The Silly Bastard Next to the Bed is a documentary short about one of the funniest calls ever made from the Oval Office.

In July of 1963, the First Lady was pregnant. While the President and his wife vacationed in Hyannis, Massachusetts, the Air Force prepared a hospital room at nearby Otis Air Force base for the use of the First Lady, if the need arose.

Somehow the story leaked out that the Air Force completely refurbished the room, using over $5000 (nearly $40,000 in 2014 money) for improvements. This figure was printed in the Washington Post on July 25, 1963.

The President blew a gasket when he saw the story, picked up the phone, and immediately dialled an Air Force general at the Pentagon. The resulting conversation was captured for posterity by the White House telephone taping system.

Synopsis

President Kennedy places a salty call to his staff, questioning a potentially embarrassing expenditure. The blowback is hilarious… and a little haunting.

Screening History

Full Frame Film Festival - Audience Award – Best Short
Florida Film Festival
Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival Shorts Night
Boston IFF
Maryland Film Festival
Sydney Film Festival
Oak Cliff Film Festival - Special Jury Award
SF DocFest
DC Shorts - Jury Award, Best Documentary Short
Traverse City Film Festival
Woods Hole Film Festival
The Wrap Shortlist Film Festival
Gold Coast International Film Festival
New England Online Film Festival
Bumbershoot One Reel
Short of the Week
Williamstown Film Festival
Gold Coast International Film Festival
DOCNYC Film Festival
OFFLine Film Festival. Co. Offally, Ireland
Arizona Film Festival
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival
Port Townsend Film Festival
Landlocked Film Festival

Publicity Materials

Click HERE 1.5MB .jpg

Press

The Bastard has now been written up in a few different places: