1h 53min | Comedy | 21 August 1964 | b/w, ws
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Stars: Fred MacMurray, Polly Bergen, Arlene Dahl.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058266/
Watched online, mediocre copy.
FM only dons the poster hat in his imagination, as he's viewing the First Lady portraits in his office in the West Wing.
This does a decent job of highlighting some of the adjustments that would need to be made by a family where the First Spouse has to give up a career, and the 2 children go to public school (did any First Children ever attend public school?)
The spouse doesn't have enough to do, and doesn't even attempt to fill traditional First Lady duties. The teenage daughter goes joy riding with her boyfriend, and her Secret Service detail intervenes when the police attempt to enforce the law. The primary school son turns into a bully, attacking peers and teachers, then calling in his Secret Service agents to protect him.
On the other hand, PB as President is taken seriously. We see her deal with the senator who was her election opponent, and she is smart about it. We see her deal with the dictator of a small country to who's been pocketing the financial aid intended for his citizens. Her only misstep is pawning hin off on her husband to entertain without any State Dept. assistance. But she squashes him in the end.
To ease the minds of '64 audiences, the President becomes pregnant and must choose between the pregnancy and continuing the job, so she resigns. End of film.
This is sufficiently interesting for occasional viewing, but it's not something to put on a Favorites list.
Warner, dir. Bernhardt; 6
