Are the latest. The i carries a warning about the potential Terror Threat posed by drones. The paper claims its only a matter of time before so called Islamic State launches an airborne attack in the uk. The Daily Telegraph says an investigation is under way into a massive cyber attack on us Credit Rating firm equifax, amid fears hackers may have stolen the personal data of up to 44 million british customers. The independent reports that up to half a million americans have been told to evacuate their homes ahead of Hurricane Irma hitting the us mainland. The daily mail claims that english charities are given far less lottery cash than their counterparts in scotland. The sun leads on allegations concerning a bride to be who it claims jilted her would be husband at the airport. The mirror also carries those allegations on its front page. The guardian carries a warning from the nato chief, Jens Stoltenberg that the world is more a dangerous place today than it has been in a generation. And the times reports that an influential tory donor has criticised theresa may for being hopeless, very indecisive and leading a weak government. Now on bbc news, a special documentary about the former us president ronald regan. Asa as a matter of fact, i have been permitted to choose my own words, and discuss my own ideas regarding the choice that we face in the next few weeks. In 1964, a middleaged hollywood has been called Ronald Reagan went on tv to speak in support of the republican candidate for president , barry goldwater. We are spending 45 billion on welfare. Do some arithmetic, and you will find that if we divided that equally, we would be up to give each family 4600 a year. And this added to the present income should eliminate poverty. His mix of warmth and statistics made him one of the most effective political addressers in us history. Direct aid is very low. There must be some big overhead. And it launched him into a stratospheric career in politics. How does the glamour of politics compare with the glamour of the screen . In 1966, he became governor of california. By 1968, screen . In 1966, he became governor of california. By1968, he screen . In 1966, he became governor of california. By 1968, he was running for president. And in 1980, this charming, genial old movie actor became the leader of the free world. And yet at the very start of his rise, he put that carefully nurtured public image at risk. Just if you months before that breakthrough speech, Ronald Reagan was on american screens in a very different role. You get back to the hotel and stay there. Different role. You get back to the hotel and stay thereli different role. You get back to the hotel and stay there. I like it here. Go on, get moving. I said i like it here. Well, i could change that in a hurry. The killers caught one of the most important men of the second half of the 20th century at a turning point between his political future and his hollywood past. But why did Ronald Reagan make this movie . And what is this screeching change of gear telling us about the role of the movies in making eight president ial public image . A president ial. The killers was a gangster movie made for television in 1963 by the vetera n made for television in 1963 by the veteran actor director don siegel. Ronald reagan plays jack browning, the treacherous violently of a gang of thieves. Action director. I am adam smith, a historian of america, andi adam smith, a historian of america, and i want to own pick this strange tangle of movies and politics. To do that, we need to go back to the 19405. That, we need to go back to the 1940s. Don siegel and Ronald Reagan both got their careers up and running at Warner Brothers. There we re running at Warner Brothers. There were two men, i suppose approximate the same age, that came through Warner Brothers at the same time. Don siegel was a young man who was very important in the montage apartment. Ronald reagan was an actor who was never really ever going to make it big time will stop but he was a very reliable, supporting part actor. Reliable supporting part actor. Reliable supporting part. There is no relation to get a cadet having his owfi relation to get a cadet having his own idea. He was a very obedient quy own idea. He was a very obedient guy. He was also every political young man. Not as a right wing republican, but as a democrat. In 1946, he had gone on the radio to lend us the ku klux klan. Republican. In 1951, he played a District Attorney that confronts them. It will take more than the sheed youre wearing that you are it will take more than the sheets you are wearing to hide that you are scared little man. In the killers, don siegel was also attacking fascism. They hope it disillusion america to set up a messiah. In 1949, don siegel directed Ronald Reagan for the first time. His impression of him was surprising. Reagan for the first time. His impression of him was surprisingli was there, and the all american boy, who at that time was extremely left wing i thought he was a communist it was Ronald Reagan. Left wing i thought he was a communist it was Ronald Reaganm fa ct, communist it was Ronald Reaganm fact, his politics were on the move. In1947, he fact, his politics were on the move. In 1947, he became the president of the screen actors to, known as sag. He appeared on television denouncing communism from a liberal point of view. On the basis that democracy is Strong Enough to fight for itself against every ideology, no matter how much we disagree. By the early 19505, how much we disagree. By the early 1950s, Ronald Reagan was that once promising movie career was stalling. When his limited range landed him leads it was only in pedestrian movies like this. But then a whole new phenomenon on began to sweep through hollywood. Television transformed hollywood and american politics. And with it, the career of Ronald Reagan. Phenomenon began. We need to look at the role of mca, the head of the movie agency mca. Most the head of the movie agency mca. M ost a cto rs the head of the movie agency mca. Most actors were scared or scornful of television. But not wasserman. He vowed to take mca into television production, and it paid off insta ntly. Production, and it paid off instantly. But to do that, he needed the help of one of his clients, who happen to be the head of the screen actors to. They asked Ronald Reagan to give them a leg up. Because you couldnt be an agent selling talent and the producer who was supposedly impartial. So Ronald Reagan gave a waiver of sag rules. This was hugely beneficial for wasserman and mca. What did Ronald Reagan get out of that . He got, in 1951, a ranch. And he said that when he saw that ranch, it allowed him to run for governor in the 1960s. So it was a huge. In 1954, a mca agent got him another geek as the front man for a tv drama show called General Electric theatre. In 1959, he was given court that ownership of the show. There is no question that mca and the aged has had a huge stake in Ronald Reagan. They were interlocking members of the same corporation. Ronald reagan had a stake in their success , Ronald Reagan had a stake in their success, and he had a stake in there. Here is lucas koelle in blaze of glory. Ronald reagan would come on and say what they were going to see next. This was usually important for his political career. Ronald reagans mind was tony moore in that direction. By 1963, he reagans mind was tony moore in that direction. By1963, he had become reagans mind was tony moore in that direction. By 1963, he had become a republican, and was writing what was to become his political launch memoir, wheres the rest of me . Universal ad bought a new movie studio, next to what they were building, the black tower. And while filming and they were filming mca as the first ever felt for television. Don siegel was brought into direct. Having two magnificent actors like dean martin and Ronald Reagan as the killers. But who should play the crime boss . Why, Ronald Reagan. But he had generally been a good guy. So why did he agreed to play a role so completely at odds with his public persona . Ronald reagan was working on his memoir, and he was busy. And i think he was focused much more at that point on the political. Ronald reagan never wanted to play a bad quy reagan never wanted to play a bad guy. He didnt see himself as a bad quy guy. He didnt see himself as a bad guy. He didnt see himself as a bad guy. He didnt see himself as a bad guy. He did not want to do that movie at all. But his friend who owned the studio had made him a lot of money. So he owed them big time. Big time. I asked him why he did the movie, and he immediately said that lou wanted him to do it. movie, and he immediately said that lou wanted him to do it. I like what youre doing with the car. Just stick with that. And so like in ageing movie gangster do one last bankjob, the ageing actor decided to do one last film. Ronald reagan later said his fans kept waiting for them to be revealed as a good guy. In one shocking scene he lashes out at his screen wife angie dickinson. Ican at his screen wife angie dickinson. I can change that in a hurry. asked him how he felt about it, and he said he did not like it. He did his part, he was a professional. He said he memorised the part, and thought he did 0k, said he memorised the part, and thought he did ok, that he did not like the hitting angie dickinson. This was a shock at the time. The shock of what he was going to do later would only torn gradually. The other part of Ronald Reagans life was beginning to clamourfor his attention. Barry goldwater wants to give the Government Back to the people. Barry goldwater started a campaignfor people. Barry goldwater started a campaign for president. It was the beginning of the modern conservative movement. That is a big problem with big, inflationary government it ta kes big, inflationary government it takes more and more of your earnings. At the time, some sort Barry Goldwaters campaign as the great hope for the moral redemption of the nation. 0thers saw it as dangerously extreme. And the United States should know in no Uncertain Terms that we are against this element. Absolutely. Barry goldwaters team asked Ronald Reagan to make speeches for him. He does not commit to that. He commits later on. At the same time, he is filming the killers, and try to write his own book. This is a bizarre turning point. In this highly charged atmosphere, the two halves of Ronald Reagans life, hollywood and politics, look as if they are about to collide. I showed extreme violence as quickly as possible, and then from then on, there was not as much violence as you thought. Then from then on, there was not as much violence as you thoughtm then from then on, there was not as much violence as you thought. It was so violent, this movie, that even the networks decided not to run it. And at that time, Ronald Reagan begged wasserman to put it in the can and put it away. Barry goldwater was not to do that, and instead released in theatres, where did not well at all. Ronald reagan went off to present an act in a Television Series called death valley days. But he also became the co chair of the right wing republican, Barry Goldwaters campaign. So the decision to pull the killers from the television was a lucky escape. The enduring image of the television on the television of him was not theirs, but this, his barnstorming rallying cry for American Freedom and american business. Every businessman has his own tale of harassment. Some wear a perversion has taken place. Ronald reagan had been developing the speech for yea rs, been developing the speech for years, often in his touring visits to General Electrics staff, when he was the complete spokesman. What he was talking about was how governments shouldnt be so big and powerful, that they could restrain individual, 80 had that as a theme all along. Reagan had given the speech of his, which became the speech, as you say, to a group of republicans and knocked them the socks off them. He said this would really help. You and i have a rendezvous with destiny. And so his pre recorded speech before a hand picked audience was broadcast on the very same network, nbc, that was to have broadcast his last movie. You and i have the ability, the dignity and the right to make our own decisions and determine our own destiny. Thank you very much. Instead, a bare few months later, they broadcast reagans First Great National political speech. Thank you for this varies during speech. Im john kilroy. The speech was a big hit and raised 1 million, which would be like raising 10 million today. No televised speech had ever raised that kind of money. But heres the striking thing. John kilroy was a Real Estate Developer and was certainly a perfectly respectable businessmen. Reagan was becoming a champion of the virtues of californias is this community and yet that was exactly the sort of person he had just been portraying asa person he had just been portraying as a corrupt the in one. Corrupt thug. Because he uses his character to go legit as a Property Developer in less tangibly is. Until the killers tracking down and expose him asa killers tracking down and expose him as a criminal. Gullger played the younger killer and remains the sharp contrast between reagans approach to the scene and that of the older killer, lee marvin. He came in and he did it completely differently. There was not one region of similarity between the first take and the second take off his performance. You know who that is . Ronald reagan, same performance. Really thought out. He gave the same reactions to the lines and it was really good. Youve come a long way from being an ex male robber. Reagan was actually a mob stop pretending to be a legitimate businessman and this could have come back to bite him. But the story gets stranger. In hollywood, businessmen and gangsters have often been closer than you might think. The founders of mca had had to deal with gangsters ever since the company began, booking bands in al capones chicago. So that makes this seem even more extraordinary. First of all, look at what lee marvins wearing. That was the mca agentss uniform, which don siegel deliberately copied for the movie to make his fiction is killers fictional killers look like his real life bosses. But see that model of the Building Development . It is a model of mcas new development, universal city, centred on the black tower. So what on earth would don we re tower. So what on earth would don were don siegel and his designer playing out, putting the development in the middle of a criminal turned businessmans office . Even if the businessmen wasnt played by Ronald Reagan, it seems a bit cheeky perhaps the universal executives we re perhaps the universal executives were in on the gag, perhaps they didnt notice or they perhaps new don siegel had a point about the old gangster links and let him have his jokes. Whatever the reason, that scene hinted that business and crime might not always have been polar opposites. Which wasnt the obvious message to launch a career as a conservative politician. But weve the killers and its awkward links between business and crime safely confined to a few movie theatres, Ronald Reagan was able to move towards his new role as a politician. In the wake of his dazzling tv speech for barry goldwater, californian republicans clamoured to get him to run for governor. And early in 1966 he finally launched himself as a politician in his own right. Cue an avalanche of ridicule. |j politician in his own right. Cue an avalanche of ridicule. I always knew i was playing a part and when the director yells cut and i took off my make up and costume, i wasjust playing. My colleagues were having trouble separating reality from fictional. But in the mid19 60s america was changing and ten at a terrifying speed and reagan developed a weapon that would blow the mockery of his acting career to pieces. While he was running, the campus is in california saw protests on free speech, vietnam, civil rights, so there was kind of a backlash against this. Reagans opponents underestimated his chances. He ran a canny haile highly moralistic campaign that played on issues of crime and social unrest. I dont think that taking to the streets, rioting and disorder will ever solve anything. And it worked. Against the odds, he won. Even as radical unrest and the backlash grew ever more aggressive, he launched his first run for president. We must recover the will necessary to make our streets safe and as it is free of violence. And our campuses centres of learning rather than for outrage and insurrection. We must reject the idea that every time the law is broken society is guilty, rather than the lawbrea ker. Broken society is guilty, rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore to america the precept that each individual is accountable for his actions. And then in 1971, the rising tensions in governor reagans state were galvanised by don siegel inafilm state were galvanised by don siegel in a film called dirty harry. The backlash had found its superhero. Harry behaves like a right wing cop, but he talks and he moves and reacts like a natural, amiable loner and thats very much a sort of pattern thats very much a sort of pattern that reagan had. Reagan would do harsh things, but he would talk about them in a chatty way. You think i should fire six shots are only five . But if clint eastwards character was the embodiment of reagan, the tough cop, there was still the awkward memory from reagans on acting career in the killers. Get it over with, jack. And so even as reagan headed towards the presidency, his role in that all the movie refused to die. A reminder that his new simple moral certainties were built on shifting sands. Much to his annoyance it was still being rerun on tv in 1972. Do i have any doubts about my ability to play the role of leading man in america . And even during his 1980 run for president , his opponents screened it in new yorkjust so they could laugh at him. And it may be that tense that he played in the killers was really the missing piece of his public image. The sonny boy made good shtick was all very well, but it was his capacity to play the ha rd but it was his capacity to play the hard man that completed reagans political persona. Maybe he regretted that old made for tv movie asa regretted that old made for tv movie as a bad end to his hollywood career, but perhaps it was more useful to his transformation into a politician than he thought. All you had to do was flicked the aggression round and turn it like Clint Eastwood in dirty harry against the criminals. Hello, there. The weather is set to remain in a pretty unsettled theme through this weekend, all thanks to low pressure nearby. This is the picture as we start the weekend. An area of low pressure across the north sea. Fairly tightly packed isobars across western parts of the uk, meaning quite windy here, even throughout the night and first thing saturday morning. Most showers will affect western coastal areas. Further east, lengthier dry interludes. 0n the cool side, 10 11 in towns. A little bit lower than that in rural areas. We start saturday on a fine note for some, with sunshine. Plenty of showers in northern and western scotland and towards Northern Ireland. Those showers affecting the north west of england, northern and western wales and the south west of england. I think the midlands eastwards tending to start dry, with sunshine. Temperatures around 12 13 degrees at 9am. But it wont be long before showers across Western Areas begin to migrate eastwards through the day. Across central, southern and eastern areas, some could be heavy, with hail and thunder mixed in. Slow moving as well here. Further west, the showers are blown through quickly on a strong breeze. If anything conditions settle down in scotland, especially through the central belt. Temperature wise, 16 19. Nothing that special, but not bad in the sunshine. Through saturday night the High Pressure builds in. It turns drier, with lengthy clear spells, but it will be chilly. Another system makes inroads across scotland, Northern Ireland initially, with strengthening winds. Central, southern and eastern areas starting chilly, a little bit of mist and fog around, especially eastern england. That will clear away. Then an increasing breeze, outbreaks of wind, begins to push eastwards. It doesnt really reached the far south east until after dark. So a day where conditions go downhill. 14 19 temperatures nothing that great. This weekend it really will feel quite cool for the time of year. Windy too and there will be some rain or showers, some of them heavy, like i mentioned. Beyond the weekend, it stays unsettled. This is the area of low pressure which will move through. It will still be with us on monday. Very tightly packed isobars means it will be gale force winds, even severe gales across the south west. Plenty of showers rattling through. There will be sunshine in between, though it will still remain on the cool side. Welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. My names tom donkin. These are our top stories Hurricane Irma continues to cut a path of destruction across the caribbean lives and homes, now lie in ruins. The hurricanes now heading towards florida the governor there warns that time is running out for millions of residents to move to safety. Mexicos president , Enrique Pena Nieto declares a day of national mourning, after a powerful earthquake which has killed more than sixty people. And as the un warns of an unprecedented refugee crisis in myanmar, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims continue to flee the country