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:

Vice President | Candidate | Furniture | Career | Boardroom

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Feb. 22

4:15 AM

TCM

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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:

According to Oliver Stone, who did the commentary on the DVD for this film, the beginning was narrated by Edward R. Murrow.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although the film takes place on June 19-20, 1953, when Don and Mary Walling are driving home from the plant the first night, all the cars seen parked along the street in the rear projection through the car's windows date from not later than about 1940.

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 The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Absorbing drama of corporate struggle for top executive position...

Robert Wise has taken Cameron Hawley's expose of big business shenanigans and turned it into a smart, well-paced melodrama with some superb performances from a highly polished cast--William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Walter Pidgeon, Fredric March, June Allyson, Paul Douglas, Shelley Winters and Nina Foch.

Fredric March comes on strong as the most ambitious candidate while Dean Jagger underplays as the weakest. Another who is remarkable in showing restraint for a change is Shelley Winters as Douglas' girlfriend who wishes he had more backbone. Barbara Stanwyck does some fireworks in a strong scene with William Holden but does a restrained piece of acting at the final board scene where she sits and listens as Holden takes command of the situation. Here she reveals without saying a word what a fine actress she is.

While most of it is given the glossy MGM treatment, the settings look realistic and there are some real shots of busy Manhattan streets and buildings. One MGM factor is missing--there is no background music, not even under the credits--remarkable for a film of this period. Somehow, it doesn't matter--and the film hasn't dated much at all. What it has to say about big business still holds true.

Nina Foch is excellent as an executive secretary and fully deserved her Academy Award nomination.