Hot Cuba (1968 film) (Johnsonverse)

Hot Cuba is a 1968 American drama directed by Gene Roddenberry and written by Charles Hill. Set in 1962, the film follows how the Cuban Missile Crisis could've played out had it gone hot. It stars Robert Redford and Ronald Reagan, the latter in his final acting role until 1991, alongside Gene Wilder, Judy Garland, William Shatner, and Paul Frees. The film was the first to feature Johnson's recurring character, Chronius the Time God, originally played by Paul Frees.
Production began in 1964, and the movie was shot throughout 1965 and 1966. Hill wanted a story that would be realistic to how the Cuban Missle Crisis would have gone, and did heavy research on the Cuban Missile Crisis while writing the screenplay. Effects work was done throughout mid-1966 and 1967.
It was released on October 25, 1968 to critical acclaim. Critics praised it for its special effects, its acting (especially from Reagan, who had become Governor of California by the time of the movie's release), and its writing.
==Plot==
The film opens with a framing device in which Chronius the Time God introduces himself. He has chosen to reveal himself to mortals because he has overheard humans griping about the state of the world, and wants to show them just how lucky they are to be in a timeline with rational leaders. His first example is how wrong the Cuban Missile Crisis could have gone.
==Cast==
*Robert Redford as John F. Kennedy
*Ronald Reagan as Lyndon B. Johnson
*Gene Wilder as Robert Kennedy
*Judy Garland as Jacqueline Kennedy
*William Shatner as Curtis LeMay
*Paul Frees as Chronius the Time God
In addition, Mel Blanc makes a voice cameo as an offscreen news anchor.
== Production ==
== Reception ==
== Remake ==
In 2018, Charles Hill's son, Timothy Hill, produced a remake of Hot Cuba for its 50th anniversary. Whereas the 1968 film mainly focused on Kennedy and his family and cabinet, the 2018 remake broadens the scope to show the Soviet side, based on revelations that had been made since the original film's release. As a result, while the 1968 film shows the conflict starting after an SS-4 is launched by the Cubans against the wishes of the Soviets, the 2018 remake uses an actual moment from the crisis as the starting point for the conflict, namely the story of Soviet submarine B-59 almost launching a nuclear torpedo at a group of American destroyers, actually doing so in the remake due to Vasily Arkhipov not being on board; the conflict is then touched off by Nikita Khrushchev being violently overthrown by Alexander Shelepin, who lacks Khrushchev's cautiousness and goes full-speed ahead on invading Western Europe, and eventually launching a first strike against the United States.
Robert Redford and Judy Garland both make cameos in the remake, and Paul Frees' narration was retained, as were most of the special effects shots from the original.
Category:Johnsonverse