The Murder of Fred Hampton

press release:

USA | 1971 | 35mm | 88 min.

Director: Howard Alk

This galvanizing documentary started out as a portrait of Fred Hampton, the influential 20-year old leader of the Chicago chapter of the Black Panthers. The film became a shocking expose of a government conspiracy to eliminate radical activists when Hampton and Mark Clark were killed by police under the orders of State’s Attorney Edward Hanrahan. Preceded by The Jungle (1967, 22 min.), a dramatized documentary created by Philadelphia inner-city high school students. Restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive with funding provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation and the Packard Humanities Institute. The Murder of Fred Hampton provided courtesy of Carol Gray, William Cottle and The Chicago Film Archives.

UCLA Festival of Preservation on Tour: One of the world’s leaders in the efforts to preserve our motion picture heritage, the UCLA Film & Television Archive has arranged a tour of 35mm prints (and one DCP) of the best titles from the most recent edition of their annual Festival of Preservation. The selection includes eleven features and five shorts including silent-era rediscoveries, American and Argentine film noir, landmark American Independent movies, poverty row gems, and remarkable documentaries.

All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public.