Introduction

American Experience, originally titled ‘The American Experience’, is an American television programme and a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary series created by Peter McGhee.

Outline

After notorious revolutionary leader Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus, New Mexico, General John Pershing and his 150,000 man cavalry set out to get Villa, dead or alive. Just before dawn on March 9, 1916, a band of Mexican revolutionaries loyal to General Francisco “Pancho” Villa crossed the border into the United States and attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico. Within a matter of hours, seventeen Americans and 67 Mexicans lay dead. The next day, President Woodrow Wilson announced the formation of the Punitive Expedition under the command of General John “Blackjack” Pershing. Within three months over 150,000 U.S. National guardsmen and Army regulars would be mobilized, in what was the largest troop deployment in the United States since the Civil War.

Produced and directed by Hector Galán, The Hunt for Pancho Villa recounts the events that brought the U.S. and Mexico to the brink of war in the early part of this century. The film draws on a wealth of visual archival materials, such as photographs, postcards, cartoons, newsreel and film excerpts found in public and private collections in the United States and Mexico. Eleven months after they entered Mexico, the Punitive Expedition returned without ever having caught sight of Pancho Villa.

American Experience Series

A full list of the American Experience Series can be found here.

Production & Filming Details

• Creators: Peter McGhee, Henry Hampton, and Stephen Fitzmeyer.
• Production: PBS, WGBH-TV and WNET.
• Release Date: 03 November 1993 (US).
• Running time: 60 to 120 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

YouTube Link