Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic 50's drama, ripe for rediscovery., September 3, 1999
Executive Suite is an often overlooked drama, but I beleive it to be one of the best films of the 1950's. The death of the president of a large furniture company creates a power struggle among the remaining board members. Competing for the top job are William Holden as an idealistic designer and engineer, and Fredric March as the company's chief acccountant. These two spend much of the film jockying other members of the board for their votes. The climactic showdown comes in the form of a board meeting where one man snatches victory from the jaws of defeat, not by force or cunning or even any kind of cleverness, but simply by telling the truth. One of the finest scenes you'll ever see in any film.Holden and March are both outstanding, with straightforward direction by Robert Wise. One interesting note: this film has no musical score, very rare for a film from the 50's--only the bell from the company's clock tower. This is a film that should be seen by anyone interested in story structure or conflict resolution. Definitely a film whose time has come again.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
William Holden, September 2, 2005
The first reason you need to see this film is for William Holden. I make it a point of trying to see every film he's in. He is my favorite actor of all time. Now that thats out of the way...Robert Wise has delivered a suspenseful and tremendously well made film that doesn't use a lick of music and has stunning camera work. I was particularly blown away by all the smooth dolly shots and the opening POV sequence in the beginning of the film...Seeing everything through Bullard's eyes, the dead man who sets this story off and running. It reminded me a great deal of the John Frankenheimer film "Seconds" in that sequence and Suite was made sometime before that film. This is a must see office drama that really was ahead of its time from a technical filmmaking perspective. The script is solid and watching Holden fight to be the President of the company is a joy to watch! And you've gotta love a movie that has Stanwyck and Holden together again in the same film.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent, timeless business saga, October 30, 2004
Forget about "Wall Street," "Boiler Room," or "Other People's Money." Forget "The Hudsucker Proxy" and the other seriously over the top spoofs of business. "Executive Suite" is the real thing.
Fifty years old, scenes ring true. William Holden's closing, impassioned speech, about the need to invest in the future instead of dividend maximization, is a classic treatment, useful for a business school class. What is perhaps most remarkable is the timeless nature of his points, about customers, quality, pride, and growth. Sure, the technology is dated. Telegrams. Dial phones. The board room looks like the reception area to Fred Munster's house. People step on and off planes without security, parking problems, or laptops in hand. But that only makes the story all the more credible. The important things haven't changed. And it shows that some things we think are new problems in business -- insider trading, board manipulation, sexual harrassment -- are at least as old as this fine film, certainly older.
Here's the basic story line: The president of Treadway furniture firm dies in the street en route to a train and a meeting in Philadelphia. An opportunistic Treadway executive of sees the crowd in the street and -- shades of today -- shorts the company's stock. The president's death is not immediately known to all, leaving some intrigue and lots of ambiguity. And, oh yes, there's the top salesman having an affair with a nubile Shelley Winters, and a frozen-appearing Barbara Stanwyck -- a Treadway -- also apparently on the verge of suicide from the cold shoulder she has received from the overworked, now-dead president.
Counting votes, twisting arms, and playing politics, Holden and Pidgeon contrive a plan to move the election of the president in their direction. The last twelve minutes of the film, including an apology from Holden's jealous-of-how-the-work-consumes-her-husband wife -- a glowing June Allyson -- allows hopes and schemes to unravel and others to gel.
If it is still out of stock, don't be shy about perusing the used VHS offerings. It's worth it.
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