The Trump presidency had its humorous moments if you had a bad sense of humour and wanted to continue seeing a President soiling himself in the public eye. In the Nixon presidency there was only one really big poop namely Watergate. But there were initially in his first term (1968-1972) some lighthearted moments. Nothing as inane as the “Kung Flu” but Martha Mitchell the feisty wife of Attorney General John Mitchell. In a man’s world at the White House and in the Cabinet women were non existent serving instead as hostesses. Martha shot from the hip. Perhaps flamboyant but in an amusing way. A court jester or more?
But then the Watergate break-in hit in 1972 and she was one of the few to publicly state President Nixon knew about it or if he didn’t he was a negligent president. She claimed to be a political prisoner by those Republicans trying to shut her down and discredit her. Even her husband John Mitchell declared she should be committed but he did not have the heart to do it. Mitchell spent 19 months in prison and was never pardoned. Nixon was pardoned by President Ford. Martha Mitchell died in 1976.
Oh the names and personalities in Watergate bring back memories. Being a young buck then I vaguely remember Martha Mitchell being discredited as a loudmouth not to be taken seriously. With this documentary perhaps historical revisionism will restore her reputation.
“The Martha Mitchell Effect” is an Oscar nominated documentary short film for 2023. This 40-minute documentary is directed by Anne Alvergue and Beth Levinson.
See the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SYWxQ62AUM
You can see it here in Toronto and all the other four Oscar nominated shorts at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema on February 24th. Check out their website at https://hotdocs.ca/
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