Goldberg
- How long is Ruby?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $9,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $919,286
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $614,327
- Mar 29, 1992
- Gross worldwide
- $919,286
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1