The buck stops with ‘Tom and Harry’ on Feb. 21 at Screenland Crossroads

Before he gave ’em hell as the 33rd President of the United States, Harry Truman worked closely with Kansas City political boss Tom Pendergast, who backed Truman’s successful 1934 U.S. Senate campaign.

What were the ramifications of the two men’s ongoing alliance in the 1920s and 1930s, for which Truman conspicuously never apologized? Were they real friends or only tacit political partners?

Kansas City filmmaker Terence O’Malley’s illuminating new documentary, “Tom and Harry: The Boss and the President,” scrutinizes the rise and fall of the Pendergast era and Truman’s relationship to it in a Presidents Week film event at 7 p.m. February 21 at the Screenland Crossroads Theatre located at 1656 Washington St, Kansas City, MO.

O’Malley will attend a pre-screening mixer at 6 p.m. and participate in a Q&A following the screening. His previously well-received Kansas City-centric documentaries are “Nelly Don: A Stitch in Time” and “Black Hand Strawman: The History of Organized Crime in Kansas City.”

Representatives of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence will also be on hand to offer Harry friendly giveaways and share information about upcoming programs and museum exhibits at the Truman Library.

A donation of $10 is suggested to support CinemaKC in its efforts to serve the movie community in 2013.