Movie Review - Advise and Consent

Advise and Consent (1962) - The nomination for Secretary of State faces an intense investigation in the Senate that raises an issue that may not only ruin the candidates chances but might take down the President as well.  Their opponents will stop at nothing, even blackmail to get their way.

I'll start by noting that Henry Fonda is on my short list of "I'll watch anything he's in" actors.  He had great taste in accepting roles and was even able to take unimpressive scripts and turn them into something worth watching.  Now add Otto Preminger as director and all star cast (Walter Pidgeon, Gene Tierney, Charles Laughton, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith and Betty White) and you're off and running to a fine movie.

Given the gridlock that we have seen over Presidential appointments for a while now the movie feels very contemporary. If you think the level of arrogance, ideological posturing and political maneuvering we see today is somehow new this movie may come as a great surprise.  The issue at the time was still Communism and the evil of "appeasement".  Interesting that the phrase "Don't Tread On Me" which is much in vogue today comes up here as well.  America's long standing anti-intellectual streak is on display as well.

Along the way you get some quality performances from the great cast.  Not a lot of action but really good stuff.  Add in the Communist story line and the fact that both Meredith and Geer were blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the '50s.  The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Allen Drury.  Drury had been a journalist on Capitol Hill during the '50s and the characters are reportedly based on actual people (including John F. Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy and others).  Much of the action is based on actual events including the blackmail attempt.  It makes the movie even more compelling.

This is a powerful political thriller and well worth the time to watch.

Rating - **** Recommended