Richard

I had the pleasure of seeing this satiric portrait of Richard Nixon, released before the Watergate scandal, when it first came out. Since then, it seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth. I'd love to find a copy of it. Richard M. Dixon (a guy whose entire career was based on his resemblance to Nixon) stars in this fictional biography of the President, which takes the form of old movie clichés. Included are a "young Abe Lincoln" type of movie (complete with log cabin), an old World War Two movie, a mad scientist/horror film, and a direct parody of "A Clockwork Orange." You also get to see the infamous Checkers speech. (If memory serves, you also get to see the dog itself, which is not seen in any version of the speech I have been able to find.) Not all the comedy works, but it's mostly quite amusing. Watch for such unexpected guest stars as Mickey Rooney and John Carradine.

This is an extremely well conceived and produced satire of Richard Nixon which uses his entire history -- including a lot of newsreel footage -- and combines it with a well conceived "interior" story to indicate his essential cluelessness. Some sizable talent shows up in the effort, including Vivian Blaine, Mickey Rooney as an "It's a Wonderful Life" sort of angel, John Carradine and Paul Ford as mad scientists who change Nixon's character, and Nixon impersonator Richard M. Dixon.

To me it looks as if the anger of the makers of this film took a few more swings of the slapstick than serve the picture. It drags towards the end and I feel that if five or ten minutes were cut from its length, it would be a better movie and a much more effective satire.

I saw this flick in 1973 at a movie house in Aix-en-Provence, France. We were a group of French and American students, all rolling on the floor and laughing hysterically.

It's a wonderfully funny and insightful film . You get to see the myth behind the man. The star ("Dixon") seemed to embody Nixon more than just physically.

But did I really see this movie? I've looked high and low to find it again. It's almost as if it was all a dream. Or maybe someone bought up all the prints and hid them along with the 18-and-a-half minutes of missing audio material. Hmmm...

Honestly, though, I wish I could find a copy somewhere...anywhere! Does anyone have a clue? Please!!