The Senator Was Indiscreet

I've been waiting to see the 1947 film "The Senator Was Indiscreet" for years - ever since walking by a TV and hearing Ray Collins utter the line: "Don't you think it's time you cut out the part where you laugh at the idea of the U.S. going to war against Japan?" I finally got a copy of the film, and I wasn't disappointed.

"The Senator Was Indiscreet" concerns a senator, Melvin Ashton (William Powell), who announces that he is not, not, not a candidate for President - meaning, of course, that he is. He has several speeches that he recycles, "Whither America" being one. At one point, a neon sign announces: "Tonight: Senator Melvin Ashton: Whither America. Tomorrow: Dog Show." The film is filled with hundreds of little touches like that. Old, blustery, and a buffoon who gives four-hour speeches and proposes bills like having people write on tissue paper to lessen the weight of mailbags, the party doesn't want him. However, they can't get rid of him - he has a diary that he's kept for years. When it goes missing, all hell breaks loose. One man sits on a phone helping party members plan their escape, saying: "There is no extradition between those two countries...We have four people traveling to Siberia..."

William Powell, normally elegant and smiling despite the chaos around him, gets right into it here. He is a RIOT. He looks like Colonel Sanders in his white wig and mustache. His funniest scene (to me anyway) is when he is locked out of his hotel and winds up in the subway while wearing his pajamas and bathrobe. He grabs a broom and quickly sweeps while walking up the stairs, then drops the broom and starts running. Peter Lind Hayes plays the publicist who got him into this high-profile mess. A very versatile and good-looking man, Hayes not only acted but worked as a composer, later pairing in performance with his wife, Mary Healy. His girlfriend is played by Ella Raines. Raines never made it to superstar status despite her striking prettiness and good performances. However, she was in some marvelous films, and this is one of them. She is terrific as an ambitious reporter who refers to Ashton as Ashcan in her writings. One of her headlines reads: "Ashton Declares Opposed to Assassination." Hans Conreid is funny as a bitter Yugoslavian hotel worker, and Ray Collins is great as the frantic head of the party.

The denouement is hilarious, with a very special cameo at the end you won't want to miss. Highly recommended for its comedy and statements about politics and politicians - most of which still apply.

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!

In the "good old days", in this case 1947, politicians were career opportunists and just as self serving and corrupt then as they are now. Happily, in the movies - unlike in real life - we can laugh at the trouble they get themselves into.

After 35 years of serving his state's constituents, senator Ashton wants to be president. And just what qualifications does he offer, asks his scoffing party leader? From a list "mama" found in a magazine, #3 is to have a dog. Ashton says, " I have a dog. I hate the hound. He's bit me 4 times, but I have one." This mild satire kept me laughing from beginning to end. Powell, as expected, is terrific, and Ray Collins stands out among the supporting characters. The "Senator" is not a classic comedy as is "My Man Godfrey", but it's not necessary or possible that every comedy hit a home run in order to be deemed worthy of our time.

... because usually William Powell played a wise dapper fellow. Here he is a bumbling fool, a Foghorn Leghorn like bag of wind who is almost unrecognizable dressed up like Colonel Sanders with white hair and beard. And the pity of it all is he is also a U.S. Senator. To prevent offense, his home state is never named, nor is the region of the country from which he hails ever named. For that matter, his political party is not named either. Senator Melvin G. Ashton (Powell) is facing reelection to the senate. He knows he'll lose, so it's either back to the private sector after 35 years in various political offices - in his youth he painted white lines down the middle of roads - or he can run for President. He chooses the latter purely because of the paycheck potential.

The senator's personal assistant (Peter Lind Hayes as Lew Gibson) has a reporter girlfriend (Ella Raines as Poppy), and Lew invites her to listen to the Senator's speech one night. The senator drones on for over two hours saying nothing and boring the audience to tears. Poppy walks out after arguing with Lew that she wants to expose Ashton as the bag of wind that he is.

The reason the head of the party (Ray Collins as Fred Houlihan) is tolerating Ashton's candidacy is that the senator has a diary in which he has written down the details of all of the party's dirty deals and is holding it over the party's head unless they at least let him try to win the nomination. But then the unspeakable happens - somebody steals the senator's diary and unless it is recovered not only the senator, but his entire political party is doomed.

This film is like a reverse video of "State of the Union" from the following year, where Spencer Tracy is a thoughtful man who threatens the party as a possible presidential candidate as he speaks for himself. Here Ashton is a buffoon without a thought in his head who would never speak anything meaningful to anyone. It is a rare breath of cynicism regarding America's political institutions just as the Cold War is ramping up - and did I mention it is hilarious?

Allen Jenkins has a great supporting role as a very mercenary private detective. Milton Parsons is the party operative who has the job of calling in the party "cleanup crew" with names that sound like they are all in the mafia. I'd describe the rest of the characters, but suffice it to say that nobody in this film seems to have any positive character traits and thus none of them are people you will find the least bit admirable.

The final scene is hilarious with even a dig at the safety of nuclear testing and a cameo that will surprise you and leave you laughing if you know anything about film history. Highly recommended.

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