Advise & Consent (1962)

Actors: Harold Miller (actor), Burgess Meredith (actor), Charles Laughton (actor), Kenner G. Kemp (actor), Will Geer (actor), Peter Lawford (actor), George Grizzard (actor), Edward Andrews (actor), Lew Ayres (actor), Malcolm Atterbury (actor), Eddie Baker (actor), George DeNormand (actor), Henry Fonda (actor), Walter Pidgeon (actor), Don Murray (actor),

Plot: Robert Leffingwell is the president's candidate for Secretary of State. Prior to his approval, he must first go through a Senate investigation to determine if he's qualified. Leading the Senate committee is idealistic Senator Brig Anderson, who soon finds himself unprepared for the political dirt that's revealed, including Leffingwell's past affiliations with a Communist organization. When Leffingwell testifies about his political leanings, he proves his innocence. Later, however, Anderson learns that he lied under oath and even asks the president to withdraw Leffingwell for consideration, especially after the young senator begins receiving blackmail threats about a skeleton in his own closet.

Keywords: airplane, airport, american-politics, ampersand-in-title, anonymous-telephone-call, banquet, based-on-novel, bisexual, blackmail, closeted-homosexual
Genres: Drama,
Taglines: Are the men and women of Washington really like this?

Quotes:

Robert Leffingwell: Son, this is a Washington, D.C. kind of lie. It's when the other person knows you're lying, and also knows you *know* he knows.

Fred Van Ackerman: What I did was for the good of the country.::Bob Munson: Fortunately, our country always manages to survive patriots like you.

Bob Munson: Was that Brig? What's the matter?::Senator Lafe Smith: [Hanging up phone] He's dead.::Bob Munson: Brig?::Senator Lafe Smith: In his office. Cut his throat.

Robert Leffingwell: I'm an egghead. I'm not only an egghead, I'm a premeditated egghead. I set out to become an egghead and at this moment I'm in full flower of eggheadedness, and I hope to spread the spores of egghead everywhere I go.

[first lines]::[a boy is selling newspapers outside the U.S. Capitol, with the headline "Leffingwell Picked for Secretary of State"]::Paperboy: [to a customer] Thank you.::Stanley Danta: Morning, son.::Paperboy: [taking change from Danta] Good morning, senator... thank you.::[Danta gets into a taxicab]

Bob Munson: Mr. President, with the chair's permission, I shall be very brief.::The Vice President: The chair gladly gives any senator permission to be brief.

Bob Munson: He jumped the whale!

[last lines]::Bob Munson: Senators. A great leader is dead. A bitter loss for our country. A bitter personal loss for all of us here. I move we adjurn out of respect until further notice.::Senator Seabright Cooley: So ordered!

Journalist: Senator Anderson. Senator Van Ackerman is accusing the commitee of using smear tatics. Would you comment on this?::Senator Brigham Anderson: If Senator has any complaints to make he ought to write a letter to his congressman. [all the reporters laugh]

Senator Seabright Cooley: Now, Mr. Gelman. You told me something about names in this comunist cell.::Herbert Gelman: Yes. Nobody used their right names. Mr. Leffingwell was called Walker, Bukowski was called Fitzgerald. I never learn James Morton's real name. They tried to give me the name of Andrews. About that time I quit.::Senator Seabright Cooley: What happened when you quit?::Herbert Gelman: Mr. Leffingwell failed me in his class of Government administration.::Senator Seabright Cooley: Why didn't you report all of this to the University authorities?::Herbert Gelman: I was afraid.::Senator Seabright Cooley: And you're not afraid now?::Herbert Gelman: Yes. I'm afraid. But I couldn't stand by and see a man like Mr. Leffingwell get into a position of such power of Secretary of State.::Senator Brigham Anderson: Can you corroborate this story, Mr. Gelman?::Senator Seabright Cooley: This man is an eyewitness, under oath, Mr. Chairman.::Herbert Gelman: [shouting] I'm not lying!::Senator Brigham Anderson: I didn't say you were lying.