Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1962)

"I Do Not Like the Picture" SENATOR JOHN SPARKMAN I regret very much to say that I do not like the picture "Advise and Consent." It is almost wholly without merit as a true presentation of the Senate or of the operation of our government. I feel that a false impression will be created by the showing of this picture both in this country and in foreign countries where it may be shown. * * * "Good Drama and Good Fiction" SENATOR HUBERT H. HUMPHREY I was one Senator who enjoyed this motion picture. I was not as critical of it as some others. I have heard it said that "Advise and Consent" did not accurately portray the character and mood of the United States Senate. I do not think this was the only intention of the producers. If it had been, they would have given us a newsreel. "Advise and Consent" was drama. It was fiction. I think that it was good drama and good fiction. Yes, the motion picture may give an inaccurate impression of our government to some of the people overseas. I think that in a free nation, we must be willing to risk occasional erroneous impressions. I would rather allow freedom for the arts than absorb them into our propaganda program. * * * Foreign Reaction Would Be Regrettable SENATOR JOHN J. WILLIAMS While I have not yet seen the film version of the novel, I did read the book and consider it a complete distortion of the manner in which the Senate and the Gorvenment in general operate. I suppose that since the film is based on a novel and is not intended in any way to be a documentary, a faithful portrayal of the situation should not be expected. Nevertheless, it is true I suppose that many people, particularly in foreign countries, will consider that the book and the film, because of their obvious locale, do present a true picture. Such a reaction would be regrettable, but, unfortunately, understandable. FUROR OVER "ADVISE AND CONSENT' No other film maker has quite the flair for stirring controversy that comes so naturally to Otto Preminger. Whether he is twitting Hollywood's old taboo on sex with a lark like The Moon Is Blue, or hammering at the industry's ban against the subject of narcotics with a serious work like Man With The Golden Arm, Otto the Bold manages to keep himself and his films in the dead center of a blazing public conflagaration that is kept aglow by a stream of combustible publicity. His latest movie is Advise and Consent, from the bestselling novel by Allen Drury about American statesmen and politicians, and it is following the pattern of Preminger pictures by attracting plenty of headlines from Washington, D.C. to the capitals of Europe. The ruckus started when Preminger and Columbia Pictures, which will release Advise and Consent this summer, invited a group of U. S. ( Continued on Next Page ) "Distorted Picture of Our Government" SENATOR STEPHEN M. YOUNG The motion picture "Advise and Consent" is an interesting picture. Without a doubt, it will be a huge success from a box office standpoint. The book "Advise and Consent" is a great book, in my judgment, and intensely interesting. While I liked the film in most respects, I fell had the writer adhered more accurately to the book, it would be a better film. The unfavorable and distorted picture of our government and its Senators is likely to be conveyed to people of foreign countries in some respects. In my opinion, the following are some reasonable and proper criticisms: — The President of the United States in the film was miscast, in my opinion. The obnoxious Senator, whom many readers of the book considered as depicting the late Senator Joseph McCarthy, indulged in antics in an alleged committee meeting that would not have been tolerated by any chairman of a committee or subcommittee of the Senate. In the book, the young Senator shot himself. The shot was heard by his friend in the same office building but on another floor. The other Senator knew instinctively what had occurred. In the film this scene is not authentic or convincing, in my opinion. In some instances there was a tendency to degrade the Senate and depict Senators lacking in character. For example, the very conclusion of the film is unfortunate, in my opinion. In "Advise and Consent" author Drury depicts the Vice President as a very amiable, friendly, rather mediocre pleasure loving politician. He presides over the Senate, however, in an entirely proper and adequate manner, and when suddenly by reason of the death of the President he becomes President of the United States, he emerges into greatness. I suggest you reread the last chapter of Mr. Drury's book. Why did not the film end in the manner the author ended his book? Instead, we behold eight or more men, looking like thugs, coming into the entrances of the Senate Chamber, and these cari Page 10 Film BULLETIN May 14, 1762