Summaries

A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.

2 Members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by recently resigned Supervisor Dan White on Monday, November 27, 1978, approximately 8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.. Milk's life leading up to his election, his successful efforts to politically represent San Francisco's gay community, and the city's reaction to the assassinations are documented with extensive news film and personal recollections.—Ed Stephan <[email protected]>

Monday morning, November 27th, 1978, approximately 8:45 AM to 9:15 AM, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Board of Supervisors Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by Milk's former fellow Supervisor Dan White. Underlying the assassinations were White's social conservatism, Milk's open homosexuality (Milk being the first openly gay elected official in the United States), and Moscone's support of Milk. Friends and supporters (some of whom were homophobic before meeting Milk) speak of Milk's life as a social crusader in the Castro District, a want-to-be politician, and his astuteness as an elected official in the position of what most would consider a political outsider. Although Milk fought for gay rights, he also worked toward general human rights. His biggest political battle was fighting against Proposition 6, also known as the Briggs Proposition, which would have restricted the rights of openly gay teachers in California. This fight seemed to be a losing battle in an era when gay rights were being repealed across the U.S. A more complete story of White, the reasons for the assassinations, and the public response to the verdict in his murder trial also are presented.—Huggo

Details

Keywords
  • 1970s
  • gay
  • assassination
  • politician
  • gay rights
Genres
  • History
  • Biography
  • Documentary
Release date Sep 19, 1985
Motion Picture Rating (MPA) Not Rated
Countries of origin United States
Language English
Filming locations San Francisco, California, USA
Production companies Pacific Arts UCLA Film and Television Archive Black Sand Productions

Box office

Gross US & Canada $13801
Opening weekend US & Canada $2213
Gross worldwide $46573

Tech specs

Runtime 1h 30m
Color Color
Sound mix Mono
Aspect ratio 1.37 : 1

Synopsis

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