''The Murder of Fred Hampton'' is a 1971 American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about the short life and death of

Fred Hampton Fredrick Allen Hampton Sr. (August 30, 1948 – December 4, 1969) was an American activist. He came to prominence in Chicago as deputy chairman of the national Black Panther Party and chair of the Illinois chapter. As a progressive African Ame ...

, a young African-American civil rights activist in Chicago and leader of the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

. During the film's production, Hampton was fatally shot on December 4, 1969 in a pre-dawn raid at his apartment by the

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

. The raid was revealed to have been organized in cooperation with the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

. When they learned of Hampton's death, filmmakers

Howard Alk Howard Alk (25 October 1930 – January 1982) was a Chicago, Illinois-based filmmaker, and an original co-founder of The Second City theater troupe. In the 1960s he began to work in film with the Chicago Film Group, filming and directing document ...

and Mike Gray, director and producer, respectively, went to his apartment, which was still unsecured. They took film footage of the crime scene. They later used this to challenge news reports and police testimony about the events. They also conducted investigative reporting into Hampton's death, with related material included in the film. Their conclusion is expressed in the title. In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Synopsis

The documentary is split into two parts: a portrait of Fred Hampton and an investigative report into his death in the police raid. Through re-enactments, evidence from the scene, and interviews, the documentary alleges that Hampton was murdered, in an assassination by the Chicago police.

Cast

Rennie Davis Rennard Cordon Davis (May 23, 1940 – February 2, 2021) was an American anti-war activist who gained prominence in the 1960s. He was one of the Chicago Seven defendants charged for anti-war demonstrations and large-scale protests at the 1968 D ...

Edward Hanrahan Edward Vincent Hanrahan (March 11, 1921 – June 9, 2009) was an American attorney and politician who served as Cook County State's Attorney from 1968 to 1972. Hanrahan had been a prospective successor to Mayor of Chicago Richard J. Daley. ...

, Cook's County State's Attorney * Don Matuson *

Bobby Rush Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Pan ...

Release

The film was released in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in May 1971, but it failed to attract much attention. It had a successful festival run in Europe and opened in New York City in October 1971.

Reception

In retrospective reviews in the early 21st century,

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

described the film as "less compelling as

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...

than as an archive of political vernacular." A. H. Weiler of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called it "a disturbingly somber illustration of some of the ills that beset us and our social system." Spencer Parsons of the ''

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' wrote that the film's coverage of Hampton is riveting and does not shy away from controversy. Noel Murray of

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

rated it B+ and called it an immersive experience and "more satisfying portrait of activism" than ''

American Revolution 2 ''American Revolution 2'' is a 1969 documentary on the 1968 Democratic National Convention and its aftermath. Part of the film focuses on the creation of an alliance between the Young Patriots Organization and local Black Panthers. On its releas ...

'' (1969), which Alk also directed. David Walker of

DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...

rated it 4.5/5 stars and wrote,

"As a documentary, The Murder of Fred Hampton serves as a lasting memorial to Hampton's great legacy and tragic killing. Equally important, the film is an example of the power of independent media in providing the truth, when much of the mainstream media simply chooses to recycle the information they are given without digging beneath the surface."

References

External links