Executive Suite (1954)

When the head of a large manufacturing firm dies suddenly from a stroke, his vice-presidents vie to see who will replace him.

Director:

Robert Wise

Writers:

Ernest Lehman (screen play), Cameron Hawley (novel)

Stars:

William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara Stanwyck

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Holden	...	McDonald Walling
June Allyson	...	Mary Blemond Walling
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Julia O. Tredway
Fredric March	...	Loren Phineas Shaw
Walter Pidgeon	...	Frederick Y. Alderson
Shelley Winters	...	Eva Bardeman
Paul Douglas	...	Josiah Walter Dudley
Louis Calhern	...	George Nyle Caswell
Dean Jagger	...	Jesse Q. Grimm
Nina Foch	...	Erica Martin
Tim Considine	...	Mike Walling
William Phipps	...	Bill Lundeen
Lucy Knoch	...	Mrs. George Nyle Caswell (as Lucille Knoch)
Edgar Stehli	...	Julius Steigel
Mary Adams	...	Sara Asenath Grimm

Storyline

Avery Bullard, President of the Tredway Corporation has died. But he never named a clear successor, so the Board members must choose a replacement. The most likely is Loren Shaw, a skilled businessman, but some of the others don't like his calculating ways. But to stop him, they'll have to find someone else they can back. Will it be the engineer Don Walling? That will take convincing, they don't trust his youth and idealism. And he isn't even sure he wants the job, he might be happier creating rather than politicking.

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Plot Keywords:

vice president | businessman | reference to houdini | pay phone | candidate | 

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Taglines:

Behind the lighted tower windows the conflict of love and power is reckless and daring!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 1954 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Die Intriganten

Filming Locations:

Long Beach Airport - 4101 E. Donald Douglas Drive, Long Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer John Houseman wanted Henry Fonda for the role of McDonald Walling. Fonda turned him down to star in a Broadway musical that never reached the stage.

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Goofs

Near the beginning, there is a scene in a city street when the entire crew, camera, and boom are reflected in a store window.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[pre-opening-credits sequence; views of skyscrapers]
Narrator: It is always up there, close to the clouds, on the topmost floors of the sky-reaching towers of big business. And because it is high in the sky, you may think that those who work there are somehow above and beyond the tensions and temptations of the lower floors. This is to say that it isn't so.

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Connections

Referenced in Hollywood Mouth (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Singin' in the Rain"
(1929) (uncredited)
Music by Nacio Herb Brown
Lyrics by Arthur Freed
Hummed by Tim Considine

User Reviews

Not as '50s as it looks

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.