Advise and Consent (1962)

ADVISE AND CONSENT  (1962)  ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Otto Preminger
    Henry Fonda, Walter Pidgeon, Charles Laughton,
    Don Murray, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres,
    Peter Lawford, Gene Tierney, Burgess Meredith,
    Paul Ford, George Grizzard, Betty White
A Cold War civics lesson starring Franchot Tone as the president, Lew Ayres as the vice president, and Walter Pidgeon, Charles Laughton, Don Murray and Peter Lawford as senators passing judgment on Henry Fonda's qualifications to be secretary of state. What's interesting about this is how topical it remains, more than 50 years after its release. Our politics are even more stupidly polarized now, but otherwise nothing much has changed. Back then, the most toxic thing you could be accused of was being a communist, execpt for one other thing, as Murray's character tragically finds out. (Murray's good, but Montgomery Clift in this role would've been perfect.) The rest is mostly back-slapping, back-stabbing, wheeling, dealing, deceit and hot air. Like I said, nothing much has changed.