Rating: 
Summary: Solid Political Drama
Review: "The Best Man" (1964) takes place at the National Presidential Convention of an unnamed political party. A front runner has not yet emerged, and a number of candidates are jockeying for delegates as well as the support of the former President. Unfortunately, the former President is withholding his support until the last minute, so the candidates start to develop alternate and more devious strategies. Seeing how far each will go comprises the remainder of the film.
The script by Gore Vidal is solid; although many of the political specifics are outdated, the characters and situations remain relatable. In addition, the cast is top-notch. Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson star as the two frontrunners, with Fonda displaying the necessary gravitas and Robertson playing the callous younger candidate. Their characters' strengths and flaws are well-developed - the viewer is likely to flip-flop several times in rooting for one of them. Lee Tracy capped his long acting career playing the former President here; his performance is excellent - full of bluster but still realistic and engaging. Accordingly, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Ann Sothern also turns in an amusing performance as the powerful head of a women's political league.
This film is not particularly well-known, but it's definitely worth watching. Make sure to catch the opening credits, which feature pictures of all the U.S. Presidents up to 1964 (LBJ). Overall, "The Best Man" is quite entertaining and still relevant to today's politics.
Rating:
Summary: Is this the way it really is, this cynical?
Review: Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Format: Black & White
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
Video Release Date: January 23, 1990
Cast:
Henry Fonda ... William Russell
Cliff Robertson ... Joe Cantwell
Edie Adams ... Mabel Cantwell
Margaret Leighton ... Alice Russell
Shelley Berman ... Sheldon Bascomb
Lee Tracy ... Art Hockstader
Ann Sothern ... Sue Ellen Gamadge
Gene Raymond ... Don Cantwell
Kevin McCarthy ... Dick Jensen
Mahalia Jackson ... Herself
Howard K. Smith ... Himself
John Henry Faulk ... Gov. T.T. Claypoole
Richard Arlen ... Sen. Oscar Anderson
Penny Singleton ... Mrs. Claypoole
George Kirgo ... Speechwriter
George Furth ... Tom
Ann Newman-Mantee ... Janet
Mary Lawrence ... Mrs. Merwin
H.E. West ... Sen. Lazarus
Michael MacDonald ... Zealot
William R. Ebersol ... Gov. John Merwin
Natalie Masters ... Mrs. Anderson
Marie Blake ... Cleaning woman
Bill Stout ... Himself
Tyler McVey ... Chairman
Sherwood Keith ... Doctor
William Henry ... Reporter
John Indrisano ... Mafia Man
Byron Morrow ... Master of Ceremonies at Banquet
Billy Beck
Gene Roth ... Pennsylvania Delegate
Gore Vidal ... Delegate
Some movies seem so realistic that they make you wonder: does art reflect life this accurately? Is this the way it really is?
This is such a movie. Cynicism rules. Honesty and integrity are out the window. The game is all that is important.
In presidential politics, which is what this film is about, the stakes are high, and one does not win by default. The struggle is fierce, and the competitors pull out all the stops.
In this movie Henry Fonda portrays a man who wants to play it straight. He refuses to stoop to the dirty tricks and slander that his opponent for the nomination of his party (Cliff Robertson) is using. To make matters worse, the incumbent president refuses to endorse either candidate. That's the plot and the conflict.
I found the film fascinationg because I suspect that it reflects reality, and as another reviewer has said, that's why the politicians like the story.
I found it fascinating, and I think you will also.
Joseph (Joe) Pierre
Rating: 
Summary: HEY!!
Review: It was a pretty good movie, but it seems Gore Vidal is always writing "gay" themes into his stuff. I can never figure that out.
Rating:
Summary: I See Why It's A Favorite With Real Politicians - Fine Film
Review: Personally, to me this movie was kind of boring. It was very informative of the presidential campaigns going on at that time, but it just wasn't my kind of movie.But, the best part of this movie was when Mahalia Jackson made an appearance, singing "Down By The Riverside" at the banquet. That was just wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: When conventions still mattered.
Review: Pretty good political drama that takes itself seriously & gives you the feel of the way the national conventions used to be. After all, they selected our presidents.
Henry Fonda & Cliff Robertson are the main contenders, different as night & day. Fonda's character is the intellectual Secretary of State, slow to act or make major decisions. Robertson's character is an outspoken McCarthy-like Senator who shoots from the hip. Fonda's character is kind & everybody likes him except his estranged wife. He likes to fool around.
Robertson is a totally disagreeable tyrant whose beautiful wife adores him & he doesn't have time for sex. The other minor canidates are buffoons.
When neither man can get the nomination the threatened mud slinging begins. It seems that Fonda might be a nut job & Cliff has written proof. Robertson might be a closet queen & Henry has witnesses. To me the resolution wasn't particularly satisfying, but it still gets 3 1/2 stars. Movie done in a documentary style which was effective.
Rating:
Summary: When conventions still mattered.
Review: Pretty good political drama that takes itself seriously & gives you the feel of the way the national conventions used to be. After all, they selected our presidents.
Henry Fonda & Cliff Robertson are the main contenders, different as night & day. Fonda's character is the intellectual Secretary of State, slow to act or make major decisions. Robertson's character is an outspoken McCarthy-like Senator who shoots from the hip. Fonda's character is kind & everybody likes him except his estranged wife. He likes to fool around.
Robertson is a totally disagreeable tyrant whose beautiful wife adores him & he doesn't have time for sex. The other minor canidates are buffoons.
When neither man can get the nomination the threatened mud slinging begins. It seems that Fonda might be a nut job & Cliff has written proof. Robertson might be a closet queen & Henry has witnesses. To me the resolution wasn't particularly satisfying, but it still gets 3 1/2 stars. Movie done in a documentary style which was effective.
Rating:
Summary: A little too theatrical but it has its moments
Review: The 1964 film version of Gore Vidal's play, the Best Man is the story of two men fighting for their party's presidential nomination at the national political convention. Henry Fonda's the good, liberal, Kennedyesque candidate while Cliff Robertson is the sour, right-wing, Nixonian candidate. Of course, since this was written by Gore Vidal, Robertson has a dark, personal secret in his past. That secret should be obvious to anyone within the first few minutes of the film but back in the more innocent-minded '60s, I'm sure it was quite a shocking revelation. Anyway, both Robertson and Fonda spent most of the film competing for the endorsement of ex-President Lee Tracy, who is obviously playing Harry Truman. The film is a little too theatrical and the politics are a bit obvious. Though one of our great actors, Fonda could also be a bit of a bore whenever he got into his noble liberal mode and this film allows him to indulge in that nobility a little too much. Robertson is more entertaining as a villian (if just because evil is always more fun to watch than saintliness) but at time, his malice is so obvious (more suggesting Hitler than Nixon) that you have to wonder who would be stupid enough to actually vote for him. However, the film does feature a good performance from the always underrated Kevin McCarthy as Fonda's shrewd campaign manager -- he manages to add in some nice shades of gray. Veteran actor Lee Tracy is wonderful as the ex-President. He tends to chew up the scenery in a few scenes but is obvioulsy having a good time. He's the main reason for seeing the film. (As one-sided as I find this film to be, one has to be happy that it wasn't directed by original choice Frank Capra, a great director but still one who would have sentimentalized the story, making its issues even more simplistic.)
Rating:
Summary: Political Nail Biter
Review: The setting is a National Nominating Convention of one of the major parties for President. The top two contestants are intellecutal Secretary of State Henry Fonda and scare-tactic headline grabbing Senator Cliff Robertson. The scramble for delegates, the dangling of endorsements, blackmail, extortion, and double-dealing are all part of a days work when the Presidency is on the line and no one has enough delegates to seal the deal. This is an honest and exciting look at the world of politics. Not a trite clear cut good vs. evil morality play, the Fonda character is not without his faults, but a race to the finish line that the viewer is given no clue as to who will win and there are some curious detours along the way, but the plot never gets too complicated and the convention actually LOOKS like a convention unlike in many political films. A great supporting cast including Shelley Berman as a nervous ex-army buddy of Robertson's who just might have the "goods" on him and formerly black-listed hillbilly entertainer John Henry Faulk as "everybody's favorite son" southern Governor T. T. Claypool, a great character. Wonderful photography, the crisp direction you would expect from Schaffner and a marvelous closing shot. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Political Nail Biter
Review: The setting is a National Nominating Convention of one of the major parties for President. The top two contestants are intellecutal Secretary of State Henry Fonda and scare-tactic headline grabbing Senator Cliff Robertson. The scramble for delegates, the dangling of endorsements, blackmail, extortion, and double-dealing are all part of a days work when the Presidency is on the line and no one has enough delegates to seal the deal. This is an honest and exciting look at the world of politics. Not a trite clear cut good vs. evil morality play, the Fonda character is not without his faults, but a race to the finish line that the viewer is given no clue as to who will win and there are some curious detours along the way, but the plot never gets too complicated and the convention actually LOOKS like a convention unlike in many political films. A great supporting cast including Shelley Berman as a nervous ex-army buddy of Robertson's who just might have the "goods" on him and formerly black-listed hillbilly entertainer John Henry Faulk as "everybody's favorite son" southern Governor T. T. Claypool, a great character. Wonderful photography, the crisp direction you would expect from Schaffner and a marvelous closing shot. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Think more in terms of "The Worst Man" losing with this one
Review: The tagline for "The Best Man" was "Does the Best Man always get to the White House?" Today it is obvious to most of us that the answer is "no," and that those who seek the presidency are not the best the nation has to offer. Today is Election Day 2004 and the one common denominator between George W. Bush and John F. Kerry is that they were both nominated because they were seen as candidates who could win. But when you watch this 1964 film, adapted by Gore Vidal from his play, what you will notice how much things have changed in terms of how the sausage gets made. "The Best Man" speaks to the time, now long past, when candidates were selected by political bosses in smoke filled back rooms, although Gore expands the idea to involve some dirty tricks that must have seemed beyond the pale back then, but which would be considered tame by today's standards.
"The Best Man," which obviously comes from the hollow American wish "May the best man win," takes place at a national convention where the party's nominee is in doubt. The party is not named, but we know that it is the party that already controls the White House. President Art Hockstader (Lee Tracy) is very much interested in which of the five men running will follow him as President. When you look at the two main contenders you can see why it is not clear whether these are the Democrats or the Republicans. The favorite is Bill Russell (Henry Fonda), the former Secretary of State (Ironically, two years earlier Fonda had appeared in "Advise and Consent," where his character was being nominated for that same position). Russell comes across as an "egg head" in the Adlai Stevenson mold and while he sounds like a liberal we are told he is an American at heart. However, his chief rival is Senator Joe Cantwell (Cliff Robertson), a ruthless opportunist who rose to national prominence by holding hearings in which he went after Communists. Given Robertson's performance, which makes it seem the character wants to be Godfather rather than president, Cantwell seems more like Richard Nixon than Joseph McCarthy.
Cantwell gets his hands on information that can sink Russell's candidacy and tries to use it to blackmail his opponent into withdrawing from the race, justifying his illegal activities as being what is good for the country (i.e., "Better dead than Red"). Russell tries to fight fire with fire, coming up with some devastating personal information about Cantwell, but using it would mean sinking to Cantwell's level, and Russell does not know if he can stomach doing that, even for the highest office in the land.
Gore might be dealing with black and white notions of character in the contrast of Russell and Cantwell, but the issues being bandied about in the rooms and corridors of the convention are rather complicated. It is not just a question of accusing a man of being a womanizer (or worse), because politics is a world where being indecisive is a greater crime than having a nervous breakdown. Today we easily recognize that everything Gore has written about in "The Best Man," except for the (or worse) part, has been a major political issue in the presidential campaigns of the last forty years since the film was released.
The ultimate thesis of this film is that stopping the wrong man from becoming president is more important in making sure that the best man wins. That proposition is as depressing today as it was when "The Best Man" came out. What makes the film work to the extent that it does is that we like Russell, and the way Gore constructs the story there is really nobody else to support besides Russell. But the point becomes moot as the emphasis becomes derailing Cantwell. That reason, more than any other, will explain why you will not feel good about American politics by the time this film is over.
Beyond Fonda's compelling performance there are several other excellent ones turned in by the supporting class (Tracy was nominated for an Oscar), most notably from Kevin McCarthy, Ann Sothern and Gene Raymond. You will also see Mahalia Jackson and Howard K. Smith playing themselves, and if you look quick you can spot Gore Vidal playing a delegate.
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