The Senator Was Indiscreet

As Will Rogers said he got a lot of his material from reading the Congressional Record. If Rogers were alive he'd have gotten several humorous monologues from William Powell as Senator Melvin Ashton, United States Senator from some unfortunate state and pompous windbag extraordinaire.

I'm reminded of former Senator Roman L. Hruska from Nebraska who in defending Richard Nixon's nomination of G. Harrold Carswell for the Supreme Court said that in his defense mediocre people also need representation on the Supreme Court. Or Senator Charles Curtis of Kansas who became Vice President under Herbert Hoover who went into partnership with a doctor who prescribed the extract from goat glands for his patients. Sad to say we do have a boob who gets through every now and then.

And Powell has decided that he's got so many relatives on the public payroll now that only the presidency will satisfy all the demands being made on him. He's decided to run for president with a cross country tour denying his ambition on every occasion to the dismay of party bosses like Ray Collins who is updating his role of Boss Jim Gettys from Citizen Kane.

Unfortunately this lummox decided to keep a diary which could sink the whole immediate world something like the expense account kept by that hood from Kansas City in Casino. Powell's publicist Peter Lind Hayes is mad to get it back thinking that investigative reporter Ella Raines might have it. Hayes knows what a boob he is, but also knows the accolades from the political manager types he'll get if he can put the boob over. That's an attitude that's fresh and alive today with many.

Bill Powell looked like he was having a ball in the part of Ashton. 1947 was the year Powell decided to surrender to age and began playing fatherly types. He was after all 55 years old. Had he not been nominated for Life With Father, Powell might well have gotten an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in this part.

One part of the film I'm afraid audiences might not get. As Powell contemplates that his political career might be finished they go through many jobs he could fill and it seems he just hasn't the qualifications for anything. One possibility might be as a sports 'czar' or commissioner of some professional sport as would have a colleague of Powell's just was made.

Albert B. 'Happy' Chandler who was a corn-pone politician of the highest order who was a former governor and then United States Senator from Kentucky became baseball's commissioner in 1945 succeeding Kenesaw M. Landis.

Landis who when he took the job was guaranteed a lifetime contract and ruled like a 'czar' of the major leagues. When he died the owners wanted a presentable front with some reputation and turned to Chandler. He actually surprised them all by overruling the whole lot of them and permitting the integration of major league baseball as Branch Rickey wanted. That show of independence cost him his job when his seven year contract was up and Chandler was succeeded by a group of nonentities that Melvin Ashton would have been superbly qualified to be among for the most part. Powell was just a tad ahead of his time.

Written by Charles MacArthur and directed by George S. Kaufman a pair of the best wits of the last century, The Senator Was Indiscreet is as fresh a political satire now as it was then. It's a short film with a laugh guaranteed every ten seconds.

It seems that politicians – or, perhaps more accurately, our perception of politicians – have changed very little in the sixty years since this film was released. Not only are they deceitful, power-hungry fast-talkers, but, most worryingly of all, they're not all that bright, either. George S. Kaufman's 'The Senator Was Indiscreet (1947)' is the earliest American political satire that I can recall seeing – though earlier examples almost certainly exist – and the film traipses many of the paths that would be echoed in subsequent films such as Hal Ashby's 'Being There (1979)' and Barry Levinson's 'Wag the Dog (1997).' At the forefront of these films is the complete trivialisation of the political system, portraying politicians either as dim-witted blow-hards or as ruthless power-grabbing tacticians, sometimes both. William Powell's Melvin G. Ashton falls into the former category, a white-haired Senator with more than a few loose screws upstairs. Nevertheless, he possess one vital item of leverage, a diary detailing every nasty political scam of the last thirty-five years, and so his influence is limitless.

William Powell, recently free from the 'Thin Man' series (1934-1947), is perfect as the IQ-challenged Senator with big ambitions. When he's not proposing absurd new regulations – for example, that all Americans should write letters on tissue paper to ease the burden on mail-men – Ashton is publicly and vigorously denying that he will run for Presidential Candidacy. In political terms, this means that he will run for Presidential Candidacy. Party colleague Houlihan (Ray Collins) attempts to talk Ashton out of his ambitions, almost convincing him to enter into a football career, but his persuasion is ultimately fruitless, especially considering the important historical document that Ashton has in his possession. When the coveted diary unexpectedly goes missing, every politician currently in office is thrown into chaos, and personal secretary Lew Gibson (Peter Lind Hayes) is sent to retrieve it, with journalist girlfriend Poppy McNaughton (Ella Raines) snapping at his heels. Even if all this doesn't seem your thing, wait around for the ending, which reveals a pleasant surprise.

'The Senator Was Indiscreet' was adapted from a screenplay by Charles MacArthur {co-author of "The Front Page"}, and the sole film directed by George S. Kaufman, a prominent playwright. There are several classic lines of dialogue ("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?"), but the story unfolds fairly predictably. This, of course, doesn't necessarily negate the film's entertainment value, but I'd have liked a more daring degree of satire. The comedy style itself has its roots in the likes of 'His Girl Friday (1940),' but the jokes are more conservative, the laughs are scarcer, and the characters do not speak with the hilariously-frantic overlapping dialogue of Howard Hawks' film. Nevertheless, the lighthearted jibes at politicians are enjoyable, and it's not much of a stretch for the audience to believe that a clueless half-wit like Senator Melvin Ashton might potentially find himself at the doorstep of the White House. Indeed, recent history has shown us that he could even have gone further.

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

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 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!