Another forgotten milestone from the early 1970s:
I remember my homeroom teacher telling the class that this film about the first African-American president "is pure science fiction." It no doubt seemed that way to many people in 1972, but my father, a history teacher, made a point of taking us to see it, as he did The Great White Hope a couple of years before. Rod Serling, the brilliant creator of The Twilight Zone, adapted a novel by Irving Wallace into an intelligent and dignified film about racial progress, bigotry, and statesmanship. The film also boasts one of James Earl Jones' very best performances. He is a powerful screen presence, and like the character he plays, his integrity is unassailable. I'd have voted for him right then and there if the story were real and I were old enough.
Synopsis from imdb: When the President and Speaker of the House are killed in a building collapse, and the Vice-President declines the office due to age and ill-health, Senate President pro tempore Douglas Dilman (James Earl Jones) suddenly becomes the first black man to occupy the Oval Office. The events from that day to the next election when he must decide if he will actually run challenge his skills as a politician and leader.
In view of current events, I think the world would be interested in THE MAN if it were revived. Although my memory of the film is vague, it seems to me as if the buttons it pushes and the issues it addresses are manifest on the campaign trail right now. What are the chances of persuading ABC and Paramount to re-release THE MAN on DVD?
I remember my homeroom teacher telling the class that this film about the first African-American president "is pure science fiction." It no doubt seemed that way to many people in 1972, but my father, a history teacher, made a point of taking us to see it, as he did The Great White Hope a couple of years before. Rod Serling, the brilliant creator of The Twilight Zone, adapted a novel by Irving Wallace into an intelligent and dignified film about racial progress, bigotry, and statesmanship. The film also boasts one of James Earl Jones' very best performances. He is a powerful screen presence, and like the character he plays, his integrity is unassailable. I'd have voted for him right then and there if the story were real and I were old enough.
Synopsis from imdb: When the President and Speaker of the House are killed in a building collapse, and the Vice-President declines the office due to age and ill-health, Senate President pro tempore Douglas Dilman (James Earl Jones) suddenly becomes the first black man to occupy the Oval Office. The events from that day to the next election when he must decide if he will actually run challenge his skills as a politician and leader.
In view of current events, I think the world would be interested in THE MAN if it were revived. Although my memory of the film is vague, it seems to me as if the buttons it pushes and the issues it addresses are manifest on the campaign trail right now. What are the chances of persuading ABC and Paramount to re-release THE MAN on DVD?
