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.
Nathan Cody graduated in 2023 with a B.S. in Digital Film. He is currently living in Savannah as an up-and-coming filmmaker working on his craft, specializing in screenwriting and directing his own films. Nathan is a firm believer in the transformative power of storytelling; he loves how a well-crafted film can deeply impact an audience, sparking new perspectives or providing a much-needed emotional connection. His favorite films include anything from Pixar, Good Will Hunting, and Jaws.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Bradley Whitford, Steven Webber
Eli Wallach, Actor
Charlie Chaplin, Writer, Actor, Director of Classic Films
City Lights, The Kid, The Great Dictator
TCM (Turner Classic Movies)
MGM+ on Amazon
Tubi, Pluto, Max
Story-Power on Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power Patreon Community so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. Patreon is $5 a month for content not found on the Story-Power podcast, or on my Sage Woman Blog. They have recently instituted a free tier so you can try it out before you buy. If you’re passionate about stories, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.
PodMatch for Podcasters Affiliate Link.
If you are a podcaster, or have a message or fantastic product you want to share with the world, I encourage you to check out PodMatch. I call them a dating service for podcasters. Use the affiliate link and tell them, Lucinda sent you. Then contact me so we can set up a Story-Power chat.
Want to be a guest on Story-Power? Send Lucinda Sage-Midgorden a message on PodMatch, click here.
Prolific Writers Life
My husband, Barry and I are members and experts at Prolific Writers Life, which offers members a variety of free online work sessions and discounts on coaching with industry experts. They offer opportunities to hone your writing skills, develop your author brand, and connect with a supportive community in live events. You can participate in group chats or send private messages to members through Prolific Writers Chat. If you’ve got a writing project, or are an expert who can help members finish their books, come join the community.
They also offer fun events like Films for Writers, which is free for anyone who wants to attend. It’s like a film club. We watch the movies about writers often with tidbits about their writing life, and then come together on the last Friday evening of every month to discuss the movie. You can check out Prolific Writers Life with a free 14 day trial to see if this the community you have been looking for.
Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters
Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.
Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.
The latest Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters offering is the TNT TV (1991) movie Conagher based on the Louis L’Amour book of the same name. It stars, Sam Elliott, Katharine Ross, Barry Corbin and huge group of seasoned character actors rounding out the cast.
It’s post Civil War. The Teal family travel by wagon from Missouri to their new home in the Desert Southwest to begin a cattle ranch. After only days of arriving, Jacob Teal leaves his wife and two children to buy their first herd of cattle but after two months when he doesn’t come back, Evie and her step children must accept the fact that something terrible happened to Jacob.
For a time Evie and Laben service the new stage coach line while they build their permanent station. It’s when three men bring the horses for the stage that Evie and the family meet Conn Conagher. As Laben says after the men eat and leave, “I like that Mr. Conagher. He’s different than the rest.” And he is. He compliments Laben on the corral he built and advises him on how to keep the rain out of the shelter. The other men don’t pay much attention to the children but they do notice Evie. Evie only notices Conagher and he her.
As the movie goes on we find out that Conagher is a man who is completely confident in who he is. Though he’s peace loving, he never backs down from a fist fight if he can’t get out of it. But he only uses his gun to protect people or his employer’s property, which is the main conflict. Rustlers plan to wipe out Mr. Tay’s cattle by spring. Conagher and Johnny are the only men standing in their way. In fact, Conagher foils three or four attempts to siphon off small groups of cattle.
The movie is faithful to the book. The romance between Evie and Conagher is understated but grows each time he arrives at their homestead while tracking cattle or helping them repair their house and equipment.
This is a slow Western that shows the vastness and loneliness that the homesteaders and ranchers live with. Also, there is no shootout in the end there is a whopper of a fist fight that Chris Mahler has been spoiling for throughout the movie.
Celeste and I love movies with men who don’t have to prove themselves at every turn. Conagher is our kind of man.
Samuel Garza Bernstein’s life and writing reflect the wild intersections of modern life. He was born to an undocumented Mexican mother who everyone assumed was a white Texan, and a Jewish father who passionately supported the Palestinian cause in Egypt, where the family lived for a year when he was a kid. “I was six-years old in Cairo,” Garza Bernstein says, “Surrounded by hot Egyptians, spinning fantasies and inventing myself.” The family traveled all over the world—occasionally on the lam—and lived in Cairo, Honolulu, Austin, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, and Ft. Collins, Colorado.
His newest book Roddy McDowall: An Actor’s Life has drawn raves from Carol Burnett, Julie Andrews, and Emma Thompson, among many others, and is in bookstores now. He is gearing up for the fourth season of 6-time Emmy Award-winningAfter Forever, after serving as co-showrunner and co-executive producer of the third season, now streaming on Amazon. His 2025 book, Cesar Romero: The Joker Is Wild, is a Foreword Magazine award-winner for Biography, and his non-fiction anthology Uncommon Heroes won a Stonewall Book Award from the American Library Association. His pilot for The Secret World of Danny Lopez was named a Writers Guild of America television comedy access project honoree but was also a drama winner at the New York Film Awards and a Content London International Drama Summit nominee for Best Pilot Script. He is also a well-regarded story consultant, working with clients in the United States, the U.K., and Europe.
He won Best Screenplay at the London Independent Film Awards for Elephant & Castle and a G.L.A.A.D. nomination for the Showtime film Bobbie’s Girl, which also garnered its star Bernadette Peters an Emmy nomination. Episodic credits range from the CBS drama Judging Amy to Nickelodeon’s Shimmer and Shine. With composer David Snyder he first adapted his non-fiction book Mr. Confidential as a stage musical, developing it at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and then directing its world premiere at Actors Theatre of Indiana.
Garza Bernstein started his career as an actor and singer, most notably performing in several productions of Evita as Eva’s first conquest, the tango singer “Magaldi.” He also served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for trans foster children in Los Angeles County for five years, created and co-chaired a writing mentorship program for public high school students for twelve years, and served as a youth facilitator for the Los Angeles LGBT Center for eight years. He and husband Ronald Shore have been together for over thirty years and split their time between LA and Porto, Portugal. They are currently the hostages of a pair of incorrigible dachshunds.
If you are a podcaster, or have a message or fantastic product you want to share with the world, I encourage you to check out PodMatch. I call them a dating service for podcasters. Use the affiliate link and tell them, Lucinda sent you. Then contact me so we can set up a Story-Power chat.
Want to be a guest on Story-Power? Send Lucinda Sage-Midgorden a message on PodMatch, click here
Story-Power on Patreon
I’m so passionate about stories that I created the Story-Power Patreon Community so I’d have an excuse to talk story with other story lovers. Patreon is $5 a month for content not found on the Story-Power podcast, or on my Sage Woman Blog. They have recently instituted a free tier so you can try it out before you buy. If you’re passionate about stories, and want to talk about what you’ve learned from your favorites, come join me at patreon.com/StoryPower. Let’s share what we’ve learned from the stories we love.
Prolific Writers Life
My husband, Barry and I are members and experts at Prolific Writers Life, which offers members a variety of free online work sessions and discounts on coaching with industry experts. They offer opportunities to hone your writing skills, develop your author brand, and connect with a supportive community in live events. You can participate in group chats or send private messages to members through Prolific Writers Chat. If you’ve got a writing project, or are an expert who can help members finish their books, come join the community.
They also offer fun events like Films for Writers, which is free for anyone who wants to attend. It’s like a film club. We watch the movies about writers often with tidbits about their writing life, and then come together on the last Friday evening of every month to discuss the movie. You can check out Prolific Writers Life with a free 14 day trial to see if this the community you have been looking for.
Classic Cinema With the Sage Sisters
Stories are a huge part of the way humans communicate with each other. Celeste and I think all stories are allegories where we can learn all kinds of important things, not the least of which is how to understand ourselves and others better. The best stories can be told over and over from one generation to the next and still teach great lessons. Emotional Intelligence and critical thinking are two of those lessons. Celeste and I think there are many classic movies that show us the progression of where humanity is today and we want to share them with you.
Shakespeare was right, “All the world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.” The stories we tell and consume are us trying to figure out who we are, why we’re here, and the kind of world we want to live in.
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947) is a romantic comedy about a teenager, Susan, played by Shirley Temple, who thinks she’s in love with an older man, played by Cary Grant (Richard). Susan’s sister, Margaret, played by Myrna Loy, is a judge and her guardian. Richard is a successful artist and always seems to be the eye of storms of people wanting to get close to him. Sometimes they are fighting over who should have access to his company and at the beginning of the movie he ends up in Margaret’s court because of a fight over him in a night club. Margaret dismisses the case from lack of motive. Later that day, he gives a lecture at Susan’s high school about art and she sees him as a knight in shining armor and forgets all about her current boyfriend, Jerry.
The problem begins when Susan goes to Richard’s apartment late one night when Margaret is out, thinking he has invited her to pose for him. Of course, he’s unaware of her belief and completely surprised when he arrives home to find her sleeping on his couch. Frantic about Susan’s safety after arriving home from a party with her friend, Asst. District Attorney, Tommy, played by Rudy Vallee, Margaret realizes where Susan has gone. When they arrive at Richard’s apartment just as he’s discovered Susan, all h*ll breaks loose.
Given what’s going on in the world today, the situation in the move may seem like a cautionary tale. But it’s not icky, it’s hilarious. Richard is not attracted to Susan at all, and the solution to help her get over her infatuation is innocent and harmless. Dr. Beemish, played by Ray Collins, is not only Margaret and Susan’s uncle, he’s also the court psychiatrist and suggests that to keep himself out of jail, Richard date Susan to help her get over her infatuation. This will be done under family supervision, of course. Richard doesn’t want to do it, but he’s in a difficult place so the deal is struck.
While Richard is reluctantly attending basketball games and school picnics, he’s getting to know Margaret. It’s a slow progression to their falling love, but Uncle Beemish is there to help push it along because he knows that Margaret has denied herself any romantic entanglements because of her devotion to raising Susan.
The script won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Sidney Sheldon. There are some funny bits of dialogue that help keep the mood light and engaging.
There are words and phrases from the movie that are so unique and charming that Celeste and I love to use them in our every day conversations. We hope you will watch the movie and our analysis of it and start a conversation about this entertaining movie. It’s a great one to watch when you need a good laugh.
