Kisses for My President (Warner Bros.) (1964)

— The Billi The Synopsis (Not For Publication) For the first time in the history of the United States, a woman is elected President. Chic, glamorous Mrs. Thad McCloud (POLLY BERGEN), whose baptismal name is Leslie, takes the oath of office with assurance and authority, for she is the daughter of an ambassador, niece of a senator, a former judge and a graduate of Radcliffe. Nearby, watching the ceremony are Leslie’s husband, Thad (FRED MacMURRAY), and their two children, Gloria (ANNA CAPRI) and Peter (RONNIE DAPO). The shift of the McCloud home to the White House brings vital and telling changes. Leslie, heretofore primarily a wife and mother, is now preoccupied with affairs of state. Thad, who owned a highly successful electronic research company, has sold out to preclude political sniping, and finds himself with nothing to do. The youngsters, Gloria and Peter, until recently average American kids, are catapulted into being special children who attend school under the eyes of Secret Service men. During the months of strenuous political campaigning, Thad and Leslie rarely had opportunity for the ordinary husband-and-wife relationship. As residents of the White House their situation is not improved. From being king of a private family, Thad becomes a sort of prince-consort and he is not happy about the change. Senator Frank Walsh (EDWARD ANDREWS), a crafty political opponent of the President, tries to make a deal with Leslie on the subject of foreign aid. But she refuses to be manipulated into authorizing funds for Rodriguez Valdez, Jr. (ELI WALLACH), a visiting South American dictator. She asks her husband to socialize with Valdez and guide him around Washington. The volatile and rowdy Valdez leads Thad through a series of frantic adventures which culminate in a nightclub where the dictator becomes involved with a stripteaser named Nana Peel (MISS BEVERLY HILLS). In a fracas which ensues, Thad inadvertently slugs the politico. Photographers get Warner Bros. Pictures Presents FRED MacMURRAY 100% Screenplay by POLLY BERGEN 100% in From a story by "KISSES FOR MY PRESIDENT" = 100% Co-Starring Art Director ARLENE DAHL 75% EDWARD ANDREWS 50% and Sound by ELI WALLACH 100% Set Decorator Music by Bronislau Kaper 5% Costumes Designed by Screenplay by Claude Binyon and Robert G. Kane 15% Produced and Directed by Curtis Bernhardt 15% A Pearlayne Production 15% Makeup Supervisor Supervising Hair Stylist Assistant Director A Pearlayne Production Director of Photography pictures of the episode, which are front-paged in the nation’s newspapers and become grist for Walsh's attempts to smear the Administration. Meanwhile, Thad encounters an old flame, Doris Reid (ARLENE DAHL), a sophisticated and predatory divorcee who runs a string of beauty parlors. Doris, sensing that Leslie is too busy to be a satisfactory wife, makes passes at Thad, and adds the come-on that she wants him to become vice-president of her business organization. Thad and Leslie try to maintain a connubial relationship, but this is complicated and often frustrated by the President's official obligations. Doris is now in full pursuit of Thad, and when Leslie learns that the other woman wants to use Thad and exploit the McCloud name, she orders him to refuse the job. Thad bridles, is ready to sign a business contract with Doris when he discovers the personal reasons behind her offer, and stalks out. Troubles really pyramid for the McCloud family. Leslie is overworked, Thad feels underprivileged, Peter becomes a rowdy delinquent and Gloria develops into a brash teen-ager. To complicate matters, Walsh, spearheading a Senate sub-committee, publicly quizzes Thad in an effort to defame the Administration. Thad neatly turns the tables on Walsh and exposes him. On one of her rounds of political duty, Leslie suddenly faints and is rushed to a hospital. There, it is discovered she is going to be a mother. In the President's office jammed with reporters, photographers, television and radio representatives, Leslie announces that, on medical advice, she is resigning. Reunited as a family of private citizens, the McClouds leave the White House. Thad’‘s farewell gesture, before driving off, is to plant a large sign on the lawn. The sign reads: FOR RENT. (Running Time: 113 Minutes) T es Cast Gene Taft and Steven Bernhardt Claude Binyon and Robert G. Kane Robert G. Kane EDWARD. ANDREWS:<.... cane Sen. Walsh Robert Surtees, A.S.C. Herman Blumenthal BroWiclad Kaper Donald May ............. EJs aS IRGES Sam O'Steen Marry Holeombe: ic. noice. ots Shas Bla Atti Campin center eno casiyss John P. Austin i \ Howard Shoup Gordon Bau SMA Richard St. John ee eye SOOO eR SUG OLE Re COSTE Jean Burt Reilly, CHS Be Waites oc os es es eee ope Arthur Lueker Adrienne Marden ...............cccccsccccseeeees noel T FRED MacMURRAY ................000. Thad McCloud POLLY BERGEN: 6.) oS es Leslie McCloud ARLENE DARL oi ah ens Doris Reid BLEW ALEAGHT fig cch ei a pees Valdez Ronnie Dapo ....... Ere Cte tees Peter McCloud