Robert McNamara

Robert McNamara

Birth : 1916-06-09, San Francisco, California, USA

Death : 2009-07-06

History

Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Profile

Robert McNamara

Movies

Laboratory Greece
Self (archive footage)
A journey through Greece and Europe’s past and recent history: from the Second World War to the current crisis. It is a historical documentary, a look into many stories. «If Democracy can be destroyed in Greece, it can be destroyed throughout Europe» Paul Craig Roberts
The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby
Self - Secretary of Defense (voice) (archive footage)
A personal exploration into the life of America's controversial former CIA Director told through the eyes of his wife and filmmaker son, Carl. Through extraordinary events in twentieth century history, this consummate soldier/spy stood at the center of the Agency's most clandestine activities and operations. The film reveals the 'cover life' of this CIA operative, who followed orders and took on the dirtiest assignments until the Nixon Administration ordered him to 'stonewall' Congress about the CIA's past abuses, but he refused. This film reveals why, for the first time, he could not obey.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Self (archive footage)
"The Most Dangerous Man in America" is the story of what happens when a former Pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience, steadfast determination, and a file cabinet full of classified documents, decides to challenge an "Imperial" Presidency-answerable to neither Congress, the press, nor the people-in order to help end the Vietnam War.
U.S. Strategic Nuclear Policy
Self
U.S. Strategic Nuclear Policy, An Oral History explores the origins of United States strategic nuclear policy and how it evolved. The documentary looks at this topic through the oral history of key participants including Robert McNamara, Edward Teller, James Schlesinger, Andrew Goodpaster, Harold Brown, Richard Garwin and William Kaufmann.
No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
Self
A documentary exploring the historical concept of the narrative of Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb." This short documentary compares the film with the actual events concerning the Cold War and the Cuban Missle Crisis.
The Fog of War
Himself
Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to being the Ford Motor Company's president, to managing the Vietnam War as defense secretary for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
USS Liberty: Dead in the Water
Self (archive footage)
During the Six-Day War, Israel attacked and nearly sank the USS Liberty belonging to its closest ally, the USA. Thirty-four American servicemen were killed in the two-hour assault by Israeli warplanes and torpedo boats. Israel claimed that the whole affair had been a tragic accident based on mistaken identification of the ship. The American government accepted the explanation. For more than 30 years many people have disbelieved the official explanation but have been unable to rebut it convincingly. Now, Dead in the Water uses startling new evidence to reveal the truth behind the seemingly inexplicable attack. The film combines dramatic reconstruction of the events, with new access to former officers in the US and Israeli armed forces and intelligence services who have decided to give their own version of events. Written by Ørnås
Cuban Missile Crisis: Secret Subs
Himself - Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense 1961-1968
Explore the events of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and hear from some of the actual participants in this riveting program. After an American naval blockade intercepted Soviet submarines on a secret mission to set up a military base in Cuba, the two nations engaged in a tense standoff that led the world to the brink of nuclear war. Submariners from both sides talk about the conflict, and viewers get a look inside their subs and the U.S. war room.
Death on a Rainy Day
Himself - 1960-1968 Secretary of Defense (archive footage) (uncredited)
Two French agents fight a Chinese sect that aims to control the American Secretary of Defence via high-tech medicine, so that he would start a world war.