Executive suite (1953)

Shaw (F.March) tells the other Directors how its going to be.

I stumbled onto this on TCM and waited to get past the credits to see what happens. I came out at the other end thinking: 'That's the power of a good script!' Nearly two hours flew past and not because I fell asleep but because this movie was welll written and kept me interested from the beginning. It didn't rely on brilliant film technique, great acting or special effects.  The story flowed smoothly without obstacles on the way that you have to skip to keep things credible. The story is not earth-shattering and may have been done before or since but it's not out of date. It deals with the sudden death of the president of the board of a biggish manufacturing company and the consequent election of a replacement. The politics behind the scene is terrific and the final outcome suspenseful. The final boardroom scene depended on a good acting performance in this case from William Powell and he pulls it off nicely. Barbara Stanwick does her best work when she says the least with her tongue and most with her body language as she did in this final scene. Fredric March is very effective as the ambitious bean-counter solely concerned with the bottom line (as in a ledger).
The film also touches on the universal theme of corporate greed and illustrates a common flaw in the capitalist economy that allows the gradual deterioration of product quality in preference for cheap alternatives. Is that somewhat familiar? Waling (Powell) gives a great demonstrates this point beautifully at the end of this freshly unearthed gem of a film.