Name ______Date ______Per. ______

Thirteen Days (2000)

Set in October of 1962, this movie is a dramatization of the events surrounding the . It captures the tense world situation that characterized the Cold War, especially the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, headed by . As you watch the film, answer the questions that go along with it. The questions all have straightforward answers that can be completed with just a few words. Turn this in at the end of the film for an easy quiz grade!

1. What is the word that you need to learn in politics? Loyalty 2. How many missiles have been identified? 32 3. Cities as far north as what city are within range of the missiles in Cuba? Washington 4. How much warning will Americans have if the missiles are launched? 5 minutes 5. How many days do the experts believe it will be until the missiles are operational? 10 - 14 6. What is the plan starting to smell like? The Bay of Pigs 7. Where is the President going tomorrow? Connecticut

8. What alternative plan does Bob McNamara propose after RFK’s prompting? blockade 9. What does the Air Force General Lemay believe the Soviet response to air strikes will be? nothing 10. What country did China invade today? FUN FILM FACT! India Early in the film, we see President 11. What reason does the President give for cancelling the rest Kennedy take a pill. JFK had many of his trip? health problems – including an He has a cold autoimmune disease called 12. What do they decide to call the blockade so that it is not Addison’s disease and pain from a technically an act of war? back injury suffered during World quarantine War II. Most of these health issues 13. What percentage of missiles did the general guarantee the were kept concealed from the public (in an age where media president that they would take out? scrutiny wasn’t what it is today) and 90% most Americans thought of President Kennedy as the picture of youth, vigor, and health. 14. What does Kennedy wish for a second? Someone else was president 15. What does Ted Sorenson say was in the speech for the president to give if JFK chose to go with air strikes? a. He didn’t/couldn’t write it. FUN FILM FACT! 16. What do Kenny and the president’s advisors think Khrushchev will do in response to the blockade? Did you catch the reference to DEFCON? DEFCON stands for “run-it” Defense Readiness Condition and is 17. What does Kenny need from phone operator Margaret? an indicator of how alert to war Her tone of voice people should be. Although many 18. How does Commander Ecker explain the damage to his films often get it wrong, DEFCON 5 plane after his mission? is the lowest threat level and sparrows DEFCON 1 is for highest. We’ve 19. What kind of vote does the President want from the OAS never actually reached DEFCON 1, meeting? but portions of the US government went to DEFCON 2 during the Cuban Unanimous Missile crisis. The only other time 20. What time will the quarantine go into effect? that happened was during the 10:00 a.m. opening days of the Gulf War. 21. What is being offered at the church 24 hours a day? confessions 22. What shows up on radar along with the two Soviet ships that the Americans know about? Russian sub 23. How many ships continue towards the quarantine line? 6 24. President Kennedy said that the military would go to DEFCON 3. What did the military go to without permission? Defcon 2 25. Who does Adlai think would be calling him before his big showdown with the Soviets at the UN? Bobby 26. What is a star shell? flare 27. How do you get to be the top spy in the KGB? You have to know someone 28. What do they decide to do about the second letter offer from Khrushchev? Pretend it never exists 29. What “private assurance” does RFK offer the Soviet ambassador? They would remove the Jupiter missiles from Turkey Character Guide To help you follow along, here are the names, roles and photos of the major characters in the film, all of who are based on the actual people involved.

Character name and title Actor’s name Kenneth (Kenny) O'Donnell White House Appointments Secretary, Close friend of JFK and RFK

John (Jack) F. Kennedy Bruce President Greenwood

Robert (Bobby) F. Kennedy Steven Culp Attorney General

Robert (Bob) McNamara Dylan Baker Secretary of Defense

Cabinet positions Cabinet

Dean Rusk Henry Strozier Secretary of State

he he McGeorge (Mac) Bundy Frank Wood National Security Advisor

President Ted Sorensen Tim Kelleher Kennedy lawyer and Executive Office of t Office Executive

John McCone Peter White Director of CIA

Pierre Salinger Kelly Connell Press Secretary

Maxwell Taylor Bill Smitrovich Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Gen. Curtis LeMay Kevin Conway Chief of Staff of the Air Force

Military Advisors Military

Admiral George Anderson Madison Mason Chief of Naval Operations

Dean Acheson Former Sec. of State Len Cariou (under Truman, brought in as advisor)

Adlai Stevenson Ambassador to UN Michael Fairman other (also, losing Dem candidate for president (‘52, ’56))

Jacqueline (Jackie) Kennedy Stephanie First Lady Romanov