Advise & Consent (1962)

Powerful

Awesome Movie

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

I have watched the movie in full length only once, but it was very impressive and has persisted in my mind till today. It passes as typical for its era political drama at a first glance, but it is quite advanced and provocative for the political and social environment of the age it was shot. A first surprising element its the nature of political cooperation, ideological lines and bipartisanship which the movie presents. In today's heated, insulting political feuds political parties in the US have been crystallised into almost monolithic and compact organisations with few ideological deviations among their members and elected magistrates. So, the central idea of the political turmoil in the movie is not a juxtaposition between parties but between ideologies and regional and social differences which penetrate in both major parties. The story tones down a lot but does not erase the names and bordering lines of Democrats and Republicans; featuring instead on behaviours and acts of specific people from the whole ideological spectrum. Traditional conservatism, political manipulation by party bosses, and old-fashioned honesty and dignity are all featured in the process of hearing the candidate for Secretary of State, played by Henry Fonda, each fighting for or against the candidacy with its own means and for its own reasons. An innovative aspect is the addition of a sexually-oriented scandal, a very very advanced aspect for the era of the early '60s, when the Code was still present though waning for many years before. This plot thread could be relevant today very easily. The much screen time devoted to the Senate chamber helps unite the excellent cast to common scenes and a lot of interaction. Charles Laughton, Henry Fonda, Franchot Tone and others shine with their talent on the screen.

I saw Otto Preminger's Advise and Consent in 1981 or 1982 on, I think, KSTW or WTBS, and I have loved this movie for 35 years. It's a complex story of politics, and the thuggery that walks hand in hand with it. The review on IMDb by "Snow Leopard" on 22 November 2005 is excellent, so I won't belabor this review with a synopsis. Ten years after I saw the film--and I read the series of books in the '80s--Advise and Consent became all too real. President George H. W. Bush nominated the head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Clarence Thomas, to the Supreme Court. The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Joe Biden, assured the President that the nominee would work out well. Thomas was being nominated to replace Thurgood Marshall, and Bush was interested in putting another African-American on the SCOTUS bench.Only one problem. Clarence Thomas was a conservative, and a black Republican must be destroyed at all costs.So, raw interview information by the FBI (what everyone who has an important job to do in the Executive Branch has to go through; all information, true or false, is collected) got dumped into the public trough. A former aide or secretary--I can't remember--had accused Thomas of sexual harassment. Anita Hill's private interview with the FBI had gone public.It appeared the nominee's chances had been mortally wounded.Everyone took sides. Feminists said that it didn't matter if it was true, that the mere accusation was proof enough. Conservatives huffed and flustered and wished Bush had picked somebody different. Liberals, smelling blood began, in Thomas' words, "a high-tech lynching." When the anger and the nastiness and the general behavior that makes Americans hate politics cleared, Thomas was confirmed by a majority of 4 votes.It was like watching Advise and Consent in real life. The good guys, the bad guys, the thugs, cretins, and other media were all there. Talk about life imitating art! Sheesh!Besides the excellent performances, the realistic settings, and the general feeling that Preminger got it right, Advise and Consent is the sort of movie you can watch if you want to know how Washington really works.

This early 60's movie introduced me to the harmful consequences of the closet. It portrayed a civil rights fight that still awaits final resolution.I consider Advice and Consent one of those essential political movies high on the list with The Last Hurrah; The Lion in Winter; Lawrence of Arabia; Seven Days in May; China Town; and Devil in a Blue Dress. When watching this B&W mono sound movie enjoy the details of a simpler time of dial phones, propeller airliners with uniformed stewardesses, and a casual human scale low security world. I thought that the scale of the homes and hotel rooms interesting and reflective of this pre-central air conditioning world. Wealthy homes have window air conditioners, screen doors and hotel room doors with ventilator panels.

I have been getting into House of Cards (2013) as of late. The cynical, subversive politics of the show combined with Kevin Spacey's gravitas and Robin Wrights icy dame act makes for exciting TV. Since the first episode was released on Netflix, I binged on all thirteen, forty-five minute episodes like a fat kid in a pastry shop. The results were delicious.In many ways Otto Preminger's Advise and Consent (1962) makes me feel the same elation. Its a smart, under-the-radar, slow-cooking potboiler, providing many characters and angles. Like House of Cards, Advise and Consent also has a killer cast who ooze credibility and snake-like charm. Henry Fonda, Walter Pidgeon, Burgess Meredith, Franchot Tone, Gene Tierney, Peter Lawford, Don Murray, Lew Ayres, George Grizzard and the great Charles Laughton in his last film; now there's a line up only Otto Preminger could scrounge up.The movie starts with images of the star spangled banner. This is promptly followed by scenes in front of the Capitol, characters walking in, chomping at the bit about the nomination for Secretary of State. Thus the wheels are set in motion for a showdown that at times is exhilarating and at other times exhausting. Secrets are spilled and hidden, political tricks are used and people are destroyed.To many Advise and Consent might be a bit dry. There are many scenes where Senators are going back and forth on the senate floor and in committee rooms. I dare say the amount of pomp and circumstances adds to the realness of the situation. The tension isn't felt artificially but rather experienced vicariously through the characters.The most tragic of these characters is Senator Brigham Anderson of Utah (Don Murray). A man used and abused by powers on opposite ends of the nomination. While many secrets are revealed to the audience, Anderson's clandestine doings are certainly the most audacious. Even today, the story of Anderson would peak the interest of the public, even a public that has gotten used to politicians cheating, bribing and sleeping their way to infamy.Anderson's story however is only an hors d'oeuvre when compared to the dirt people have on Robert Leffingwell (Henry Fonda) the soon-to-be Secretary of State. His story, while a little dated by today's standards, would have turned some heads in 1962.I'm eluding to stories and dirt because I don't want to spoil the fun should you chose to watch Advise and Consent. Political junkies especially would enjoy the movies harder edges provided by a stellar script by Wendell Mayes, based on the book by Allen Drury.Director Otto Preminger has always had an eye for controversial projects. He made waves in film noir with Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) by playing on suggestive and sexual themes, and he turned exploitative addiction movies on their heads with The Man with the Golden Arm (1955). But while those films featured great actors and actresses at the top of their game, Advise and Consent showcases the entire life of a star. Henry Fonda and Gene Tierney at their apogee, Charles Laughton at his end and Betty White at her very beginning. This paradigm doesn't even include the work of Don Murray and George Grizzard, both of whom were eyes of their respective torrents yet never went on to do anything else of grandeur.Unfortunately Otto Preminger's career became a shadow of its former self after 1962. Likely seeing the validity of employing a powerhouse cast, he rested on his laurels with such clunky trifles as Skidoo (1968) and Hurry Sundown (1967). But even in his later more schlock films, Preminger never ceased to captivate his audience through strong, pulpy stories to which Advise and Consent stands as the apex of high art, and low sensationalism. So the next time you see House of Cards on your instant queue or you're longing for another gander at episodes of The West Wing remember, there was a time in the 60's where things weren't always red white and blue.http://theyservepopcorninhell.blogspot.com/