The Candidate Poster
MOVIEmeter
SEE RANK
Down 985 this week

The Candidate (1972)

PG  110 min  -  Drama   -  23 August 1972 (France)
7.1
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 7.1/10 from 4,185 users  
Reviews: 52 user | 17 critic

Bill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.

Director:

Michael Ritchie

Writer:

Jeremy Larner
Watch Trailer
 Loading Watchlist 

Watch now

Buy it from Amazon »

Related News

The Ides Of March Review
28 October 2011 11:29 AM, PDT | The Hollywood News
The Best Political Movie Quotes
8 October 2011 6:53 PM, PDT | Extra

Related Lists

image of title
a list of 12 titles by imdb-694 created 2 days ago
 
image of title
a list of 341 titles by SecretlyAWizard created 2 months ago
 
image of title
a list of 250 titles by skipcyoung created 11 months ago
 
image of title
a list of 364 titles by jmthaw created 3 days ago
 

Connect with IMDb


Download the free IMDb App
Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination See more awards »
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Redford ...
Peter Boyle ...
Marvin Lucas
Melvyn Douglas ...
John J. McKay
Don Porter Don Porter ...
Senator Crocker Jarmon
Allen Garfield ...
Klein
Karen Carlson Karen Carlson ...
Nancy McKay
Quinn K. Redeker Quinn K. Redeker ...
Rick Jenkin (as Quinn Redeker)
Morgan Upton Morgan Upton ...
Wally Henderson
Michael Lerner ...
Paul Corliss
Kenneth Tobey Kenneth Tobey ...
Floyd J. Starkey
Chris Prey Chris Prey ...
David
Joe Miksak Joe Miksak ...
Neil Atkinson
Jenny Sullivan Jenny Sullivan ...
Lynn
Tom Dahlgren Tom Dahlgren ...
Pilot
Gerald Hiken Gerald Hiken ...
Station Manager
Edit

Storyline

Californian lawyer Bill McKay fights for the little man. His charisma and integrity get him noticed by the Democratic Party machine and he is persuaded to run for the Senate against an apparently unassailable incumbent. It's agreed he can handle it his own way, on his own terms. But once he's in the race and his prospects begin to improve, the deal starts to change. Written by Jeremy Perkins <jwp@aber.ac.uk>  

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

California | Cynicism | Candidate | Political | Idealist  | See more »

Taglines:

Too Handsome. Too Young. Too Liberal. Doesn't have a chance. He's PERFECT! See more »

Genres:

Drama

Edit

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

(France) See more »

Also Known As:

El candidato See more »

Filming Locations:

Angel Island, California, USA See more »

Box Office

Gross:

€82,274 (Spain) (1972)
See more »

Company Credits

Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Candidate was released a month prior to the 1972 California Presidential primary. Promotional sheets were put up in southern California resembling political posters. They had simply a photo of Robert Redford, with the slogan, "McKay: The Better Way!" - "McKay" got write-in votes in the June election. See more »

Goofs

Continuity: The red convertible driven by Marvin Lucas (Peter Boyle) has three different license plates during the opening credits: "677 EIY", "185 ENV", and "772 DYD". All are from the 1972 era in California. See more »

Quotes

Bill McKay: [with his team after giving one speech too many] Can't any longer play off black against old - young against poor. This country cannot house its houseless - feed its foodless.
[and he begins making gaga noises]
See more »