Highly Overrated But Still Good

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Director Franklin J. Schaffner tackled ruthless political campaigning with his 1964 film The Best Man. Starring Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson, the film takes its inspiration from a screenplay written by political writing giant Gore Vidal. Two men vying for the endorsement of the former president, one will stop at nothing, while the other is determined to retain his dignity, The Best Man illustrates the journey of both. The Best Man is an engaging political drama revealing a behind-the-scenes look at the depths some will take to attain the highest power in the land.Two men of the same party, William Russell (Henry Fonda) and Joe Cantwell (Cliff Robertson) have engaged in a political in-fight to gain the endorsement of their party's former president. Both men are not without their faults; William Russell has a reputation for being a philanderer, Joe Cantwell is a ruthless politician who is determined to not let anyone impede his way to the top. Nearing their party's convention, it is crucial for one of the two, the top contenders, to gain the endorsement of the aging president. The president, however, hasn't made any indication of who he will support, even at a dinner in which he would have typically announced his endorsement, he remains neutral. As the convention draws near, the stakes rise and both men are tested to their limits; how far will they go for power?The Best Man has a wonderful opening montage in which the audience meets the two candidates, instantly learning their tendencies toward decency. Henry Fonda is, of course, the one the audience wants to side with, has he ever played a character that was anything less than lily-white? I have an interesting relationship with Henry Fonda, I always adore him when I happen to see him in something, yet have never sought out any films because he was in them. I have a mind that tends towards the obsessive in that when I see someone I enjoy watching, I seek out everything they've ever done. Anyway, Henry Fonda was as wonderful in this film as he is in every other role I've enjoyed of his. Also, a welcome surprise was seeing Kevin McCarthy in this film so soon after seeing him and enjoying his role in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (mental note: must check out more of his work). Having done all my undergraduate work in Political Science and being aware of copious amounts of polling data, I found it interesting that the names they chose for the film "CANTwell" and MerWIN. On a surface level, when only thinking about the film, it becomes clear that the subtext establishes that Cantwell will not win, and Merwin, will, in fact, emerge the victor. Many cues clearly indicate that this film was written by a political insider. First of all, It is rare for a political film to address in-fighting between members of the same party. Typically, the main crux of political films deals with the ultimate battle between the members of the opposite party. Likewise, it is interesting to see a film where the action of the film is centered around a party convention rather than an election. The Best Man is a wonderful film dealing with a political theme; it has aged incredibly well, with communism being the only outdated concept, which is easily substituted for the woeful group of the time. The Best Man is a wonderful puzzle all the way to the end, with the President's ultimate goal being realized in the end. A film that keeps the audience engaged all the way through the increasingly suspenseful and exciting final act, The Best Man is a film to see for political enthusiasts and novices alike.

For all the commotion on the screen -- the dashing about, the crowds, the vacuous speeches, the applause, the arguments, the creepy agreements -- it's pretty easy to schematize the movie. Two mean are in competition for the presidency of the United States, a liberal (Fonda) with a history of adultery and mental illness, and a conservative (Robertson) with a history of nothing but ruthless self promotion.By various means, Fonda hangs the accusation of being gay over Robertson's head, while Robertson has the original copies of Fonda's psychiatric history. Robertson, being Nixon, is perfectly ready, even anxious, to release Fonda's records to the press. Fonda, being an ex Abraham Lincoln and two presidents in other movies, isn't so sure about playing dirty pool.It's Gore Vidal's bitchy take on Washington as Hollywood. And it's curiously dated and, equally curiously, current in the conflicts it shows us. They are bundles of oppositions that pit liberals and conservatives against each other, even today.I don't need to spell out the positions each group takes. All I have to do is mention gay rights, women's liberation, fear mongering, a terrific anger, opposition to unions, an aversion to gossip, religious certainty versus religious doubt, and so on -- right down to the end of the tram line.Fortunately, Gore Vidal, who is both gay and liberal, doesn't fall into the seductive trap of binary thought. Robertson, the ambitious and self-absorbed character with his hit list, is given some human dimensions. He loves his wife in an offhand way. He's genuinely honest about himself, as far as he can be. He really believes in God and is faithful to his wife. He's a man of honor.And Fonda, a tall and skinny man who is bursting with rectitude, has a rocky relationship with his wife. He's been balling other women on various trips. He's plagued by doubts that prevent him sometimes from acting. And he DOES have that spell of hospitalization in his past, and the record is full of high-falutin' terms like "manic depressive" and "paranoid," although you'd never know it from what we see on screen.The script has some felicities. Vidal was a good essayist. Fonda looks in the mirror and muses, "What an indecent thing the human face is," its teeth revealing its barbaric evolutionary past, while his campaign manager warns him, "No Darwin tonight." It all boils down to whether or not Fonda will release to the press the allegations of homosexuality against Robertson that he himself regards as false.Want to know the moral message? Politics is a dirty business. And sometimes a nobody gets into office who is a total blank to the public, but the job adds features to his face. In other words, regardless of everything else, we have to trust the wisdom of the political system we've received.

Gore Vidal, always one of our more honest and entertaining political insiders, provides a typically critical look at the closeted skeletons and backstabbing power plays behind a national presidential convention, where Henry Fonda and a young Cliff Robertson square off for their party's nomination. Fonda, more or less typecast as the more rational candidate, plays an admirable but unexciting character surrounded (thankfully) by a gallery of colorful eccentrics bordering on, but never quite reaching, the level of caricature. Chief among them is his rival, Robertson, a sleazy right-wing demagogue modeled, according to the author, after Richard Nixon, although his paranoid tirades would fit comfortably anywhere in the shallow soapbox of post-Reagan political discourse. Oscar nominee Lee Tracy and comedian Shelley Berman lend memorable support, but the real star of the film is Vidal's barbed wit and malicious political insight, none of which has aged a day, even while the old-style national convention depicted here has long since devolved into a meaningless charade of choreographed soundbites and corporate slogans.

A great movie of Gore Vidal's incendiary play. Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson vie for the presidential nomination and what takes place during the hours leading up to the nomination is seedy, dynamic and always riveting. Fonda is the Adlai Stevenson-nice-guy-as-politician while Robertson is surely modeled after Nixon (and an already desperately despicable Nixon). Lee Tracy is a former President brought into to jar Fonda into reality and to teach him just how to fight dirty. He's a force to be reckoned with and his scenes are dynamite. Fonda is his typical stalwart self and Robertson chews the scenery (to his advantage) as his cunning adversary. Director Franklin Schaffner moves the film at a breathless pace. He would never again direct a film this subtle. Ultimately, it is an actor's film with Margaret Leighton, Ann Sothern and, best of all, Shelley Berman (as a real red herring) offering terrific support. Edie Adams plays Robertson's supportive wife and Kevin McCarthy plays a hard-nosed politico.