Putney Swope (1969)

Dark satire in which the token black man on the executive board of an advertising firm is accidentally put in charge. Renaming the business "Truth and Soul, Inc.", he replaces the tight ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Downey Sr.

Writer:

Robert Downey Sr.

Stars:

Stan Gottlieb, Allen Garfield, Archie Russell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stan Gottlieb	...	Nathan (as Stanley Gottlieb)
Allen Garfield	...	Elias, Jr.
Archie Russell	...	Joker
Ramon Gordon	...	Bissinger
Bert Lawrence	...	Hawker
Joe Madden	...	Mr. Syllables (as Joe Engler)
Arnold Johnson	...	Putney
David Kirk	...	Elias, Sr.
Don George	...	Mr. Cards
Buddy Butler	...	Putney's Bodyguard
Vincent Hamill	...	Man in White Suit
Tom Odachi	...	Wing Soney
Ching Yeh	...	Wing Soney, Jr.
Spunky-Funk Johnson	...	Mr. Major
Joe Fields	...	Pittsburgh Willie

Storyline

Dark satire in which the token black man on the executive board of an advertising firm is accidentally put in charge. Renaming the business "Truth and Soul, Inc.", he replaces the tight regime of monied white ad men with his militant brothers. Soon afterwards, however, the power that comes with its position takes its toll on Putney...

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Plot Keywords:

executive | advertising | business | satire | company | 

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Taglines:

Up Madison Avenue

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 1969 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Herald Productions (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Downey Sr. redubbed all of Arnold Johnson's lines. According to Downey, he did this because Johnson had trouble remembering his lines and often flubbed them during filming.

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Quotes

Putney Swope: Are you for surreal?!

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Crazy Credits

As the credit for Robert Downey Sr. scrolls up the screen, the words "(a prince)" appear next to his name.

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Connections

Featured in Johnny Be Good (1988)

User Reviews

Interesting, off beat movie.

This movie shows that the free enterprise system and the quest for the almighty buck transcends all racial and ethnic barriers. Ultimately the market place determines the message that is sent to the public. This movie dramatizes that point. A conservative white-collar advertising company is taken over by a group of street-wise African Americans chaired by a no-nonsense black man who wants to make a buck and believes he can sell products by telling the the truth. But the movie shows that no matter how hard he tries to do something different, the market place and the political system demands that he conform, rendering him no different than his predecessors. Interesting, off-beat movie.