What Nixon Saw and
When He Saw It

by Mark Feeney

Appendix from Nixon at the Movies: A Book about Belief

This list of Nixon screenings is primarily drawn from the President's Daily Diary, which was kept by the Secret Service throughout his presidency. During much of 1969, the diary was kept in a sketchier fashion than during 1970–73. In December 1973, the White House became increasingly anxious about leaks as Watergate worsened and directed the Secret Service to keep a less detailed record of the president's daily schedule.

Citations that do not list a date, site, or both, are drawn from one of three sources: The Haldeman Diaries; a 1970 memorandum Rose Mary Woods prepared in response to a Newsweek query as to what films Nixon had seen while president; or, from the second half of December 1973 until August 1974, the personal logs kept by White House projectionist Paul Fisher.

I am very grateful to Mr. Fischer for sharing that information, as well as to Irv Letofsky for putting me in touch with him.

 Key to screening sites:
 WH White House
 CD Camp David
 KB Key Biscayne
 SC San Clemente
 PS Walter Annenberg's Palm Springs estate
 GC Robert Abplanalp's Grand Cay home
 CB Caneel Bay Plantation
 MI Minot Island, Maine
 AI Thomas McCabe's residence on Assateague Island, Maryland


 

1969
Film
Date
Site
 The Shoes of the Fisherman1/22WH
 The Sound of Music2/14WH
 The Sand Pebbles
 
2/15
3/29
CD
CD
 Play Dirty4/12CD
 Doctor Zhivago4/19CD
 Where Eagles Dare4/25CD
 Camelot5/17KB
 A Man for All Seasons5/23CD
 Mayerling5/29KB
 Twisted Nerve5/30KB
 Bullitt5/31KB
 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie6/4SC
 Shalako6/5SC
 Support Your Local Sheriff6/20CD
 True Grit6/28WH
 The Bridge on the River Kwai7/2KB
 My Side of the Mountain7/5KB
 Sound of Anger7/11CD
 My Little Chickadee7/17CD
 West Side Story7/18CD
 The Odd Couple7/26CD
 Gigi8/?SC
 The Happiest Millionaire8/?SC
 Dead Run8/?SC
 The Guns of Navarone8/?SC
 The Longest Day8/?SC
 The Dirty Dozen8/13CD
 Their Finest Hour8/14WH
 Born Free9/19CD
 How to Commit Marriage10/11CD
 Hard Contract10/17WH
 Roman Holiday10/18WH
 The Scalphunters10/24CD
 Oliver!11/1CD
 The Bridge at Remagen11/6CD
 The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming11/15CD
 If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium11/22CD
 Cat Ballou11/27KB
 The Great Bank Robbery 11/28KB
 The Undefeated11/29KB
 The Pink Jungle12/13CD
 P.J.12/14CD
 Marooned12/20WH
 Hello, Dolly12/26WH
 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers12/31SC

 

1970
Film
Date
Site
 The Sea Gull1/1SC
 Sweet Charity1/3SC
 The Robe1/4PS
 Around the World in 80 Days1/5PS
 Those Were the Happy Times1/6SC
 The Sterile Cuckoo1/7CD
 Civilisation1/?WH
 Paint Your Wagon1/24CD
 Cactus Flower1/31CD
 The Secret of Santa Vittoria2/7CD
 No Time for Sergeants2/12KB
 Hawaii2/13KB
 Anne of the Thousand Days2/?CD
 Quo Vadis3/6KB
 To Catch a Thief3/13CD
 Paper Lion3/26KB
 Funny Girl3/28KB
 The Stalking Moon3/29KB
 Hamlet4/3CD
 Patton4/4WH
 The Caine Mutiny4/6WH
 My Fair Lady4/14CD
 The Cincinnati Kid4/24CD
 Patton4/25WH
 The Last Hurrah5/1CD
 The Blue Max5/2CD
 Sunrise at Campobello5/6WH
 Topkapi5/12WH
 A Big Hand for the Little Lady5/13WH
 Oklahoma!5/14KB
 Before Winter Comes5/15KB
 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid5/17KB
 Ice Station Zebra5/22CD
 The Cardinal5/23CD
 The Train5/29WH
 How the West Was Won5/30KB
 Smith6/6CD
 Patton6/12KB
 The Battle of Britain6/13KB
 War and Peace6/19CD
 The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit6/21CD
 The Egg and I6/25SC
 Flower Drum Song6/26SC
 Auntie Mame7/1SC
 Father Goose7/3SC
 The Professionals7/5SC
 Our Man in Havana7/?CD
 The Out-of-Towners7/25SC
 Bell, Book and Candle7/26SC
 Chisum7/31SC
 Swiss Family Robinson8/2SC
 Cromwell8/7CD
 The Cross and the Switchblade8/8CD
 The Sicilian Clan8/15CD
 Dial M for Murder8/22SC
 Born Yesterday8/23SC
 Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here8/24SC
 Mister Roberts8/25SC
 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre8/28SC
 Wilson8/30SC
 Chisum8/31SC
 The Roaring Twenties9/4SC
 The Big Country9/5SC
 On a Clear Day You Can See Forever9/11CD
 McCloud9/12CD
 Operation Cross Eagles9/?CD
 The Chairman9/?WH
 A Place in History9/?WH
 The Unsinkable Molly Brown9/?WH
 Giant10/8KB
 The Country Girl10/9KB
 Mildred Pierce10/10KB
 The Americanization of Emily11/2SC
 Khartoum11/6KB
 The African Queen11/7KB
 Walk, Don't Run11/9GC
 Goodbye, Mr. Chips11/13WH
 How Do I Love Thee?11/14CD
 Richard III11/20CD
 Tora! Tora! Tora!11/26WH
 It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World11/27WH
 The Greatest Show on Earth11/28CD
 Good Sam12/5CD
 Stagecoach12/19WH
 Love Story12/24WH
 You Can't Take It with You12/25WH
 Pursuit of the Graf Spee12/26CD

 

1971
Film
Date
Site
 Anatomy of a Murder1/1CD
 Barabbas1/2CD
 Citizen Kane1/5WH
 All About Eve1/7SC
 Mississippi1/8SC
 Gigi1/9SC
 Torn Curtain1/11SC
 Doctor Zhivago1/15CD
 Sitting Pretty1/16CD
 Song of Norway1/25WH
 Spartacus (Trumbo)1/29CB
 High Society1/30CB
 The Iron Petticoat1/31CB
 Dr. Day Revisited and A Man Named Lombardi2/6CD
 Four W. C. Fields shorts2/11KB
 The Great Chase2/12GC
 Gone with the Wind2/13–14KB
 Friendly Persuasion2/20CD
 Around the World in 80 Days2/27CD
 Lawrence of Arabia3/3CD
 Lawrence of Arabia, part 23/6CD
 In Harm's Way3/12KB
 The Sundowners3/13KB
 The Flight of the Phoenix3/14GC
 Arabesque3/27SC
 A Man Could Get Killed3/29SC
 Sahara4/2SC
 The List of Adrian Messenger4/3SC
 Rio Lobo4/4SC
 Ryan's Daughter4/10CD
 A New Leaf4/71WH
 O'Hara, U.S. Treasury4/71CD
 Captain Horatio Hornblower4/30SC
 Houseboat5/1SC
 The High Commissioner5/2SC
 The Egyptian5/14KB
 Ship of Fools5/16KB
 The Lady from Shanghai5/21WH
 Take the Money and Run5/22KB
 Red Sky at Morning5/23KB
 Red Ball Express5/24KB
 Waterloo5/29CD
 Plaza Suite5/30CD
 Rose Marie6/5CD
 The Cheyenne Social Club6/6CD
 Broken Lance6/18KB
 Donovan's Reef6/19KB
 Zeppelin6/25CD
 Shane6/26CD
 Proudly They Came and Valdez Is Coming7/4CD
 All the Brothers Were Valiant7/7SC
 Breakfast at Tiffany's7/8SC
 The Apartment7/9SC
 The Quiet Man7/11SC
 Diamond Head7/13SC
 They Might Be Giants7/14SC
 Raid on Rommel7/16SC
 Damn Yankees7/17SC
 The Last Valley7/24CD
 That Touch of Mink7/25CD
 The Barbarian and the Geisha7/31CD
 A Fistful of Dollars8/6MI
 The Conqueror8/7MI
 Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison8/9SC
 The Virginian8/17SC
 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly8/21SC
 The Bridges at Toko-Ri8/22SC
 El Cid8/23SC
 The Fortune Cookie8/24SC
 The Ipcress File8/27SC
 Shanghai Express8/29SC
 Send Me No Flowers8/30SC
 The Alamo9/5CD
 Big Jake9/11CD
 Hud9/17CD
 Cleopatra9/18–19CD
 The Sheepman9/20WH
 Wild Rovers9/24WH
 The Grass Is Greener10/1KB
 To Kill a Mockingbird10/3KB
 The Red Tent10/9CD
 The Bravados10/10WH
 Beau James10/15CD
 Klute10/24CD
 Under the Yum-Yum Tree11/5KB
 Wait Until Dark11/7KB
 San Francisco11/12CD
 The Bad and the Beautiful11/13CD
 Suspicion11/20CD
 Gaslight11/25SC
 Cannon for Cordoba12/3KB
 The Badlanders12/16KB
 The Last Run12/17KB
 The Strange Love of Martha Ivers12/19WH
 The Night Visitor12/22CD
 Brian's Song12/23CD
 Nicholas and Alexandra12/25WH
 Love in the Afternoon12/29KB
 The Lonely Profession12/30KB

 

1972
Film
Date
Site
 The Brothers Karamazov1/7SC
 Hotel1/13CD
 Papa's Delicate Condition1/14CD
 Lawman1/15CD
 The Brothers Karamazov1/29CD
 Romance of a Horsethief2/4KB
 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly2/11–12GC
 Kotch3/1WH
 Nine Hours to Rama3/2KB
 Dr. No3/3KB
 Dirty Harry3/10CD
 The Last Picture Show3/11CD
 The Music Lovers3/17WH
 Paris When It Sizzles3/18WH
 The Grapes of Wrath3/24CD
 The French Connection3/25CD
 Lord Jim4/1CD
 Duel in the Sun4/2CD
 Bachelor in Paradise4/6KB
 Boomerang4/7KB
 The Godfather4/21CD
 There Was a Crooked Man4/22CD
 Diamonds Are Forever4/27KB
 Pendulum4/29KB
 Critic's Choice 5/5CD
 Kidnapped5/6CD
 Funeral in Berlin5/7CD
 Goldfinger5/11CD
 The Carpetbaggers5/12CD
 Good Neighbor Sam5/13CD
 From Russia with Love5/18CD
 Move Over, Darling5/19WH
 The Prince and the Showgirl6/2KB
 Elmer Gantry6/3KB
 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse6/4KB
 Take Her, She's Mine6/8CD
 The Skin Game6/16GC
 The Notorious Landlady6/17GC
 When Eight Bells Toll6/18KB
 The Cardinal6/21WH
 Hang 'Em High6/23CD
 The Hot Rock6/24CD
 Harlow7/1SC
 The V.I.P.s7/3SC
 Reap the Wild Wind7/4SC
 Coogan's Bluff7/5SC
 Irma La Douce7/9SC
 Gambit7/11SC
 Two documentaries (on Pat's visit to Africa and the Washington Redskins)7/12SC
 Skyjacked7/19WH
 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon7/22CD
 Fort Apache7/24WH
 Lady Liberty7/29CD
 The Mouse that Roared7/30CD
 Frenzy8/4AI
 The War between Men and Women8/5AI
 Bend of the River8/11CD
 Joe Kidd8/12CD
 Kelly's Heroes9/3SC
 Crusade in Europe9/6WH
 Cabaret9/8CD
 The Groundstar Conspiracy9/9CD
 The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid9/16CD
 The Man9/19CD
 Yankee Doodle Dandy9/23CD
 Their Finest Hour9/24CD
 Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo9/26CD
 War and Peace9/30CD
 Fiddler on the Roof10/1CD
 Major Dundee10/5WH
 The King and I10/7CD
 South Pacific10/14CD
 Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing10/20CD
 The Sons of Katie Elder10/24WH
 Midnight Lace10/?CD
 Cancel My Reservation10/29CD
 Crusade in Europe10/31WH
 Civilisation11/5SC
 Victory at Sea11/8KB
 The Great Escape11/9KB
 Boys' Night Out11/10KB
 Fuzz11/12CD
 John Paul Jones11/16CD
 Man with a Million11/19CD
 Young Winston11/22CD
 The Emigrants11/23CD
 The Carey Treatment11/26CD
 Pancho Villa11/27CD
 Rio Bravo11/28CD
 The Heroes of Telemark12/3KB
 What the Peeper Saw12/7CD
 The Candidate12/8CD
 Sounder12/9CD
 The Poseidon Adventure12/12WH
 The Hanging Tree12/17WH
 Charade12/20KB
 The Inn of the Sixth Happiness12/21KB
 The Lady Eve12/22KB
 Butterfield 812/24KB
 The Big Clock12/28CD
 The General Died at Dawn12/29CD

 

1973
Film
Date
Site
 Three Coins in the Fountain1/6CD
 Ride the High Country1/7WH
 The Maltese Falcon1/9WH
 Mary, Queen of Scots1/12KB
 The More the Merrier1/26KB
 Tom Jones1/27KB
 This Gun for Hire1/28KB
 The Accused2/3CD
 So Big2/4CD
 A Double Life2/8SC
 On the Waterfront2/9SC
 The Last Voyage2/10SC
 Undercurrent2/11SC
 The Man Who Knew Too Much2/13SC
 Some Like It Hot2/16KB
 Keeper of the Flame2/17KB
 Boom Town2/18KB
 Vertigo2/23CD
 The Doctor Takes a Wife2/24CD
 Viva Zapata!3/4CD
 Picnic3/9CD
 Owen Marshall3/10CD
 To the Ends of the Earth3/11WH
 Texas3/15WH
 Sleuth3/18CD
 Frenchman's Creek3/24KB
 Anne of the Thousand Days3/25KB
 The Shepherd of the Hills3/26KB
 Three Little Words3/30SC
 Two Rode Together4/1SC
 Gideon of Scotland Yard4/3SC
 Meet Me in St. Louis4/4SC
 Kind Hearts and Coronets4/5SC
 Forever and a Day4/7SC
 Some Came Running4/20KB
 The Seven Year Itch4/21KB
 The Quiet Man4/23GC
 Ocean's 115/3KB
 What Price Glory5/4KB
 Inherit the Wind5/6KB
 Notorious5/10WH
 The Long Voyage Home5/11CD
 Hammersmith Is Out5/12CD
 The War Wagon5/13CD
 The Searchers5/17WH
 A Hole in the Head5/19CD
 High Plains Drifter5/20CD
 The Wreck of the Mary Deare5/22WH
 Tea and Sympathy5/23CD
 Indiscreet5/25KB
 Proud Rebel5/26KB
 Twelve O'Clock High5/27GC
 Night People6/2CD
 Separate Tables6/8KB
 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn6/9KB
 Stage Fright6/15KB
 The Lady Killers6/16KB
 A Letter to Three Wives6/25SC
 Love Me or Leave Me6/26SC
 Never Let Me Go6/27SC
 Pat and Mike6/28SC
 The Gazebo6/29SC
 The Citadel6/30SC
 Daisy Kenyon7/1SC
 The Railway Children7/2SC
 North to Alaska7/4SC
 Alexander the Great7/5SC
 Tom Sawyer7/6SC
 His Majesty O'Keefe7/7SC
 The Far Country7/8SC
 Rebel without a Cause7/?SC
 Detective Story7/?CD
 The Iron Duke7/21CD
 Life with Father7/22CD
 The Day of the Jackal7/23CD
 Centennial Summer7/28CD
 Vera Cruz7/29CD
 A Touch of Class8/3CD
 The Sky Above, the Mud Below8/4CD
 Man on a String8/5CD
 Run for Cover8/8CD
 The Nelson Affair8/9CD
 The Light that Failed8/17KB
 You Gotta Stay Happy8/18KB
 Lawrence of Arabia8/23–24SC
 Please Don't Eat the Daisies8/25SC
 Ivanhoe8/26SC
 Kentucky8/27SC
 On the Town8/28SC
 Dark Victory8/29SC
 All This and Heaven Too8/30SC
 The Postman Always Rings Twice9/1SC
 The Blue Dahlia9/2SC
 David and Bathsheba9/8CD
 I'd Climb the Highest Mountain9/9CD
 Lady Ice9/14CD
 Paper Moon9/15CD
 A King's Story9/16CD
 Scorpio9/22CD
 Key Largo9/23CD
 Bang the Drum Slowly9/29CD
 Lonely Are the Brave9/30CD
 Play Misty for Me10/4KB
 Khartoum10/6KB
 Zulu10/13CD
 Suez10/16CD
 The Sting10/19WH
 The Searching Wind10/20WH
 The World in His Arms10/23CD
 Fail-Safe10/27CD
 Hitler: The Last Ten Days10/29CD
 Live and Let Die10/31WH
 The Master Touch11/3KB
 Heaven Can Wait11/?KB
 The Way We Were11/9CD
 The Long Gray Line11/10CD
 The Snows of Kilimanjaro11/22CD
 My Darling Clementine11/23CD
 A Foreign Affair11/24CD
 The Last of Sheila12/1WH
 A Man for All Seasons12/2CD
 Western Union12/7WH
 From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler12/8WH
 The Flim-Flam Man12/?WH
 Travels with My Aunt12/?WH
 Drums Along the Mohawk12/?CD
 Anastasia12/?SC
 The House of Rothschild12/?SC
 Jane Eyre12/?SC

 

1974
Film
Date
Site
 Garden of EvilJan.SC
 Buffalo BillSC
 Cahill: United States Marshal SC
 Passage to Marseilles SC
 Henry VIII and His Six Wives SC
 They Came to Cordura SC
 The Whole Town's Talking PS
 An Affair to Remember WH
 American Graffiti WH
 Executive Action CD
 The Long Goodbye CD
 The Hospital CD
 Charley VarrickFeb.CD
 The New LandCD
 Serpico CD
 The Clouded Yellow KB
 A Kiss Before Dying KB
 Harry in Your Pocket KB
 The Sting KB
 The Collector WH
 England Made Me WH
 Mame WH
 The Day of the Dolphin WH
 Pony Express WH
 Destination Gobi WH
 The Omega Man WH
 Butterflies Are Free WH
 Cheyenne Autumn KB
 Von Ryan's ExpressMar.KB
 Friendly PersuasionWH
 A Place in History CD
 The Way We Were CD
 Sunset Boulevard CD
 Magnum Force CD
 BecketApr.CD
 The Great GatsbyCD
 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town CD
 Call of the Wild KB
 What's Up, Doc? KB
 The Solid Gold Cadillac KB
 The Sugarland Express KB
 The Long, Hot SummerMayKB
 The Paper ChaseKB
 Rio Conchos KB
 The Seven-Ups KB
 On the Beach WH
 Shenandoah WH
 The Wrong Box WH
 Zandy's BrideJuneWH
 HolidayCD
 Divorce Italian Style CD
 Kitty CD
 The Big Sleep CD
 The Big HeatJulyKB
 Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-RoundKB
 McQ KB
 By the Light of the Silvery Moon SC
 Chad Hanna SC
 Come Next Spring SC
 Man on a Swing SC
 Man without a Star SC
 Double Indemnity SC
 Two for the Seesaw SC
 The Train Robbers SC
 It's a Wonderful Life SC
 Around the World in 80 Days SC


Copyright notice: Excerpt from pages 339-355 of Nixon at the Movies by Mark Feeney, published by the University of Chicago Press. ©2004 by the University of Chicago. All rights reserved. This text may be used and shared in accordance with the fair-use provisions of U.S. copyright law, and it may be archived and redistributed in electronic form, provided that this entire notice, including copyright information, is carried and provided that the University of Chicago Press is notified and no fee is charged for access. Archiving, redistribution, or republication of this text on other terms, in any medium, requires the consent of the University of Chicago Press.


Mark Feeney
Nixon at the Movies: A Book about Belief
©2004, 436 pages, 13 halftones
Cloth $27.50 ISBN: 0-226-23968-3

For information on purchasing the book—from bookstores or here online—please go to the webpage for Nixon at the Movies.



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