History Film / Primary

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Democratic presidential primary election in Wisconsin, and specifically the campaigns of Senators HubertHumphrey and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: A radio host states confidently that Kennedy can't win Wisconsin.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/primary.png]]

Drew followed up with the subsequent JFK documentaries ''Adventures on the New Frontier'' (1961), ''Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment'' (1963), and ''Faces of November'' (1964). Creator/TheCriterionCollection released a DVD/Blu-ray box set containing all four films in 2016.

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Democratic presidential primary in Wisconsin, and specifically the campaigns of Senators HubertHumphrey and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Democratic presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Senators HubertHumphrey and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Democratic Senators HubertHumphrey and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Senators HubertHumphrey and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Senators HubertHumphrey and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy.

Drew followed up with the subsequent JFK documentaries ''Adventures on the New Frontier'' (1961), ''Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment'' (1963), and ''Faces of November'' (1964). Creator/TheCriterionCollection released a 2016 box set containing all four films on DVD or Blu-ray.

Drew followed up with the subsequent JFK documentaries ''Adventures on the New Frontier'' (1961), ''Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment'' (1963), and ''Faces of November'' (1964).

Producer Robert Drew was granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Kennedy and Humphrey campaigns. Drew's use of innovative lightweight cameras and sound equipment allowed for an intimate, fly-on-the-wall style that was nearly unprecedented for documentaries of the day. The film is now regarded as a breakthrough in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_cinema direct cinema]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9 cinema verite]] filmmaking. ''Primary'' was added to the UsefulNotes/NationalFilmRegistry in 1990.

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Senators HubertHumphrey and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy. Producer Robert Drew was granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Kennedy and Humphrey campaigns. Drew's use of innovative lightweight cameras and sound equipment allowed for an intimate, fly-on-the-wall style that was nearly unprecedented for documentaries of the day. The film is now regarded as a breakthrough in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_cinema direct cinema]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9 cinema verite]] filmmaking. ''Primary'' was added to the UsefulNotes/NationalFilmRegistry in 1990.

* ShaggyDogStory: Kennedy wins the primary, but he wins on the strength of what everyone already knew was his strength, namely, urban Catholic voters. Humphrey wins the rural Protestant regions of Wisconsin, and as the narration notes, the standings in the race remain unchanged after all that frantic campaigning. It was not this race, but Kennedy's easy victory the next month in heavily Protestant West Virginia, that proved the turning point in the campaign for the 1960 nomination.

* MinimalistCast: A latter-day viewer might wonder why there are only two candidates for the Democratic nomination. The reason is that in 1960 only a few states conducted presidential primaries (fifteen states and Washington, DC for the Democrats) and most of the delegates to the nominating convention were still controlled by state party machines. The other main candidates for the 1960 Democratic nomination, Lyndon Johnson, Adlai Stevenson, and Stuart Symington, did not compete in any primaries. In fact, this primary and the later West Virginia primary were the only contested primaries of the campaign.

[[quoteright:347.81125600783:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/primary.png]]

* ShaggyDogStory: Kennedy wins the primary, but he wins on the strength of what everyone already knew was his strength, namely, urban Catholic voters. Humphrey wins the rural Protestant regions of Wisconsin, and as the narration notes, the standings in the race remain unchanged after all that frantic campaigning. It was not this race, but Kennedy's easy victory the next month in heavily Protestant West Virginia, that proved the turning point in the campaign for the 1960 nomination.

Drew followed up with the subsequent JFK documentaries ''Adventures in the New Frontier'' (1961), ''Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment'' (1963), and ''Faces of November'' (1964).

Drew followed ''Crisis'' with the subsequent JFK documentaries ''Adventures in the New Frontier'' (1961), ''Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment'' (1963), and ''Faces of November'' (1964).

Drew followed ''Crisis'' with the additional JFK documentaries ''Adventures in the New Frontier'' (1961), ''Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment'' (1963), and ''Faces of November'' (1964).

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Senators HubertHumphrey and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy. Producer Robert Drew was granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Kennedy and Humphrey campaigns. Drew's use of innovative lightweight cameras and sound equipment allowed for an intimate, fly-on-the-wall style that was nearly unprecedented for documentaries of the day. The film is now regarded as a breakthrough in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_cinema direct cinema]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9 cinema verite]] filmmaking. ''Primary'' was added to the NationalFilmRegistry in 1990.

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Senators HubertHumphrey and JohnFKennedy. Producer Robert Drew was granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Kennedy and Humphrey campaigns. Drew's use of innovative lightweight cameras and sound equipment allowed for an intimate, fly-on-the-wall style that was nearly unprecedented for documentaries of the day. The film is now regarded as a breakthrough in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_cinema direct cinema]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9 cinema verite]] filmmaking. ''Primary'' was added to the NationalFilmRegistry in 1990.

''Primary'' is a 1960 [[{{Documentary}} documentary]] film about the April 5, 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Senators Hubert Humphrey and JohnFKennedy. Producer Robert Drew was granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Kennedy and Humphrey campaigns. Drew's use of innovative lightweight cameras and sound equipment allowed for an intimate, fly-on-the-wall style that was nearly unprecedented for documentaries of the day. The film is now regarded as a breakthrough in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_cinema direct cinema]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9 cinema verite]] filmmaking. ''Primary'' was added to the NationalFilmRegistry in 1990.

''Primary'' is a 1960 documentary film about the April 5, 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Senators Hubert Humphrey and JohnFKennedy. Producer Robert Drew was granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Kennedy and Humphrey campaigns. Drew's use of innovative lightweight cameras and sound equipment allowed for an intimate, fly-on-the-wall style that was nearly unprecedented for documentaries of the day. The film is now regarded as a breakthrough in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_cinema direct cinema]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9 cinema verite]] filmmaking. ''Primary'' was added to the NationalFilmRegistry in 1990.

''Primary'' is a 1960 documentary film about the April 5, 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary, and specifically the campaigns of Senators Hubert Humphrey and UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy. Producer Robert Drew was granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Kennedy and Humphrey campaigns. Drew's use of innovative lightweight cameras and sound equipment allowed for an intimate, fly-on-the-wall style that was nearly unprecedented for documentaries of the day. The film is now regarded as a breakthrough in [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_cinema direct cinema]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_v%C3%A9rit%C3%A9 cinema verite]] filmmaking. ''Primary'' was added to the NationalFilmRegistry in 1990.

* MinimalistCast: A latter-day viewer might wonder why there are only two candidates for the Democratic nomination. The reason is that in 1960 only a few states conducted presidential primaries (fifteen states and Washington, DC for the Democrats in 1960) and most of the delegates to the nominating convention were still controlled by state party machines. The other main candidates for the 1960 Democratic nomination, Lyndon Johnson, Adlai Stevenson, and Stuart Symington, did not compete in any primaries. In fact, this primary and the later West Virginia primary were the only contested primaries of the campaign.