A Lost World of Government That Worked: Advise and Consent, 1962

(This is my piece for CMBA’a Politics in the Movies Blogathon — Click and read them all!)

Franchot Tone as a beleaguered President in Advise and Consent

Advise and Consent, adapted from a best selling novel by Alan Drury, follows the process by which the United States Senate confirms, or declines to confirm, the President’s cabinet officers. Directed by Otto Preminger, with gleaming black and white photography by Sam Leavett, the camera literally prowls the corridors of power in the Senate chamber, the Senate offices, the fancy parties, and the streets of Washington, D.C.      

Burgess Meredith, Paul Stevens, and Henry Fonda

The scene opens with the Majority Whip, played by Paul Ford (a much underrated actor capable of any kind of role from broad comedy to serious drama) arriving at the home of the Majority Leader, Walter Pidgeon, with his somewhat scanty hair on fire, as the saying goes. The President (a wonderfully authoritative Franchot Tone) whom they both support has made a surprise announcement of his controversial choice for a new Secretary of State after the sudden death of the previous one. They are both chagrined by not having been notified before the press announcement.  

The first thing you notice about this film is the superb cast. Every character is expertly brought to life by experienced actors, who know how to make an impression with swift, sure strokes. A look, a pause, a tone of voice, these show the motives, wants, and needs of each person, clearly but without fuss. And the movie knows this, too; every role is perfectly cast and director Preminger gives each one at least a few moments to shine. This includes actors we know and admire from many subsequent performances, like Betty White and Edward Andrews, as well as top supporting players like Lew Ayres and Peter Lawford.

Betty White — she could make soft words mask a sting even then!

These characters are defined by their political roles, but not political party; parties are never mentioned. The assumption is that whichever party is in power will have a similar structures to run each house of congress efficiently and get the nation’s business done. At this point in history, they always had. From the outset, both of these men — and almost all of the power-brokers are men, though not every single one — have intimate and thorough knowledge of not only the workings of the Senate, but the personalities and political needs of every Senator, both on their side and in the ranks of the opposition. 


This knowledge is what made our government work, in a process that used to be genially called “horse trading.” The Majority Leader, known familiarly as Bobby to his friends, knows all about everyone in the chamber. He doesn’t agree with all of  them,  but he doesn’t suspect most of them of bad faith, either. The President relies on him to get his agenda through by knowing who wants what, and what they will do to get it.

Walter Pidgeon, Charles Laughton, and Paul Ford

Bobby takes a phone call from the President, and  it becomes obvious that they’re old friends. The President insists that his choice, an outspoken public policy intellectual (Henry Fonda), be confirmed by the Senate as soon as possible. We learn that there are problems — Robert Leffingwell is reputedly a leftist, and faces pretty stiff opposition from even members of his own party. He is particularly disliked by a flamboyant old Southern senator, “Seeb” Cooley (a fabulous Charles Laughton).


As the plot unfolds, the nomination becomes a lightening rod for various powerful currents — echoes of McCarthyism and long ago associations, some personal, some political.  Membership on the committee holding confirmation hearings is considered a plum assignment, and the chairmanship is awarded to an up-and-coming young Senator from Utah, the honest and upright Brig Anderson (Don Murray). A witness (Burgess Meredith) is called who accuses Leffingwell of having been a Communist in the 1930’s. Leffingwell is able to refute the testimony — but Anderson later learns that it was true. Now he is in the  difficult position of balking the President’s wishes and angering his own party. Brig’s problems are suddenly compounded when anonymous threats to disclose something disreputable in his past if he interferes with Leffingwell’s confirmation. It becomes apparent that he does indeed have a secret he is desperate to conceal. And this is where this political thriller becomes dated — but in a good way.

Because it turns out Brig’s secret is a wartime homosexual relationship. In 1962, this was hugely sensational, not least because of the suggestion that an average Joe, accomplished enough to be a successful politician, could have had a homosexual experience.  (While of course in reality it probably happened quite a lot.) Now it doesn’t even seem that startling, much less worth the price poor Brig pays. Even the political intrigue is rather high-minded; the bombastic Seeb Cooley, though he pulls some underhanded tricks, is motivated by sincere concern for the country’s security. The only true bad guy is a hyper-partisan member of the protagonists’ own party. brilliantly played by George Grizzard as a humorless, egotistical power seeker. A sign of this movie’s genuineness is the way it breaks with movie convention. Everyone is not beautiful. Everyone does not live happily ever after.

Brig is happily married to a woman who considers herself a dull, unglamorous housewife — and she is, as far as an actress as beautiful as Inga Swenson can make her. My favorite romance is between the Majority Leader, a middle-aged widower, and the political hostess Dolly Harrison (Gene Tierney ). a middle-aged widow; she doesn’t want to marry again and lose her independence. But they’ve been having an affair for years, and their banter included her praising his virility, which must have been a bit startling in 1962.

Gene Tierney and Walter Pidgeon as mature, sophisticated lovers

It may be particularly salutary, if painful, to take a clear look at the way our government used to — and was intended to — work. Advise and Consent is one of several films of the early 1960s, that golden of  era of political films, that view with unforced admiration the structure and processes of the Federal Government as it had developed over nearly two hundred years. The United States was experiencing an era of hope and confidence. President Kennedy (whose extreme physical problems were secret from the public and Congress) seemed to bring with him modern ideas, competence, and the proven valor of an authentic war hero. Americans saw the future without fear, but with belief in our ability to face and solve problems.  Add romance, intrigue and drama, and a splendid cast, and you’ve got a spellbinder.

Don Murray as an honest man with an unbearable secret; Inga Swenson as his long-suffering spouse

4 thoughts on “A Lost World of Government That Worked: Advise and Consent, 1962

  1. Conversing the brilliant casting this movie is my HORROR Movie ! It’s depiction of my world of being a homosexual. . There is absolutely nothing Gay in it’s depiction .. Instead it shows a terribly dark dystopian view of what being homosexual was ! He’s losing his hetero loving nest as it disintegrates due to a blackmail letter depicting his WWII in Hawaii affair … He goes to Greenwich Village to confront his former lover .. The scene he fines is grotesque ! The 400 lb Gay he meets and the Gay bar he enters .. all in the dark dark drissle ! His liver is a no good guy who betrays for money. . He flies back to D.C. and hangs himself ! This was the world as Preminger saw it .. as he depicted it. . Otto Preminger was a bitter homophobe and showed deeply within this movie ! For Gays of my generation stuck in the closet this movie was soul sucking !

  2. Dear Linda,

    This is a great article! I really enjoyed reading it. Your description of this film is really interesting. I forgot that I read that Lew Ayres is in this movie. Gene Tierney and Walter Pidgeon sound like an interesting couple. What an apropos article for this theme! I look forward to reading more of your articles in the future.

    By the way, I nominated you for a Sunshine Blogger Award: https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2020/10/26/our-second-sunshine-blogger-award/. In this post, I also invited my nominees to join two upcoming blogathons I’m hosting, The Third Annual Claude Rains Blogathon in November (https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/an-old-friend-is-never-an-added-guest-please-join-us-for-the-third-annual-claude-rains-blogathon/) and The 2nd Happy Holidays Blogathon
    (https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/announcing-the-2nd-happy-holidays-blogathon/), plus our guest series, What the Code Means to Me: https://pureentertainmentpreservationsociety.wordpress.com/2018/12/17/what-the-code-means-to-me/. If you could join one or more of these events, that would be wonderful. We could really use your talent!

    Yours Hopefully,

    Tiffany Brannan

  3. Excellent review.

    A spellbinder indeed. I defy anyone to turn away from Advise and Consent, whether they planned the viewing or came across it unexpectedly (as happened to me once). It was the first of several viewings.

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