The Senator Was Indiscreet

This wonderful vehicle carried so many great character roles and made statements about how things run. Many ring true today. It provided a deliciously skeptical view of politics in general and the American idea that "any boy can can grow up to be President"! The rise of State Highway Divisor Melvin Ashton to the US Senate and the brink of the Presidency may explain how some of our more recent candidates have made it to stage center. My favorite running gag from this film was the characterization of the Bolshevik waiter by the wonderful Hans Conried. It is a snapshot of 1947 America with the impending threat of the Red witch hunt. His portrayal rings true with his bewildered observation of the American political process. It suggests that America was more than a match for Conried's "complete report een treepliket to the Kramleen by 5 PM". It is a DISCREET suggestion of the excess attention focused on the artistic community at the time by the guardians of our liberty. William Powell again comes through in a comedic role. The film's ending is a great piece of irony and social comment. He finally made it as the Big Kahuna, albeit on a slightly smaller stage!

William Powell, all dolled up in age makeup and a fluffy white mustache, plays a doddering old senator in this 1940s political satire. On the surface, he's an old fool who can be controlled by the party. He has delusions of grandeur about being the next presidential nominee. Underneath, he's savvy and dangerous. He's kept a diary full of illegal backroom deals other members of the party have made the past few decades, and he intends on publishing the diary unless he gets the party's support during the primaries.

Bill, you naughty boy! With a young and impressionable kid, Peter Lind Hayes, and an ambitious reporter, Ella Raines, out to help and hurt him, he doesn't quite know who he can trust. Friends and enemies are all after the infamous diary, and he'll be lucky if he makes it out alive! If you like sarcastic political flicks like Born Yesterday and State of the Union, give this one a shot. You'll see the familiar faces of Hans Conried, Ray Collins, Whit Bissell, and Allen Jenkins, as well as a very adorable cameo from someone who stood by Powell's side in thirteen other movies. . .

I know this is going to sound preposterous, but try to imagine a politician who is completely incompetent. An idiot. A total buffoon. That is the story of Sen. Melvin G. Ashton, played by William Powell.

Ashton, planning for a career after being a senator, decides that the only other job he's qualified for is to become president. He seeks the job not just for himself, but for the benefit of all the relatives he has on his payroll. Through the movie, he quickly shows the wisdom he has picked up from his years in office with lines like, "If you can't beat 'em, bribe 'em!"

Ashton commences on a coast-to-coast tour to announce that he is NOT running for president and take some courageous stands on issues ("Ashton is against inflation, against deflation, for flation.") The villainess in the movie is a reporter played by the fetching Ella Raines, who vows to kill Ashton's campaign by quoting him accurately.

For some reason, the party leader doesn't want Ashton to be president. However, Ashton has kept a diary through the years that detail the shenanigans of other politicians and he's ready to use it as blackmail. The only problem is he loses the diary, and then the search is on to find it, by both party people that want to destroy it and others that want to publish it.

The people who will like this movie best are the ones that enjoy light comedies. I absolutely loved it. After seeing it, I'm sure you'll join Steven Colbert in asking, "Melvin G. Ashton: Great senator or greatest senator?"

This film stands along with "Bringing Up Baby" as one of the most preposterous non Marx Brothers comedies ever filmed. Its plot seems to defy reality, but in looking at the political climate of this era it seems like more of a case of art imitating life.

This art is created hilariously by William Powell who as Senator Melvin G Ashton is the epitome of buffoonery yet due to his political party's shenanigans and the fact that he has kept a diary of those dastardly deeds finds himself as a candidate for President of the United States. When that diary is stolen, the efforts to retrieve it lead Powell from one embarrassing situation to another with non-stop laughs.

Peter Lind Hayes, not known for acting plays Powell's press agent and is very funny. Ella Raines, one of the most stunning women in films, plays a reporter and she's not only very funny but very beautiful. And there's a who's who of character actors led by Ray Collins, Allen Jenkins, Charles D. Brown and Milton Parsons who perform superbly.

George S Kaufman directed the film. He was long known as one of the leading playwrights of both comedy and drama. He won 2 Pulitzer Prizes. He wrote 2 Marx Brothers Films, as well as "The Man Who Came To Dinner" and "You Can't Take It With You". This was his only turn at directing a film. The pace he establishes is frenetic, with dialogue delivered in the Howard Hawks overlapping style.

Stay with this until the very last line. The ending is a pip. In fact the whole film is one

It is hard not to want see 'The Senator Was Indiscreet' with such an eye-catching title, William Powell in the lead, as someone who likes comedy and satire and a very interesting idea for a story. It could have gone the way of being an intriguing and very funny satire. It also could have gone the way of not being sharp or biting enough and being too silly and contrived.

'The Senator Was Indiscreet' luckily was the former. It is occasionally on the silly side, some parts were a bit of a stretch and the surprises are not always there, but a vast majority of the time it's very interesting, very clever and very funny. Really did enjoy 'The Senator Was Indiscreet' a lot, as one can already see, and it is a shame that it is as underseen and overlooked as it is.

One of its best assets is the cast. Powell has seldom been this tongue-in-cheek and he does a marvellous job here. Ella Raines is fetching and amusing while there are great supporting from Peter Lind Hayes and Allen Jenkins.

Also terrific was the script. It was smart, sharp and didn't hold back while not going over the top. It was unusual back then for a film to poke fun at politics and its institutions as directly and cynically as 'The Senator Was Indiscreet', and must have been a shock back then. The story was always absorbing and lifted by great chemistry within the cast, plenty of amusing moments (like with the tissue paper), a lively pace and also a few nice surprises along the way (especially a not so expected ending.

Visually, 'The Senator Was Indiscreet' looks good and it is a shame that George S. Kaufman didn't direct more films after, he does really well here and is at equal ease at the director's helm as he was as a writer/playwright.

Altogether, very enjoyable and sadly not without the credit it deserves. 8/10 Bethany Cox