REVIEW: New doc examines ‘Bombing of Wall Street’
The Bombing of Wall Street, the new American Experience documentary from PBS, explores the circumstances of the Sept. 16, 1920, terrorist attack in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York. By all accounts, it was a regular, unassuming day on Wall Street, and then the unthinkable occurred. A horse-drawn cart carrying dynamite ignited in a crowd, killing 38 people and injuring hundreds others.
The dramatic events of the bombing are captured in archival photographs and stock video, all thanks to writer-director Susan Bellows, who was working off the book The Day Wall Street Exploded by Beverly Gage. Like most other American Experience films, the Ken Burns effect (making a 2-D photo move like a film) is present and accounted for, and there are experts and historians offering details on the story. The format of American Experience films is tried and true, and always seems to make for an engaging hour of television.
There are many parallels between this story and 2018, especially on the theme of terrorism. The bitter fight for and against capitalism dominated economics and politics in the 20th century, and the bombing of Wall Street was one of the flash points in that tumultuous history. However, rather than galvanizing support for the anti-capitalist cause (assuming that was the bomber’s motive), the terrorist attack actually had the reverse effect. As one expert says in the film, this horrible act of violence drummed up public support for aggressive law enforcement against anti-capitalists, and the movement quickly dissipated.
J. Edgar Hoover also enters the narrative, as he was a young investigator trying to make a name for himself in the 1920s. Even though there was a full investigation and many fingers pointed, the authorities never found the person (or people) responsible for the bombing. Their failure at finding the terrorist doesn’t take away from the tragedy. This was one of the saddest days in American history, a day when economic/political violence caused bloodshed, mostly among everyday workers heading from their homes to their difficult jobs.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Bombing of Wall Street, an American Experience film, is now available on DVD and digital HD from PBS. Click here for more information.
