AllMovie

This is the first volume in a two-part program that originally aired on the A&E network's History Channel. Narrated by actor Tom Berenger, the documentary presents the simple and grand conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. In the case of this assassination, the killer, famed actor John Wilkes Booth, did indeed have co-conspirators: Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt. They were supposed to kill Secretary of State William Seward and Vice President Andrew Johnson. Highlights of the program feature commentary by forensic experts and historians, as well as period photographs. Motivations and facts are examined and legends and misconceptions are corrected, while variations on the commonly accepted facts of the conspiracy are discussed.