The Candidate (1964)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The candidate |
| Original title | The best man |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1964 |
| length | 102 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Franklin J. Schaffner |
| script | Gore Vidal |
| production |
Stuart Millar , Lawrence Turman |
| music | Mort Lindsey |
| camera | Haskell Wexler |
| cut | Robert Swink |
| occupation | |
| |
The candidate (original title: The Best Man ) is an American film by the director Franklin J. Schaffner from 1964. The plot is based on a Broadway play of the same name by Gore Vidal , who also wrote the screenplay for the film. It shows the shady political maneuvers behind the nomination of a candidate for President of the United States . Lee Tracy was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
action
William Russell and Joe Cantwell are the two leading candidates for the presidential nomination of an undisclosed political party. Both have potentially serious vulnerabilities. Russell is a principled intellectual (according to many critics and fans, the character is based on the politician Adlai Stevenson ). A sexual misstep has alienated him from his wife Alice. He also has to make a previous nervous breakdown forget. Cantwell (presumably based on Richard Nixon and Joseph McCarthy ) portrays himself as a populist "man of the people" but is in fact a ruthless opportunist willing to do anything to get nominated. Neither of the two can stand the other, and neither of the two believes that the respective opponent is suitable as president.
They meet at the nomination convention and both fight for the extremely important support of the dying former president Art Hockstader. The pragmatic Hockstader (a character obviously based on Harry S. Truman , especially the phrase "striking a blow for freedom" whenever he drinks a bourbon) prefers Russell, but worries about his indecision and excessive devotion to the fundamentals, he despises Cantwell, but values his toughness and willingness to do what is necessary. Hockstader had originally intended to announce his support for Cantwell, but the candidate makes a gross mistake: during a personal conversation between the two, Cantwell attacks Russell on the basis of an illegally obtained psychological finding. He's wrongly assuming that Hockstader would be for the more liberal Russell. The former president tells Cantwell that he has nothing against a bastard, but he has a stupid one, and takes Russell's side. However, in his speech on the opening night, he does not support either of them.
One of Russell's helpers runs into Sheldon Bascomb. He served in the military with Cantwell and is ready to associate him with gay activities during his stationing in Alaska during World War II . Hockstader and Russell's closest adviser urge him to take the chance, but he refuses. At the beginning of the first round of voting, he arranges a private meeting with Cantwell to tell his opponent what he can do. But Cantwell confronts Bascomb and rejects his slander. Russell threatens to use the allegations anyway, but while Cantwell doesn't understand his adversary, he at least understands that Russell doesn't have what it takes for such dirty tricks. In the end, Russell shocks him by giving his support to a third, relatively unknown candidate, which ends both of them.
Reviews
"The film gives away the chance for a factual discussion in favor of a compromise-ready and misleadingly simplified template story."
“Details of real US politics are used by Gore Vidal's Broadway play and its film adaptation to effectively vary the old song about the battle of good and evil. But the film only feeds the prejudice that politics spoil the character unless you distance yourself from it in good time. "
Others
- Gore Vidal made a cameo as a delegate.
- The later US President Ronald Reagan was not given a role in the film because of his "non-presidential appearance".
Web links
- The candidate in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- The candidate in the lexicon of international film
Individual proof
- ^ The candidate (USA) . In: Der Spiegel . No. 27 , 1964, pp. 73 ( online ).