"Advise and Consent" offers a glimpse into the dirty deeds and misguided ideals that keep the Washington political machine running, and it's as powerful and relevant today as it was 45 years ago.
The story revolves around the nomination of a controversial candidate for Secretary of State. Henry Fonda plays Robert Leffingwell, the man whom the U.S. President (Franchot Tone) is determined to add to his administration. Leffingwell is a reluctant nominee, a man whose past dalliance with the Communist party could come back to haunt him. Walter Pidgeon, as the Senate's Majority Leader, embarks on a strategic campaign to approve Leffingwell's nomination, but he is opposed by the conservative and curmudgeonly Senator Cooley from South Carolina. As Cooley, Charles Laughton delivers one of the best performances of his career (and sadly, his last) as the politician you love to hate.
To add balance to Leffingwell's confirmation proceedings, the Majority Leader brings in the young and energetic Senator from Utah, Brig Anderson, played by Don Murray, to chair the confirmation subcommittee. When it appears that Anderson may hold up Leffingwell's confirmation, power hungry Senator Ackerman (wonderfully realized by George Grizzard) digs up a secret from Anderson's past in a blackmail attempt.
Murray has the film's most challenging role as the gay and closeted Brig Anderson, so full of guilt and self loathing that he goes to extreme measures to preserve his secret. "Advise and Consent" supposedly is the first American film to actually depict the inside of a gay bar. We see it from Anderson's perspective, a dark and foreboding location full of shadowed figures, while Frank Sinatra's "Secret Place" plays in the background. Anderson's reaction to what he sees is reflective of 1962 societal views of homosexuality; it's an uncomfortable and degrading scene to watch, and the film's weakest point. Still, it brings a visual and physical perspective to Anderson's utter desperation to keep this side of his life hidden.
Inga Swenson (probably best known as the bitter Swedish housekeeper Kraus on TV's "Benson"), turns in a touching performance as Anderson's wife, who preserves her husband's secret in order to maintain his dignity.
Otto Preminger, known for his perfectionism and dictatorial style, gets the best out his actors. There isn't a single flawed performance in the film, but Laughton and Murray certainly shine brightest. Look for some smaller, but effective performances by Peter Lawford as, ironically, a suave and womanizing JFK type, and by Betty White as the senator from Kansas. Gene Tierney also appears as Dolly Harrison, a rich Washington widow who throws lavish parties, but there's far too little of her in the movie.
"Advise and Consent" offers no happy and tidy ending, but a realistic one nonetheless. The theme of the movie can be best summed up when Pidgeon's Majority Leader responds to Ackerman's justification of Anderson's blackmail as having been done for the good of the country. Pidgeon's pointed retort, "Fortunately, our country always manages to survive patriots like you," is a pessimistic statement about the state of the U.S. political process.
The story revolves around the nomination of a controversial candidate for Secretary of State. Henry Fonda plays Robert Leffingwell, the man whom the U.S. President (Franchot Tone) is determined to add to his administration. Leffingwell is a reluctant nominee, a man whose past dalliance with the Communist party could come back to haunt him. Walter Pidgeon, as the Senate's Majority Leader, embarks on a strategic campaign to approve Leffingwell's nomination, but he is opposed by the conservative and curmudgeonly Senator Cooley from South Carolina. As Cooley, Charles Laughton delivers one of the best performances of his career (and sadly, his last) as the politician you love to hate.
To add balance to Leffingwell's confirmation proceedings, the Majority Leader brings in the young and energetic Senator from Utah, Brig Anderson, played by Don Murray, to chair the confirmation subcommittee. When it appears that Anderson may hold up Leffingwell's confirmation, power hungry Senator Ackerman (wonderfully realized by George Grizzard) digs up a secret from Anderson's past in a blackmail attempt.
Murray has the film's most challenging role as the gay and closeted Brig Anderson, so full of guilt and self loathing that he goes to extreme measures to preserve his secret. "Advise and Consent" supposedly is the first American film to actually depict the inside of a gay bar. We see it from Anderson's perspective, a dark and foreboding location full of shadowed figures, while Frank Sinatra's "Secret Place" plays in the background. Anderson's reaction to what he sees is reflective of 1962 societal views of homosexuality; it's an uncomfortable and degrading scene to watch, and the film's weakest point. Still, it brings a visual and physical perspective to Anderson's utter desperation to keep this side of his life hidden.
Inga Swenson (probably best known as the bitter Swedish housekeeper Kraus on TV's "Benson"), turns in a touching performance as Anderson's wife, who preserves her husband's secret in order to maintain his dignity.
Otto Preminger, known for his perfectionism and dictatorial style, gets the best out his actors. There isn't a single flawed performance in the film, but Laughton and Murray certainly shine brightest. Look for some smaller, but effective performances by Peter Lawford as, ironically, a suave and womanizing JFK type, and by Betty White as the senator from Kansas. Gene Tierney also appears as Dolly Harrison, a rich Washington widow who throws lavish parties, but there's far too little of her in the movie.
"Advise and Consent" offers no happy and tidy ending, but a realistic one nonetheless. The theme of the movie can be best summed up when Pidgeon's Majority Leader responds to Ackerman's justification of Anderson's blackmail as having been done for the good of the country. Pidgeon's pointed retort, "Fortunately, our country always manages to survive patriots like you," is a pessimistic statement about the state of the U.S. political process.