The Parallax View (1974)

Plot:   Political thriller. When witnesses to a political assassination start to die,  a reporter decides to investigate. He uncovers more than he bargained for.
Stars:  Warren Beatty, Hume Cronyn,  Paula Prentiss.
Best Quote: When I agreed to take you back in January I made two suggestions. One was about your drinking. Well, you seem to have licked that. The other was that you curb your talent for creative irresponsibility: you can start working on that right now.

Only 102 minutes long, I enjoyed Parallax View.  A thinly disguised riff off the Kennedy assassination (there's a white-washing Commission, and an assassinated Senator called "Carroll")  it starts out well, but soon gets bogged down in implausible situations.  And in the last half, Parallax View moves too slowly for a "thriller" thereby giving us time to dwell on the gaping plot-holes.  For example:

• How does Beatty survive the boat explosion? 
• Why is it so easy to become a contract killer?
• That super-secret assassination conspiracy, wasn't very secretive was it?
• Why assassinate someone at the Space Needle restaurant?  There only two ways down. Jumping or using the three - very slow - elevators. The police could easily isolate everyone at the restaurant, and identify/search them.  

Warren Beatty:  I'm not a fan, but Warren is good in this one. Sporting the fashionable 70's longhair, he's believable as a reporter, and doesn't have to do much acting.

The Seattle Location a Plus:  It was good to see Seattle circa 1974 and the surrounding countryside. However, the "country bar" where Beatty fights a Deputy belonged in Arkansas - not in a lumber town called "Salmon-tail"

Best Scene:  Beatty fights an evil Sheriff while being swept downstream by released Dam water.

Worst Scene:   We see a fake long-shot boat explosion with Beatty and two others on board. Next scene? We see Beatty onshore in street clothes , no worse for wear, and learn he's the sole survivor.  Say what?

Summary:  Part of the JFK assassination paranoia of the early 70s,  Parallax View covers the same ground as Executive Action, but is much better/entertaining. However, its sometimes sluggish pace - and implausible plot holes - make it no more than an agreeable trip down memory-lane.