L-R (All positions at Parkland Hospital 1963): Dr. Joe D. Goldstrich (4th Year Medical Student), Dr. Lawrence Klein (3rd Year Med Student), Dr. Ronald Jones (Chief Resident), Dr. Donald Seldin (Chief of Medicine), Dr. Robert McClelland (Assistant Professor of Surgery), Dr. Kenneth Salyer (1st year resident), and Dr. Peter Loeb (3rd year med student) in JFK: What the Doctors Saw, streaming on Paramount+, 2023.
Movie Reviews

JFK: What the Doctors Saw Sheds Light on November 22

L-R (All positions at Parkland Hospital 1963): Dr. Joe D. Goldstrich (4th Year Medical Student), Dr. Lawrence Klein (3rd Year Med Student), Dr. Ronald Jones (Chief Resident), Dr. Donald Seldin (Chief of Medicine), Dr. Robert McClelland (Assistant Professor of Surgery), Dr. Kenneth Salyer (1st year resident), and Dr. Peter Loeb (3rd year med student) in JFK: What the Doctors Saw, streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo Credit: Jacque Lueth/Courtesy of Paramount+.
Written by:Danielle SolzmanPosted on:

JFK: What the Doctors Saw is one of many documentaries being released to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the JFK assassination.

The documentary, which is currently streaming on Paramount+, opens up a host of theories. For starters, there are exit wounds in the back of JFK’s head. Douglas Horne, Chief Analyst for Military Records of Assassination Records Review Board, offers up commentary that sheds new light on the many investigations through the years. Per Horne, there was no surgery in Dallas but somewhere else. The overall implication seems to imply that what we know is not the truth. There is an entry wound on the front of JFK’s head. Exit wounds tend to be larger but this particular wound was not mentioned in the autopsy. The autopsy report differs with what the Parkland doctors testified about what they saw. Keep in mind that they were also the first to examine the president.

The documentary uses a mix of contemporary and archival interviews. It allows filmmaker Barbara Shearer to paint a clearer picture of JFK’s death. Again, we’re getting first-hand testimony from seven Parkland Hospital ER doctors thanks to their 2013 reunion. The film marks the first time that anyone is watching the reunion footage. November 22 is one of those days where people remember what they were doing upon learning the news. It is no different than December 7, September 11, and now, October 7. Anyway, seven doctors reunite to discuss what went down in Trauma Room 1. Between those doctors and other experts, there’s more here than meets the eye. The doctors agree about an entry wound in JFK’s throat and an exit wound in JFK’s back.

Douglas Horne has some thoughts of his own. He believes that they would have shown the autopsy photos to the Parkland doctors and that they should have been asked if that’s what they saw. A clip from 8mm Abraham Zapruder film is in the documentary. The film offers insight into that day but everything is happening so quickly.

Is it possible that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone? Is there an also accomplice that is still out there? In all likelihood, the accomplice–if one exists–is probably dead. The single bullet theory certainly makes no sense when watching the documentary. The Warren Report leaves more questions than answers. If it is a single bullet, why is it so inconsistent? In listening to doctors and experts, I have questions of my own. Who is telling the truth and who is lying? I’m likely to believe the Parkland doctors. Meanwhile, Kennedy aides have their own suspicions of a second shooter.

We might never know what really happened but JFK: What the Doctors Saw examines all the evidence with first-hand testimony. Perhaps it is time for a new government investigation so that we can finally close the doors on a decades-long case.

DIRECTOR: Barbara Shearer
FEATURING: Dr. Joe D. Goldstrich, Dr. Lawrence Klein, Dr. Ronald Jones, Dr. Donald Seldin, Dr. Robert McClelland, Dr. Kenneth Salyer, Dr. Peter Loeb, Douglas Horne, James Jenkins, Robert K. Tanenbaum, Matt Crumpton

Paramount+ launched JFK: What the Doctors Saw on November 14, 2023. Grade: 3.5/5

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Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.