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May 27 – The President's Analyst (1967) 103 min, directed by Theodore J. Flicker, starring James Coburn and Godfrey Cambridge
Dr. Sidney Schaefer is given the plum assignment of President's analyst, but the pressures of the job shred his mental health. He knows too many secrets, and can't share with his own analyst, or anyone else. He wants out of the gig – but how? James Coburn, reaching a career peak here, was one of a handful of stylish actors who cornered the market on cool 1960s action heroes. He's in perfect harmony with the film's twisted plot, wicked sense of humor, and dark satire on American government and commerce. And The President's Analyst is a fantastic time capsule of 1967 – from Flicker's carbonated filmmaking style, to the mod fashions, free love at a hippie commune, and increasing distrust of powerful institutions.
(Image used with permission of Paramount Pictures)
CinemaLit / May 2022 – Thrillers!
May is nail-biting month at CinemaLit. We're featuring an array of thrillers designed to provoke, outrage, and frighten with their barely exaggerated plausibility in our current era. Seven Days in May (1964), The Parallax View (1974), Seconds (1966), and a rather more comic The President's Analyst (1967) play on themes particularly effective when aiming to shiver the spine and stimulate the brain – psychology, politics, paranoia, romance, technology, top-secret organizations, and law enforcement. Each comes with the irresistible question: "Could this actually happen?" Or even more chilling: "Has this already happened?"
Matthew Kennedy, CinemaLit’s curator, has written biographies of Marie Dressler, Joan Blondell, and Edmund Goulding. His book Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s, was the basis of a film series on Turner Classic Movies.
“I don't have a favorite film,” Matthew says. "I find that my relationships to films, actors, genres, and directors change as I change over the years. Some don't hold up. Some look more profound, as though I've caught up with their artistry. I feel that way about Garbo, Cary Grant, director John Cassavetes, and others."
“Classic films have historical context, something only time can provide,” Matt observes. “They become these great cultural artifacts, so revealing of tastes, attitudes, and assumptions.”
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