Comments on: Analyzing the ethics of Executive Suite (1954)

By: TCM’s Movie Blog

TCM’s Movie Blog — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 17:08:33 +0000

[...] thought: per my current schedule, I haven’t been watching a lot of classic movies lately, and I was struck (once again) by how [...]

By: YancySkancy

YancySkancy — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:29:40 +0000

This film has always been a favorite of mine, precisely because it gives you so much to chew on. And you chewed on it quite nicely!

The first time I saw it, I was prepared to be bored by the subject matter despite the fine cast. Needless to say, that didn’t happen.

It still boggles my mind that March didn’t get nominated for this. I recently saw him in Middle of the Night on TCM, and it’s clear that he just kept getting better with age.

By: Al Lowe

Al Lowe — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 11:24:51 +0000

What does June Allyson say about the movie Executive Suite in her autobiography? Does anyone know? It has been a long time since I read it.

I do remember one funny story from her book. She was supposed to make Royal Wedding with Fred Astaire but unexpectedly and to her great joy became pregnant. So she was off the picture.
She called all her pals to tell them about the wonderful news and then decided she better tell Fred.
So she phoned and he answered.
“Fred, Fred, guess what? I’m pregnant.”
There was an awfully long pause.
“Who is this?” a wary Fred asked.

By: kmn

kmn — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:26:44 +0000

MDR, according to John Houseman, Allyson, a longtime MGM star, lacked the discipline displayed by all the other professionals due to that studio’s chronic indulgence of top tier personnel. Unable or unwilling to properly learn her lines and appear on time and ready for the extended rehearsal period that Wise & Houseman had blocked out, June was said to have called in sick repeatedly and required numerous retakes during the film. This episode must have stuck in the producer’s craw, since he had few negative remarks for others in his book “Front and Center”, written almost two decades after. Who knows—maybe June Allyson just felt too insecure in the rather fast company she was in during that production. In any case, she seemed to fail to grasp the lesson of ends-based decision making…Great article and I really enjoyed the parallels that you drew between your text and film in your Final Case Analysis.

By: MDR

MDR — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:25:35 +0000

I agree kmn, Pidgeon’s character clearly wants what’s best for the company, and realizes that he’s not the one for the top job (even though his wife thinks he’s entitled to it); he admits as much to Holden’s. I can relate to Holden since his character is an engineer; if he has an MBA also, he’d make the perfect CEO, of course;-)

March is brilliant, as always; hopefully you clicked on the link I provided to an earlier Morlocks posting. I probably should have mentioned producer Houseman, director Robert Wise, author Cameron Hawley, or screenwriter Ernest Lehman … but I wasn’t writing a movie review per se. Interesting info about June Allyson; she was probably cast because she’d demonstrated that she could catch a pitched baseball in The Stratton Story (1949).

By: kmn

kmn — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:14:06 +0000

I’m impressed with your analysis of the dynamics of “Executive Suite”, highhurdler. The figure who seems to be the least self-interested to me, however is not that played by William Holden, but Walter Pidgeon, whose years with the company and in life enable him to see things in perspective. His main failing, as I think he himself says in the film, is his lack of drive and energy. He encourages Holden’s character, whose brashness and imagination are good qualities, though I’m not sure if his emotional commitment to the company and the people in it as well as to the quality of the products is wholly realistic nor entirely suited to managing a large business.

The most complex character, bordering on tragic, might be Fredric March’s number cruncher. He “knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing”, but, as played by March, is crestfallen when his own nature is pointed out to him. I find this to be among March’s best late career performances. In reading producer John Houseman’s memoirs, I was interested in the fact that he felt that the cast, (with the possible exception of June Allyson, according to the author), worked enthusiastically to create a vibrant ensemble together. Unlike the movie, the majority of the actors were happy to set their egos aside to serve the project.