Gabriel Over the White House (1933)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

People are voting emotionally.

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a jaw-dropping movie. It screams "pre-Code," and causes one to realize the potential power that Hollywood and "The Industry" have at their disposal.I won't relate the plot; that would simply spoil the surprises. Please don't seek out a detailed synopsis before viewing this film. One should be exposed to this Hollywood artifact without any preconceived notions. Know that it is hard-core pre-Code, but not so much regards its sexual content and bloodshed. Think in terms of dirty politics and the millions of disenfranchised tax payers, and then toss in the deepest depths of the Depression.This is a historical document, one that should be studied by historians and sociologists. Like many films, this movie must be viewed within the context of its time. To do otherwise is dishonest.Do you like pre-Code? Do you enjoy historical Hollywood? Do you follow U.S. history? Do you want to experience the sights & sounds, the ranting and ravings, the deepest and darkest secrets of Depression Era folks. THIS FILM IS MUST-SEE VIEWING.

As many others have said, this is a bizarre and frightening movie about dictatorship in America. It is amusing that Democrats said that Hammond represented Hoover, while Republicans insisted that he resembled Franklin Roosevelt. Actually he bore much more of a resemblance to Warren G. Harding, who was a typical old time back slapping,ward heeling politician only interested in gorging himself on graft once in office. Some people have commented that the Secret Service would not have let him drive the limousine.But things were much less tightly controlled in those days.Even though his predecessor had been assassinated, Theodore Roosevelt used to walk through the streets of Washington to church every Sunday, with only one Secret Service man walking twenty feet behind!The main misapprehension which you see even in movie reviews of this, is that Hammond "reformed".It is pretty obvious that Hammond actually DIED in that auto crash. His body was "alive" in a vegetative state, but that is all. What happened is that some supernatural being merely used his body.A spirit? An angel? The Archangel Gabriel himself? Who knows. Whatever it was, it was not human. It was totally unemotional, acting with all of the cold logic and precision of a robot. And when its work was finished, it exited the now unneeded body, which finished dying. In its cold unemotionality it was in its way even creepier than Hitler.

The film is a sort of modern fairy tale and begins with the inauguration of a new President. This one is COMPLETELY unlike any other president (uh, huh), as he has absolutely no ambition to do or change anything--even though the country is in the midst of the Depression. When he's asked important questions at a press conference, his answers have absolutely nothing to do with what was asked. When there is an army of unemployed who are converging on DC (like the real-life 'Bonus Army' during the Hoover administration), he's shown playing with his young nephew--oblivious and happily so. To put it bluntly, he's a selfish and lazy jerk.When the President is in a motorcade, he behaves very irresponsibly--choosing to drive his own car AND drive it like a maniac. As he drives at 100 miles per hour, his escort can't even keep up and the audience knows something is about to happen. Naturally, there is an accident and he's expected to die. BUT, unexpectedly, he awakens and is physically fine, but is also a thoroughly changed man. Instead of the lazy jerk he'd been, he's now a good man ready for action--even if the Congress and his own Cabinet couldn't care less. Assuming near dictatorial powers, he now does exactly what needs to be done for good of the nation. And, in the process, he introduces an enlightened form of socialism for the good of America. How this all came to be and what happens next you'll just have to see for yourself.The film comes across as a very entertaining and well-meaning film--and clearly a product of the times. While most will no doubt enjoy it, the film scared the crap out of me. Although the film was not meant as a ringing endorsement for National Socialism (i.e., the Nazis), the message could easily be interpreted as approval for such a heavy-handed and all-controlling government that is acting 'for the good of the nation'. While in the case of this film the President is a benevolent dictator, such unhealthy desires for a tough guy who does what MUST be done (despite the Constitution) is a very dangerous idea indeed! Hitler himself sold his nation a similar bill of goods--which looked awfully attractive back in 1933. Hitler ALSO asked his congress to declare a state of emergency, dissolve themselves and grant him almost unlimited powers. At least this is my perspective as a history and government teacher.Well made, well meaning...and a bit dangerous. By the way, for you fans of classic Hollywood films, get a load of the performance of Mischa Auer as a reporter who confronts the President. His usual accent and European manners are just about completely absent here--probably one of the very few times he played a role this way during his career.

I call this a precode in an unusual sense of the term. "Precode" usually drums up visions of movies like "Baby Face" and "The Divorcée" - films filled with sexually controversial situations and language for that period of time (1928-1934). However, precode was more than this. It also involved political ideas that were over the top and the existential doubts that made the fine horror films of Universal Studios in the early 30's. This film is definitely a political precode. The censors would have never allowed such a film to be released just 18 months later. At this point I quote Wikipedia, which gives some context for the film: "Filmed during the 1932 presidential election on the orders of media magnate William Randolph Hearst, the film was intended to be an instructional guide for Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. Hammond as he exists prior to his accident is an amalgamation of caricatures of Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover, Roosevelt's immediate predecessors. After his accident, he is Hearst's idealized image of the perfect president, the president he wanted Roosevelt to be." Hearst always had great sway at MGM, with him also directing the career of his mistress, Marion Davies, at that same studio. President Judd Hammond in his "idealized" form is much more of a fascist than a socialist, though, declaring martial law and putting people in charge of trials because they have a grudge against the defendant. It is also interesting that Pres. Hammond after his transformation not only has a new interest in the welfare of the citizens, but he is rendered sexually neutral, addressing his former mistress as Miss rather than by her first name. It is like Judd Hammond has had some supernatural being possess his body more than it seems that Hammond has had some kind of transformation of his own world view.Definitely recommended. I don't think I've ever seen a film quite like it.