Robert Wise’s Executive Suite is an often mesmerizing examination of the behind-the-scenes plotting and planning present in corporate America.
The Production: 4/5
In the mid-1950s, two productions appeared that blindingly shone a startling spotlight on the backstabbing and skullduggery that was going on behind the scenes of big business. One was on television: Rod Serling’s Patterns, a year later to become a movie on its own. But before Patterns, MGM presented Robert Wise’s Executive Suite, a trenchant look at the complex machinations among a company’s board of directors to elect a new president. Being MGM, the production was a lavish affair with an all-star cast and production design that was second to none, and the film was a hit, too, an eye-opening look at corporate structure at its most lethal and insidious.
When president of Tredway Corporation Avery Bullard (Raoul Freeman) drops dead from a stroke on Wall Street with no plan for his succession and no executive vice-president in place to take over, five of the vice-presidents on the board begin jostling for positions of potential power. Foremost among the contenders is Loren Shaw (Fredric March), the company’s controller and head financial officer to whom profits are everything. Bullard’s second-in-command Fred Alderson (Walter Pidgeon) would like the job but knows he’s not a strong enough leader to handle the presidency. Don Walling (William Holden) puts pride in the company’s designs and potential growth above merely considering today’s profits. George Caswell (Louis Calhern) who was the first to know of Bullard’s death and sold a huge amount of stock short thinking the stock prices would drop and he could make a killing now needs to put the right man in the job in order to not go bankrupt. Walt Dudley (Paul Douglas), head of sales, is having an affair with his secretary (Shelley Winters), and this knowledge is known by Shaw and used as leverage to gain his vote. With head of manufacturing Jesse Grimm (Dean Jagger) retiring, the swing vote seems to lie with Julia Tredway (Barbara Stanwyck), heiress to the company and former lover of the deceased Bullard, now completely distraught and not thinking clearly.
Cameron Hawley’s novel has been adapted for the screen by the legendary screenwriter Ernest Lehman in his first script for the screen, and what a mighty effort he has delivered juggling about eight plots or subplots and making each one just meaty enough to hold our attention and understand how all of it threads together, delivering a taut, suspenseful narrative that never allows us to predict its outcome. Director Robert Wise is likewise key for keeping everything moving smoothly, switching effortlessly from one sequence to the next with so many characters and each with his or her own agendas and never bogging down the narrative with too many conflicts. And yet, he makes time for things other than the crucial vote for control of the company: Walling’s son (Tim Considine) pitching his first little league game, Dudley’s mistress grappling with the hopelessness of her domestic situation, Walling’s wife (June Allyson) not wanting their lives to change, but when the climactic voting sequence does begin, the tension is thick enough to cut with a knife. Tension is aided by the lack of any background music score, unusual for a movie of this era; only sound effects or occasional music from a car radio or phonograph accompany the on-screen action.
Top-billed William Holden was in the midst of a huge career jolt when he made this movie. Executive Suite was but one of four films of his released during 1954, and he’s at his galvanizing best delivering a climactic monologue so convincingly that it’ll likely send chills down a first-timer’s spine. Fredric March matches him every step of the way playing a numbers cruncher who desperately wants the head position, with his sweaty palms and upper lip continually wiped with a handkerchief to hide his curdling, nervous ambition. Louis Calhern is all bluff and bluster thinking a monetary windfall is within his grasp, and Walter Pidgeon is the frustrated underling wanting the top job but knowing he’s not right for it. Paul Douglas and Dean Jagger also contribute key moments to the proceedings. The ladies are less in the forefront though Barbara Stanwyck is certainly dynamic and raw as she grapples with a broken heart and a cynical view toward her uncertain future. Nina Foch earned an Oscar nomination as Bullard’s stalwart executive secretary, but that nomination could just have easily gone to Shelley Winters as the secretary realizing the dead-end street of her affair with her married boss. June Allyson, Virginia Brissac, and Mary Adams offer support for their husbands (Holden, Pidgeon, Jagger respectively) without figuring in too deeply into the intricate machinations of the power plays on display.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
With the 1.75:1 theatrical aspect ratio delivered in this 1080p transfer (AVC codec), Executive Suite is framed correctly for the first time on home video, its DVD and TV presentations always shown open matte. It’s a sharp and detailed picture on display with a strong grayscale and no visual anomalies to mar the viewing experience. The movie has been divided into 26 chapters.
Audio: 5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono sound mix is excellent in every respect. Dialogue has been beautifully recorded and is rendered cleanly and precisely in this presentation. With no music to speak of, sound effects take on a more important role to the movie coming through masterfully when needed (an almost deafening clanging bell marks several key moments in the movie). There are no problems with age-related hiss, crackle, pops, or flutter.
Special Features: 3/5
Audio Commentary: filmmaker Oliver Stone offers a stop and start commentary on the film which he greatly admires. It’s problematic, however, due to his jumping far ahead early discussing character behaviors and then backtracking to his current spot in the movie to comment on the action. He misidentifies a first-person Bogart film instead of knowing it was Dark Passage, and generally offers a disorganized grab bag of opinions and comparisons to his own Wall Street.
Do Someone a Favor (9:02, SD): a one-reel Pete Smith Specialty.
Hic-cup Pup (6:23, HD): Tom and Jerry animated short
Theatrical Trailer (3:11, SD)
Overall: 4/5
Robert Wise’s Executive Suite is an often mesmerizing examination of the behind-the-scenes plotting and planning present in corporate America. It features superb performances from a startling, starry cast and comes with a hearty recommendation.
Matt has been reviewing films and television professionally since 1974 and has been a member of Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2007, his reviews now numbering close to three thousand. During those years, he has also been a junior and senior high school English teacher earning numerous entries into Who’s Who Among America’s Educators and spent many years treading the community theater boards as an actor in everything from Agatha Christie mysteries to Stephen Sondheim musicals.
Post Disclaimer
Some of our content may contain marketing links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. In our editorial content, these affiliate links appear automatically, and our editorial teams are not influenced by our affiliate partnerships. We work with several providers (currently Skimlinks and Amazon) to manage our affiliate relationships. You can find out more about their services by visiting their sites.
Similar threads