An African-American senator becomes the designated survivor of a tragic accident that kills the President of the United States. Now the first black President, he attempts to end the bigotry ... Read allAn African-American senator becomes the designated survivor of a tragic accident that kills the President of the United States. Now the first black President, he attempts to end the bigotry and divide standing in his way.An African-American senator becomes the designated survivor of a tragic accident that kills the President of the United States. Now the first black President, he attempts to end the bigotry and divide standing in his way.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Wheeler's Lawyer
- (as Martin Brooks)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJames Earl Jones was interviewed about portraying a fictional black U.S. president a few days before Barack Obama was sworn in as President. Jones said that he had misgivings about the film, mostly because they were blindsided when the project (which was planned and budgeted as a TV movie) was released in theaters, and he wished that they'd had more time and resources to make a stronger final film.
- Quotes
Douglass Dilman: We live in a time when violence is offered up as the panacea. The bullet seems to be the final instrument of political discourse. Men die violently, we bury them, we mourn for them and we seek retribution. It's a deadly pattern... a quote from Genesis: "Behold the dreamer. Come now therefore and let us slay him and we shall see what has become of his dream." We cannot murder the tyranny by murdering the tyrant and we cannot murder the dream by murdering the dreamer. And if we justify the taking of any life in the name of our morality, we've done nothing but murder our morality.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Dick Cavett Show: Episode dated 19 July 1972 (1972)
In the opening scene, a White House breakfast is in progress even though the President and the Speaker of the House are visiting a mediaeval cathedral in Europe. Suddenly news arrives that the cathedral has collapsed: the President and the Speaker are dead. White House aides inform Vice President Calvin (a good performance by Lew Ayres) that he's now the chief executive. But Calvin is old and frail, and he refuses the job. I found this contrived: if the Vice President isn't medically fit to replace the President at an instant's notice, then he isn't fit to be Vice President and shouldn't hold the office.
By an obscure but apparently genuine constitutional fluke, the Presidential succession devolves to an obscure senator named Douglass Dilman (James Earl Jones) who happens to be Negro. Yes, a black man is now President!
"The Man" raises some interesting issues. Jones gives an intelligent and dignified performance as the black President who refuses to see his job promotion as proof of racial progress. He knows he wasn't *elected* to the job, and he doesn't believe that America will elect a black President any time soon. (This was 1972.)
William Windom, who usually played sympathetic roles, gives an excellent performance as a bigoted white politician who covets the Presidency. (The posters for this movie depicted Windom speaking a racial epithet.) Charles Lampkin is excellent in a small role as a black Congressman. And, of course, now that a black man is in the Oval Office, there's a plot to assassinate him...
For some reason, comedian Jack Benny gets very large billing for a very brief scene in "The Man". He appears only in the opening teaser sequence: when the opening credits roll with Benny's name on the screen, we've already seen his entire performance and he won't show up again! Playing himself, Jack Benny performs a comedy monologue during the White House breakfast. But Benny's legendary timing is off, and he doesn't bother to conceal that he's reading his jokes off a legal pad. I'm a Jack Benny fan, but he disgraces himself here.
There are some good scenes in "The Man" but there's a lot of sermonising too, and very little action. I recommend this film with reservations, and I'll give it 5 points out of 10. I sincerely believe that the U.S.A. will eventually elect a black President ... but, sad to say, I also believe that the first African-American President will almost certainly be assassinated. I hope I'm wrong.
- F Gwynplaine MacIntyre
- May 27, 2002
- How long is The Man?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- ザ・マン~大統領の椅子~
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1