When the president of Tredway Furniture Company, Adrian Bullock is dead from a heart attack, the company's executives scramble to make their own bids to lead the company. This is an excellent film about the corporate greed which reveals how executives manipulate things to drive the corporation in the direction they choose so that their personal interest are protected while ignoring the welfare of the employees' who do the hard work. Hollywood has made some great films about this subject especially in 1930s after the Great Depression and many of them takes a penetrating look at the shallowness and unhappiness in the personal lives of corporate executives. Those days, dysfunctional families were identified with rich and wealthy than the middle class. In this1954 movie, director Robert Wise shows the intensity of the boardroom melodrama by eliminating the background musical soundtrack. He has cleverly set the stage for this story with some of the Hollywood's best, which includes Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, William Holden, June Allyson, Shelly Winters, and Walter Pidgeon. Wise is not a novice for making classic films, his accomplishments includes; West Side Story, The Sound of Music, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Somebody up There Likes Me (starring Paul Newman), and Star!
This is a remarkably fascinating power struggle by a brilliant ensemble. Wise allows that none of these characters is perfect, but that makes them all the more watchable. I was most impressed by the performance of Nina Foch who is not only beautiful but also brainy. She knows who the best person to lead the company is, and she is steadfast in standing by the right man. Her brilliant performance as Erica Martin, the senior administrator of the company earned her nomination in the 1955 Academy Awards in the best supporting actress category. William Holden once stated that Spencer Tracy and Fredric March were his acting heroes, and he was fortunate enough to work with Fredric March in this film, but he never worked with Tracy. However his performance is simply outstanding.
This is a remarkably fascinating power struggle by a brilliant ensemble. Wise allows that none of these characters is perfect, but that makes them all the more watchable. I was most impressed by the performance of Nina Foch who is not only beautiful but also brainy. She knows who the best person to lead the company is, and she is steadfast in standing by the right man. Her brilliant performance as Erica Martin, the senior administrator of the company earned her nomination in the 1955 Academy Awards in the best supporting actress category. William Holden once stated that Spencer Tracy and Fredric March were his acting heroes, and he was fortunate enough to work with Fredric March in this film, but he never worked with Tracy. However his performance is simply outstanding.
Reference: Executive Suite, DVD, starring Fredric March
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