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Trainspotting star Robert Carlyle transforms into JFK assassin killer Jack Ruby for new thriller
Robert Carlyle will play Jack Ruby in the thriller *November 1963*, which revisits the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man accused of assassinating President John F Kennedy. Ruby shot Oswald in a Dallas police station basement two days after Kennedy’s death, in an incident broadcast live on television.
The film also stars John Travolta, Mandy Patinkin, Dermot Mulroney and Jefferson White as Oswald, and is directed by Roland Joffé. Its screenplay is said to draw on first-hand accounts, including information from relatives of Chicago crime boss Sam Giancana; producer Nicki Celozzi alleges the story concerns organised crime’s role in arranging the assassination, a claim presented as the family’s account. The film is due in the US later this year and in the UK and Ireland early next year.
In short
- Robert Carlyle plays Jack Ruby in *November 1963*.
- The thriller revisits Ruby’s televised killing of Lee Harvey Oswald.
- Its story draws on family accounts and organised-crime allegations.
Explained simply
John F Kennedy was president of the United States when he was shot dead in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and accused of killing him, but he was shot dead before he could stand trial.
Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot Oswald in the basement of a police station two days after Kennedy’s death. The shooting was broadcast live on television, and Ruby’s motive and links to organised crime have been the subject of debate.
The film draws on accounts from people connected to Chicago crime boss Sam Giancana’s family, whose version alleges a role for organised crime in Kennedy’s assassination. That claim is an account presented by the family, rather than an established finding.