La Tour des ambitieux

This is a story of a fictional corporation that makes furniture. It's apparently a huge one--with enormous sales. That's why when the president of the company dies that the board of directors is in a tizzy. Various men want to control the company and to do so, they need to create alliances and connive to get the majority of the board members to vote for them. However, despite the conniving and maneuvering, the film ends with a few surprises.

This is a highly unusual film. The biggest difference is that it's an "actor's film" with little of the adornment you'd find in other films--forcing the writers and actors to carry the entire film. The first way you realize it's this sort of film is that the film is missing a sound track! Yes, when the opening credits roll and there is no music whatsoever, you know this is NOT your typical film! And, when you see the wonderful cast of leading men and women as well as noted supporting actors, you also know it's a film built around people--not action. Imagine being a director who's given the likes of Fredric March, Barbara Stanwyck, William Holden, Paul Douglas, Louis Calhern, and the rest as a cast! The only film that immediately comes to mind with less adornment and an even better cast is "12 Angry Men"...and that's a truly great film.

Overall, I liked this film a lot but also think that some may not appreciate all the machinations and the cerebral plot. If you want explosions, romance or comedy, this film certainly is not for you!

When the president of a major furniture conglomerate drops dead, all of the company's executives (William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, Walter Pidgeon, Paul Douglas, Louis Calhern, Dean Jagger) converge in the executive suite for a vote on who will take over. But before this climactic meeting takes place, we learn about each executive's motives and desires. Make way for the clash of egos and ambitions!

Helping to define the human element of these ruthless, driven businesspeople, we gain a revealing look into the simplicity of their domestic lives. And helping to add to the intensity of this over-wrought boardroom melodrama, director Robert Wise smartly (or not so smartly, perhaps) forgoes any musical soundtrack. Instead the background is filled with the real life sounds of a major company such as this.

The all-star cast provides perhaps the biggest punch in all of "Executive Suite". Standouts particularly are Holden, Stanwyck, March, and Foch. Despite her devastating lack of screentime, Stanwyck is able to give one of the best performances of her mutifaceted career as a woman on the verge -the high-strung lover of the deceased president. In an exemplary showcase of scene-stealing, Holden has a final showdown with Stanwyck - this dynamite sequence tops them all. This smart coporate drama is given the glossed-over MGM treatment, but is nonetheless gripping and realisitic, thanks in part to outstanding performances and direction (watch for the amazing opening scene where we watch from the ailing president's point-of-view). "Executive Suite" is intelligent, mature storytelling, Hollywood style.

If you ask me, director Robert Wise could do no wrong. He hardly ever set a foot wrong, and 'Executive Suite' is vintage Wise.

Mr. Bullard, bullying president of a huge furnishing corporation, dies, leaving everyone in doubt as to who should take over. The vultures are closing in, the major stockholder, a loose canon, is shamelessly wooed, dirty deals are struck, and there is even some insider trading taking place. It sure ain't pretty, but it's the name of the game and anything goes.

Robert Wise sets a steady pace, a brisk, business-like unfolding of a drama that deserves comparison with Shakespeare. It is done with quick cutting, drab, corporate sets, and filled to the brim with those covert glances that, in the end, decide the outcome. "Efficiency has become a dirty word, budget control has a bad odor", says prospective new manager Fredric March (another brilliant, Oscar-worthy performance) when he senses that he is losing the battle, and young gun William Holden rises to the occasion with an attention-grabbing speech that is not likely to be quickly forgotten: "We will never again ask a man to do something to poison his pride in himself or his work".

'Executive Suite' is an ensemble film, and one could go on praising every single member of the cast. And yet Robert Wise remains the engineer of this masterpiece of dynamic and still highly relevant cinema.

For all the MGM-ness of it -- the all-star roster of contract players and freelancers, the classy production values, Louis Calhern doing his reliable devilish-rogue act -- it has touches that one associates with neither the plush studio nor the time period. It's pretty frank about high-powered execs and their mistresses, for one, and the handheld camera of the opening sequence (through unfakeable Wall Street locations, yet) and lack of background music are more typical of independent movies of a few years later. Contrast it with "Woman's World" from the same year, which is also a corporate-power-struggle yarn (and also has June Allyson as a devoted, gauche corporate wifey), but is fake from the get-go. This one is dated in Holden's we're-all-in-this-together speechifying, not to mention the one-company factory town, and Stanwyck's histrionics are a bit over the top. (Hey, I love her too; her unchecked hysterics have to be Robert Wise's fault.) But the dialogue is terser than one generally associates with Ernest Lehman, the shady stock maneuvers are unfortunately as relevant as ever, and the juicy melodramatics still pack a punch. In fact, as corporate drama goes, it's as entertaining as all getout. Fredric March is a standout in a high-powered cast, and Shelley Winters, for once, underplays.

A rare look into the business of running a business - a corporation - this is surprisingly entertaining, for adults, I would gather. In the first few minutes, we observe the death of the President of this company, from his p.o.v.-an artful beginning from director Wise. There are 5 Vice Presidents, all of equal rank. One of them will be the new Prez. The selection procedure is pretty simple. The Board, comprised of 7 members (2 other stockholders besides the 5 V.P.'s) votes yes or no on whomever is nominated. 4 'yes' votes or more gets the job.

The cast is superb, really first rate, but the one to watch, for me, was Fredric March as Shaw, the V.P./Controller, whose sole criteria for success is the bottom line. He's smooth, too smooth, and sweats a bit too much. You'll note that nothing is ever seen of his private life, unlike the others. All his energy is geared around the company, but ultimately for his own benefit, even if he doesn't see it that way. All the actors are very articulate, delivering their lines with impressive precision. The maneuvering done by each of the 5 V.P.'s is something to see; one front-runner (Pidgeon) for the top job seems a shoo-in, but just as quickly this sense evaporates. Any of the 5 appears to be the man for the job at one point or another - the decision and vote needs to be reached quickly, before the company starts to suffer, so we add tension to the plot.

This picture has not really dated 50 years later, as much of the sensibilities and office politics remain unchanged today. There may be more sleaziness and unscrupulous behavior nowadays, but even this is presented in the form of one of the board members (Calhern), a sneak who sees the death of the President as just another way to make some money in stocks. After checking this out, you may want to catch the documentary "The Corporation" to get a little more insight into such an entity.