The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)

Respected liberal Senator Joe Tynan is asked to to lead the opposition to a Supreme Court appointment. It means losing an old friend and fudging principles to make the necessary deals, as ... See full summary »

Director:

Jerry Schatzberg

Writer:

Alan Alda

Stars:

Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, Meryl Streep

8 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alan Alda	...	Joe Tynan
Barbara Harris	...	Ellie Tynan
Meryl Streep	...	Karen Traynor
Rip Torn	...	Senator Kittner
Melvyn Douglas	...	Senator Birney
Charles Kimbrough	...	Francis
Carrie Nye	...	Aldena Kittner
Michael Higgins	...	Senator Pardew
Blanche Baker	...	Janet
Chris Arnold	...	Jerry
Maureen Anderman	...	Joe's Secretary
John Badila	...	Reporter on TV Screen
Robert Christian	...	Arthur Briggs
Maurice Copeland	...	Edward Anderson
Lu Elrod	...	Congresswoman at Party

Storyline

Respected liberal Senator Joe Tynan is asked to to lead the opposition to a Supreme Court appointment. It means losing an old friend and fudging principles to make the necessary deals, as well as further straining his already part-time family life. But it could be a big boost to his career, so he takes it on. Helping him prepare the case is pretty southern researcher Karen Traynor, and their developing relationship further complicates and compromises his life.

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Plot Keywords:

career | senator | supreme court | family life | extramarital affair | 

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Taglines:

There are many ways to be seduced. Fame. Power. Love. Joe Tynan knows them all.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Senator

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First cinema movie with a produced screenplay by Alan Alda. Alda spent three years writing the script and incorporated a number of the problems an actor faces into it. Alda was also the film's lead actor as well as being the writer and was still appearing in the TV comedy show series M*A*S*H when this movie was made and released

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Classics from the Vault: Changing Sex Roles (2011)

User Reviews

My brief review of the film

Awfully familiar stuff about persons who take pride in the career over their family and power corrupting, the film is however quite well acted, which brings it above par of its type. Alan Alda and Meryl Streep are both excellent, and although Melvyn Douglas won an Oscar in the same year as this film for 'Being There', he deserves it more here. The acting bridges on being melodramatic from the rest of the cast, but it is hard not to call this a well acted film with those three great performances. There is also some insight into American politics, but the film does assume a bit more than just a basic understanding already, and therefore there is a chance that viewers not familiar with American politics will wind up confused. The music choices are rather poor, and there is one very silly sequence put to square dancing music. Overall though, this is a reasonable film. It does have its flaws, but it has excellent acting to compensate. It might not show anything new or explain everything well, but it is certainly adequate entertainment for its running time.