Executive Suite seems like an ordinary movie about the business world in the United States, but it was considered subversive at the time, so much so that Producer, John Houseman was called before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee to swear that he was “not a Communist”.
Here’s the description from IMDb: When the head of a large manufacturing firm dies suddenly from a stroke, his vice presidents vie to see who will replace him.
The movie takes place in approximately a 24 hour time period as we see the vice presidents take sides, some of them being blackmailed to support the Controller who desperately wants to be president.
I watched this movie twice before Celeste and I talked about the it for our channel, the second time with the commentary by Oliver Stone. He pointed out some interesting things about this movie that defined the way business was headed in the 1950s. Before WW II, business focused on making quality products. Their philosophy was that if they did that, they’d make money. However, in the 1950s that began to change.
The controller is played by Fredric March. He’s a kind of slimy character who believes that the company’s main goal should be to make themselves and their stockholders rich. The quality of the furniture they make is a secondary concern. He’s not above using blackmail to get the president’s chair. He’s a manipulative character who is obviously insecure while trying to project strength.
The main character standing in his way is played by William Holden. His philosophy is for the company to make high quality products, and to use the expertise of all the workers from the top on down to produce them. If they all work together, the company will maintain an extremely good reputation that will beat their competitors. Not to mention their town will thrive because they will not have to lay anyone off.
I’m not into movies about business, but this one is compelling because of the exceptional performances by all the characters. I love that Oliver Stone pointed out that it was the six women in the movie who had a clearer view of how the deceased president had led the company into a shaky position, while their husbands and colleagues were too close to the problems to notice them until he died.
The final thing is that this movie shows the beginnings of CEOs chasing profits for themselves the the stockholders rather than making quality products or taking care of their workers.
Celeste and I highly recommend this movie. Leave us a comment after you watch the movie and our commentary about it. And come join our Facebook community.
