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Conversation 851-002

TapeTape 851StartTuesday, February 6, 1973 at 4:49 PMEndTuesday, February 6, 1973 at 4:59 PMParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President)Recording deviceOval Office
AI Summary

President Nixon dictates a personal letter to actress Jane Wyman to express his admiration for her performance in the film "So Big." During the dictation, Nixon critiques the declining quality of contemporary Hollywood and European cinema, contrasting it with the superior artistry of older films. He notes that he and First Lady Pat Nixon frequently rely on older movie catalogs for entertainment during their weekends at Camp David.

Jane WymanHollywoodFilm qualityCamp DavidPat NixonCultural criticism
AudioNARA Description

On February 6, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 4:49 pm and 4:59 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 851-002 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid
Conversation No. 851-2

Date: February 6, 1973
Time: Unknown between 4:49 pm and 4:59 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President dictated a letter to Jane Wyman.

       Movies
             -Thelma C. (“Pat”) Nixon
             -Hollywood, Europe
                    -Inferiority
             -Older movies
                    -Camp David
                    -So Big
                    -Edna Ferber
                    -Quality

The President finished dictating at an unknown time before 4:59 pm.
Transcript (AI-Generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Do not cite this transcript as authoritative. Consult the Finding Aid above for verified information.

Here, Jane.
Thank you.
No doubt.
No doubt.
No.
movie fans, period.
The difficulty we have at present is that so many of the movies coming out of Hollywood, not to mention those that come out of Italy, could that come out of Europe?
are so inferior that we just don't enjoy the very background.
Constantly, we often, on weekends at Camp David, search through the catalogs of older movies and have lunch on them.
Very good.
We scratched the British last Saturday night.
For the first time, on that Sunday night, for the first time, we saw you.
And the burgers were so big.
It was a superb performance.
And I only wish that more movies of this quality remain today.
Thank you very much.
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