Executive Suite (1954)

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Cameron Hawley (novel)
Ernest Lehman (writer)

Release Date:

1954 (Turkey)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Behind the lighted tower windows the conflict of love and power is reckless and daring!

Plot:

Avery Bullard, President of the Tredway Corporation has died. But he never named a clear successor, so the Board members must choose a replacement...

Plot Keywords:

Boardroom | Business Ethics | Daughter | Candidate | Business

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

William Holden	...	McDonald Walling
June Allyson	...	Mary Blemond Walling
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Julia O. Tredway
Fredric March	...	Loren Phineas Shaw
Walter Pidgeon	...	Frederick W. Alderson
Shelley Winters	...	Eva Bardeman
Paul Douglas	...	Josiah Walter Dudley
Louis Calhern	...	George Nyle Caswell
Dean Jagger	...	Jesse Q. Grimm
Nina Foch	...	Erica Martin
Tim Considine	...	Mike Walling
William Phipps	...	Bill Lundeen
Lucy Knoch	...	Mrs. George Nyle Caswell
Edgar Stehli	...	Julius Steigel
Mary Adams	...	Sara Asenath Grimm

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:12 | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #16711)

Filming Locations:

Long Beach Airport - 4101 E. Donald Douglas Drive, Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

For years it was believed that NBC news anchor Chet Huntley, who narrates the opening of the film, also played Avery Bullard, when in fact he did not. The role was played by Raoul Freeman. Neither Huntley nor Freeman received screen credit.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the elevator doors, seen from Bullard's point of view, open at the lobby of the office building at the film's beginning, it is obvious that the people in the lobby have been standing still, awaiting their cue when the doors open, as they are clearly standing immobile for a moment before they start to move around the scene.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[pre-opening-credits sequence; views of skyscrapers]
Narrator: It is always up there, close to the clouds, on the topmost floors of the sky-reaching towers of big business. And because it is high in the sky, you may think that those who work there are somehow above and beyond the tensions and temptations of the lower floors. This is to say that it isn't so.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Cheers: Executive Sweet (#7.3)" (1988)

Undeservedly ignored, this one deserves wider coverage

Competent acting by Holden, Stanwyck and the others combine with a principled script that rises above the rabble of screenplays that don't accurately portray the responsibilities of trying to steer huge organizations. Management and negotiation courses could benefit from a showing of this movie.