The Murder of Fred Hampton is a 1971 documentary film directed by Howard Alk.
It is about, yes, the murder of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton on December 4, 1969. Production on the film actually began as a documentary on Hampton before Hampton's death, and showed Hampton giving fiery speeches, advocating for the release of Bobby Seale from jail, working in his community in Chicago (the Black Panthers set up food banks and free medical clinics), meeting with leaders of other black activist groups, and fighting bogus charges of assaulting an ice cream vendor.
All of that leads to Hampton being shot to death at the age of 21, in his apartment in the small hours of the morning, by Chicago police. The police, backed by Cook County State's Attorney Edward Hanrahan, state that they came to Hampton's apartment after getting a report of a cache of illegal weapons, and returned fire only after being greeted by a hail of bullets from the Black Panthers. However, the Chicago PD fails to secure the scene, allowing the makers of this film as well as members of the Panthers to gain access to Hampton's bullet-riddled, blood-spattered apartment. The filmmakers and the Panthers are able to examine the scene themselves and document evidence as well as talk to survivors from the shootout, and it soon becomes clear that the cops were the only ones shooting, that they came for the purpose of murder, and that Fred Hampton was shot as he slept on his bed.
See also Judas and the Black Messiah, a 2021 dramatic film about these same events.
Tropes:
- Deliberately Monochrome: Filmed entirely in black and white, including news reports that by the 1970-71 time frame would have been in color, for that gritty subversive documentary look.
- Documentary: A documentary about Fred Hampton's career in activism, his murder, and the police cover-up.
- Dramatic Gun Cock: There's a closeup of a Panther working the bolt on a rifle to chamber a round. (The Panthers are arming themselves as they've gotten word of an imminent police raid.)
- Full-Circle Revolution: Discussed by Fred Hampton himself, who says the Panthers are not against white people per se but capitalists oppressors of all stripes. He specifically cites "Papa Doc" Duvalier
, the president of Haiti, who started out as a crusading black nationalist but became a brutal dictator. - Hitler Cam: Frequently used when Hampton, and other speakers, are on stages giving speeches.
- How We Got Here: Starts out with a clip of a cop in a model of Hampton's apartment selling the police's story about how Hampton got killed, before jumping back to Hampton as an activist and Black Panther leader in late '60s Chicago.
- The Ken Burns Effect: Used a few times, like in a scene where a Black Panther claims the cops were smiling and laughing as they took Hampton's body away, followed by a photo of the cops removing the body, with a zoom in to one cop's ear-to-ear grin.
- Narrator: Almost averted, but used briefly a couple of times, like when a narrator says "A police raid is expected" as the Panthers arm themselves in their headquarters.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: What had started out as a documentary about the career of Fred Hampton turns into a documentary of his murder.
- Smash Cut: Hampton is giving a speech where he tells his audience that every night they should say "I am a revolutionary" before going to bed, as you never know when you might die in your sleep and wind up in the "happy hunting grounds". This is followed by a smash cut to Hampton's wrecked apartment and the blood-soaked bed he was sleeping on when he was murdered, as the second part of the film, Hampton's death and the aftermath, begins.
- Stock Footage: Mostly TV news coverage of Hampton's murder, showing that Chicago local news was heavily biased in front of the police. Some of the stock footage catches the authorities in lies, like when a cop on the scene says that someone from inside the apartment said "Who's there?" after the knock, only for Edward Hanrahan (Cook County (Chicago's county) State's Attorney from 1968 to 1972) at a press conference to insist that the people inside opened fire without saying a word.
- Two-Act Structure: The first part of the film is showing Fred Hampton and the Black Panthers as activists and revolutionaries in late '60s Chicago. Then slightly more than halfway through Hampton is killed by the police, and the rest of the movie is the filmmakers and the Panthers calling out the lies of the cops and telling what really happened.
- The X of Y: The Murder of Fred Hampton, a title that leaves no doubt as to what the film's conclusions will be.
