La loca misión del Sr. Schaefer

James Coburn is a psychiatrist selected for a major assignment: personal analyst to the President of the U.S. of A. At first, he's beaming with pride at this great honour, until he realizes that he has to be constantly on call. Suffering a nervous breakdown, he goes A.W.O.L. This proves to be too much temptation for foreign powers to withstand, as they send agent after agent to abduct Coburn and find out just what the President may have told him during therapy. Meanwhile, Coburns' own government doesn't want him divulging anything, of course, so now he's expendable.

Written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker, "The President's Analyst" is a very sharp and clever political satire, taking aim at so-called "liberalism", the hippie generation, the Cold War, etc. It's not necessarily always funny in a "ha-ha" sort of way, but it should continuously amuse the viewer, especially if they were alive during the era when this first was released. Its plot involves such agencies as the "C.E.A." and the "F.B.R.", not to mention the most heinous of them all: "T.P.C." Over 50 years later, it still works quite well, with top performances by all concerned. It further benefits from grand widescreen photography and a jaunty soundtrack composed by Lalo Schifrin. Best of all is the priceless left turn the film takes in the final act, when it shows us just who the TRUE villains are.

Coburn is always fun, and he shines once again in this performance. It's just hilarious to see him hiding out with the hippies, and wearing an appropriate disguise. (He also plays a mean gong.) He's very well supported by a clean-shaven Severn Darden as Russian agent Kropotkin, Godfrey Cambridge as amiable C.E.A. agent Don Masters, and the enticingly sexy Joan Delaney as Coburn's girlfriend. Other familiar faces include Pat Harrington Jr., Jill Banner, Eduard Franz, Walter Burke, Will Geer, William Daniels, Joan Darling, and Arte Johnson. In one interesting twist, we never do see the President on screen.

Good fun, and somewhat forgotten over time, although you CANNOT miss it if you enjoy a solid satire and / or are a big fan of the eternally cool Coburn.

Eight out of 10.

Because of copyright problems (probably resulting from Barry McGuire finding God) some of the music has been replaced on most copies of the home video version. This replacement REALLY spoils some of the best parts of the film. The most evident example takes place during the stalking scene in the field. The sceen was designed to keep in pace with the song being played. The replacement is at the wrong tempo and spoils the whole scene. The scene at the club when Dr. Schaffer gets nabs was missing on my copy as well.

AMC showed the film with the proper music, but without the eyeball footage and how he meets Nan.

In the uncut version, it is one of my favorite films.

This satire is as relevant today as it was in the 60's. James Coburn's performance was more than just entertaining. It's easy to see why he was so sought after in those days. This film remains among my top picks along with the likes of "M.A.S.H. " and "Catch 22."

"The President's Analyst" is a satirical counter-culture classic that takes aim at everything and everyone, including the counter culture itself. It's also endlessly quotable and is probably the only movie where you'll hear a line like "Don't say Chinks. Say Chinese restaurant. Chinks is bigoted." Absolutely golden.

My father used to work for The Phone Company and he absolutely loved this movie, as did I from the first time I saw it. I taped it off AMC years ago before they turned evil (back when there were no commercial breaks and they still showed plenty of films letterboxed), and I wouldn't part with my tape for anything in the world -- expect maybe a special edition DVD with all of the original footage and music restored.

To anyone who says this film is boring or unfunny, I say, "Poppycock!"

Too many films want it both ways, but this is that rare example of a film that actually gets it. It genuinely is of its age - all swinging Sixties and cultural revolution - but it also sends all that up.

Read the plot elsewhere but suffice to say that those numb-nuts who believe it to be shambolic clearly don't know a carefully structured film when they see one. It's a comedy thriller that zips along whilst never missing an opportunity to provide some of the best satire you'll ever see on Flower Power, Psychiatry, American Liberalism and the Cold War.

Furthermore, for me, it's James Coburn's best performance because we get to see his comedic skills whilst at the same time get a generous slice of just what makes him the coolest cat ever to grace the silver screen.

I'm gobsmacked that this - one of my Top 25 films - is not considered a classic. For me it's up there with Dr Strangelove because it's got everything: great direction, a great great story, great dialogue, great sound-track, and did I mention the acting...?