Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9602 in VHS
• Released on: 1998-09-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Black & White, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 103 minutes

Customer Reviews

Cynical Docu-drama that is sadly all too true.
This film is shot in a documentary style, similar to other political pictures from the '60s, like "The Manchurian Candidate", "Seven Days in May", "The Bedford Incident", and "Dr. Strangelove".

What it so skillfully creates is the private, "smoke-filled back room" of political conventions in days of yore. The type of maneuvering depicted in the film is probably a thing of the past, as Presidential candidates are chosen well before the actual nomination process today.

Set at a conservative party's political convention in 1964, we get to see how those in any way connected to the political process are duplicitous, dishonest, and just plain two-faced depending on who is in the room at the moment and what the person wants from them. Even when alone with another of their ilk, the games continue.

Sadly, the film is all too accurate in its depiction of politicians. The fantasy of a Mr. Smith going to Washington, filled with true patriotism and a sense of sacred duty to the People, is quickly dispelled early on in the picture.

The film is amazingly absorbing, and crackling with tension despite usually tedious subject matter of politics.

Hank Fonda plays the candidate we are meant to root for, and Cliff Robertson the Nixon/McCarthy anti-red zealot we are meant to root against. Still, there are moments when Cliff comes across as a good choice as candidate, ready to be a President.

Perhaps that was what made this film so good; every character had more than one side, more to look at. They were truly three dimensional, rather than the stock characters that litter TV and film today.

I think you'll enjoy this one even if you don't like politics or political films. Hank Fonda and Cliff Robertson really deliver. The ending has a real twist you won't see coming.

If you do like politics, you will see the inner workings of an old-style Presidential convention, multiple ballots, back-room deals, and how endorsements and pledges of support are/were won and lost.

The documentary style is classic early 1960's, and seems to be a lost art these days... along with the idea of a Mr. Smith or an honest politician.

Think more in terms of "The Worst Man" losing with this one
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.

Solid Political Drama
"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.