Advise and Consent

Academy Award nominations: NoneMarch Boy nominations: Picture, Director-Otto Preminger, Supporting Actor-Charles Laughton, Supporting Actor-Don Murray, Supporting Actress-Inga Swenson, Screenplay, Original Score, Black and White Cinematography and Black and White Set Design.Wins: Song "Heart of Mine"Advice and Consent is a movie so full of complex characterizations, intrigue, twists and turns that I can’t quite do it justice explaining it, even after two viewings. On face value, it seems to fall under the typical message films that political satires back then (The Manchurian Candidate, Mr. Smith goes to Washington and All the King’s Men just to name a few) hammered to their audience—that people are basically honorable or corrupt by their own choice and power only brings it out more—but even the four main protagonists have a certain amount of sin in their lives too—the only difference between them and Frederick van Ackerman (the main antagonist) is that they are aware of it and choose to fight it—or if they succumb they’re consciences are clean enough to where they want to smooth it over and do the right thing.Throughout the film we see a study of the public and private lives of three senators’ and one Secretary of State nominee and they are all so brilliantly acted and written that each one of them has a certain aspect of likeability despite their flaws.1. Robert Leffingwell is nominated by the President as the Secretary of State. However, scared for his reputation he lies under oath during a subcommittee evaluation when faced with charges of once being associated with the American Communist Party when he was a college student. Saddened, that he lost his sense of morality for a moment, he tells the President the truth and begs him to withdraw his nomination.2. Robert Munson is the Senate Majority Leader. Despite being a playboy in his private life, he treats every senator with dignity and respect and isn’t afraid to call a spade and spade when he sees one which is seen in his confrontations with Seabright Cooley and Frederick van Ackerman towards the end of the film.3. Seabright Cooley, the senator from South Carolina is all bluff but there is no real harm in him. His playful sarcasm makes him almost impossible not to like whether you agree with where he stands on the issues or not. Yet he is not so high and mighty that he will not openly humble himself and apologize without making excuses when he realizes he has gone too far in his political maneuvering—as is seen in his final speech.4. Brigham Anderson, the Senator from Utah is the youngest of the group. He is a kind gentle soul who loves him family and treats all the other senators—even the vipers like Frederick—with respect. He is not an opportunist who blows in the wind for the sake of political gain—he merely wants to know the truth about Leffingwell and whenever he votes, it’s always for a firm, deeply rooted conviction. He never attacks anyone for disagreeing with him or tries to throw rocks through the windows of their private lives for he knows FULL WELL that his own are made of the THINEST GLASS. He definitely set himself up for the slaughter getting involved in politics considering the demons of his past but maybe he sincerely felt called to run for senate because of his good intentions (Hence his speech to his wife about how “If I vote for Leffingwell everything I’ve ever stood for and believed in will crumble into dust”) and decided in the end that it was worth the risk.The acting is all solid throughout with Charles Laughton and Don Murray as the standouts. Laughton (Seabright) delivers his lines with crisp speed and wit and provides quite a bit of comic relief. His delivery of “I haven’t had so much fun since the cayenne pepper hit the floor” is a classic. Murray (Brigham) is handsome and brings just the right amount of sweet, gentle family-man charm to his character and the way he slowly unravels emotionally and psychologically like peeling away at the layers of an onion will tear your heart out. That last close up of his face (especially those glistening eyes) as his wife is ringing for him in his office will stay with you for a long time--you can simply feel him crumble inside.Inga Swenson likewise gives a very powerful performance as his strong devoted wife Ellen. Even though she only has two or three major scenes towards the end she really makes the most of them—the part where she hugs her husband and tells him “I could never leave you! No matter what happens I could never leave you!" is a real tear jerker.The screenplay is richly detailed and beautifully written with moments of wit, humor and poignancy. My favorite bits are:1. “Son this is a Washington D.C. kind of lie.” Mr. Leffingwell explains when he tells his son to tell the Senate Majority Leader Robert Munson on the telephone that he is not at home. “It’s when the other guy knows you’re lying and also you know that he knows.”2. The French lady in the balcony asks the British lady “Why do the Democrats sit on the left and the Republicans sit on the right?” The British lady says “Oh no darling. It’s purely geographical. They’re all liberals and conservatives but no communists or anything of that sort. The only difference is the liberals don’t always sit on the left and the conservatives don’t always sit on the right.” Very true then and now.All in all a very great watch and great for discussions.

This is one of Preminger's masterpieces, a film that, surprisingly, has dated very little. It takes place during the Cold War, and while that may have subsided (at least for now), the talk of "loyal to the country" and talk of Communism hasn't gone away from the American political vocabulary. The film is one of the most fascinating, meticulous political thrillers ever made, and it's also a great suspense movie as well. It's also refreshing to see (and hear) Senators be somewhat civil to each other and not talk in soundbites but complete sentences. The film depicts Washington as a land of deals, backroom jousting, pride, anger, ambition, and blackmail. It's not an idealised portrait, but a starkly realistic one that is still true today.The film is brilliantly handled by Otto Preminger. Preminger has a unique visual style all his own. His use of widescreen and framing is, once again, perfect here, shooting in very long takes, allowing the actors to really breathe life into their characters. All of the performances here are exemplary, with Charles Laughton and Walter Pidgeon getting top honors. Many criticise Preminger for being a bad director (but a good producer). I think this is nonsense. He solicits great performances in every film he's made. Even though Henry Fonda receives top billing, he's hardly in the film at all, but his confirmation hearing for Secretary of State is the backbone of this film.There is also a blackmail plot in this film where the Senator in charge of the subcommitte, Brig Anderson (played with great understatement by Don Murray), is being blackmailed by another Senator eager to get the nomination of Fonda through the Senate. It turns out that Anderson had a homosexual affair many years ago, and there's photos and letters. This was pretty shocking for 1962. Preminger films the events up to the revelation extremely well, creating brilliant tension. The scene in the gay bar (this was the first film ever to depict a gay bar in Hollywood history) is really powerful when you discover Anderson's secret. Now, some would argue that politicians wouldn't have to worry about being gay. Wrong. Even in the most liberal places, there are very few openly gay politicians. Despite the gay community making many strides towards acceptance and tolerance, it's not all there yet, and it would be disasterous for a politician to come out, even today. So this scene hasn't really dated. Some have criticised the depiction of gays in the film. I've seen far more offensive portrayals of homosexuals in modern comedies than this film does. Regardless, the scene here is startling effective, and due to this blackmail, Anderson kills himself. Preminger never shows the suicide (Anderson cuts his throat), but we learn of it when a Senate guard calls Peter Lawford during a card game. The president also dies during the film, but we never see that either.The performances here are superb, with special mention going to Charles Laughton as a wily Southern Senator, Walter Pidgeon as the Majority Leader, Don Murray as the troubled Senator, Burgess Meredith as a man who is used by Laughton to get at Fonda (and is subsequently discredited by Fonda), and Lew Ayres as the underestimated vice president. Not much has changed in Washington since this film was made. While there are more ways for Senators to communicate, they still deal with things the same way. The human factor always figures into things, and Advise and Consent is one of the most complex, riveting political films ever made.

One of the best political movies made by one of the most under rated talents of the late studio era - Otto Preminger. Arguably as relevant today as the day it was made. And what a cracker of a cast!Warners R1 DVD is a very nice widescreen transfer, showcasing the expert B&W Panavision photography of Sam Leavitt. Looked great on my 48" display. Good sound too.Buy with confidence.

I enjoyed revisiting this blockbuster movie of yesteryear. It's cut throat backroom politics believably true with larger than life actors like Charles Laughton filling the screen. The plot line leading to a suicide of one of the lead players is almost unbelievable in todays context otherwise still thoroughly enjoyable.I found the inability to turn off the subtitles on the disk most annoying and sadly detracted from the viewing!

No. It was dubbed in Spanish, not a language I understand.

Classic story from a Washington in as much turbulence as it is to this day. Enjoyed it thoroughly.

If you ever wondered how the US senate operated this tells you, I guess — at least in the early 60s. I previously saw this film long ago on TV in full frame and it comes across far better in widescreen. Preminger shot it in Panavision and made great use of the wider picture to give sweeping shots of the senate floor, Capital steps and corridors of power. It's nice to see a bunch of stars from the previous two decades getting to strut their stuff even though they are virtually all cast according to image — cool, disengaged Fonda; kindly, reasonable Pidgeon; society beauty Tierney; bumbling Paul Ford, etc. The picture pretty much belongs to Laughton who resembles an alligator, happy and sleepy in the mud, occasionally lunging up onto the bank, all teeth and fury. The story is absorbing, but oddly unengaging — I found I never cared who won or lost, and indeed neither did most of the players in the long run, which is maybe the point. Still, it's always nice to have someone to root for.