The Man is a 1972 political drama directed by
Joseph SargentJoseph Sargent is an American film director. He has directed many television movies, but his best known feature film works are probably White Lightning, MacArthur, Nightmares and Jaws: The Revenge, with his most popular film being The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. He has won four Emmy Awards...
and starring
James Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor of stage and screen, well known for his deep basso voice. To modern audiences, he is best known for providing the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, and Mufasa in The Lion King.-Childhood:Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, the son of Ruth...
. Jones plays Douglass Dilman, the
President pro tempore of the United States SenateThe President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate and the highest-ranking senator. The U.S...
, who succeeds to the
presidencyThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
through a series of unforeseeable events, thereby becoming the first
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
president. The screenplay, written by
Rod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. He was known in the more secular community as being an atheist despite converting to Unitarianism...
, is largely based upon
The Man, a novel by
Irving WallaceIrving Wallace was an American bestselling author and screenwriter, penned best-selling books that were extensively researched, including such page-turners as The Chapman Report , about human sexuality; The Prize , a fictional behind-the-scenes account of the Nobel Prizes; "The Man", about a...
.
President Fenton and the
Speaker of the United States House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The current Speaker is Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat representing California's 8th congressional district....
are killed in
West GermanyWest Germany is a common English name for the period of the Federal Republic of Germany between its' formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and the five states on its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany,...
when its
BundestagThe Bundestag is the parliament of Germany. It was established with Germany's constitution of 1949 and is the successor of the earlier Reichstag...
(parliament) buildings in
BonnBonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990...
, the capital city, suffer a collapse.
The Man is a 1972 political drama directed by
Joseph SargentJoseph Sargent is an American film director. He has directed many television movies, but his best known feature film works are probably White Lightning, MacArthur, Nightmares and Jaws: The Revenge, with his most popular film being The Taking of Pelham One Two Three. He has won four Emmy Awards...
and starring
James Earl JonesJames Earl Jones is an American actor of stage and screen, well known for his deep basso voice. To modern audiences, he is best known for providing the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise, and Mufasa in The Lion King.-Childhood:Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, the son of Ruth...
. Jones plays Douglass Dilman, the
President pro tempore of the United States SenateThe President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate and the highest-ranking senator. The U.S...
, who succeeds to the
presidencyThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
through a series of unforeseeable events, thereby becoming the first
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry...
president. The screenplay, written by
Rod SerlingRodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter and television producer, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. He was known in the more secular community as being an atheist despite converting to Unitarianism...
, is largely based upon
The Man, a novel by
Irving WallaceIrving Wallace was an American bestselling author and screenwriter, penned best-selling books that were extensively researched, including such page-turners as The Chapman Report , about human sexuality; The Prize , a fictional behind-the-scenes account of the Nobel Prizes; "The Man", about a...
.
Plot
President Fenton and the
Speaker of the United States House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The current Speaker is Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat representing California's 8th congressional district....
are killed in
West GermanyWest Germany is a common English name for the period of the Federal Republic of Germany between its' formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and the five states on its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany,...
when its
BundestagThe Bundestag is the parliament of Germany. It was established with Germany's constitution of 1949 and is the successor of the earlier Reichstag...
(parliament) buildings in
BonnBonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990...
, the capital city, suffer a collapse. Vice President Noah Calvin (
Lew AyresLew Ayres, born Lewis Frederick Ayres III was an American actor.-Career:Ayres was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and reared in San Diego, California, Ayres began acting in bit player roles in films in 1927...
), elderly and in very ill health, refuses to assume the office, pointing out that they'll need another replacement almost immediately. Arthur Eaton (
William WindomWilliam Windom is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his work on television, including several episodes of The Twilight Zone; playing the character of Glen Morley, a congressman from Minnesota like his own great-grandfather and namesake in The Farmer's Daughter; the character of John...
), the
Secretary of StateThe United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence. The current Secretary of...
, is urged to take the office, but he points out that the law on the
line of successionThe United States presidential line of succession defines who may become or act as President of the United States upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or removal from office of a sitting president or a president-elect.- Current order :This is a list of the current presidential line of...
places the job with the
President pro tempore of the SenateThe President pro tempore is the second-highest-ranking official of the United States Senate and the highest-ranking senator. The U.S...
, Douglass Dilman (Jones).
The stunned Dilman, having been sworn in, arrives at the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
to assume office, and spends his first night there. Meanwhile, Eaton's outspoken wife Kay (
Barbara RushBarbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
) berates her husband for not pushing to become president, even though it would be contrary to the succession order. Eaton assures her that he will become president when Dilman is tripped up on issues.
In the morning, Eaton and his advisers arrive and work in the
Oval Office| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |-| |}The Oval Office is the official office of the President of the United States. Created in 1909 as part of an overall expansion of the West Wing of the White House during the administration of William Howard Taft, the office was inspired by the elliptical Blue Room...
; it becomes evident to the adviser that Eaton is setting himself up as the "power behind the throne." Dilman, after carefully studying the Oval Office alone, then meets with Eaton, who gives him a binder of briefing notes. The notes are statements he can give in response to questions asked by the
pressPress may refer to:In publishing:* The press, otherwise known as the journalism business, the newspaper business, the news media, the Fourth Estate or the mass media* A press, publishing house or printer...
, statements that probably conform to positions on issues by the administration of the deceased president.
Dilman meets the press for the first time as president, and at first, Dilman goes along with the information provided as advice. An aggressive reporter notices the puppet strings as Dilman stops to consult notes after each question, and questions Dilman's independence. Eaton scribbles a note and has it taken forward to the president. Dilman, having realized that he's being micromanaged and now dissatisfied with it, crumples Eaton's note, shoves the briefing notes binder to the floor, and proceeds under his own initiative, deciding that if God or fate has made him president, and he'll have to take the fall for his decisions, then he'll lead as he believes he ought.
Dilman, a moderate, runs into issues because of activists and extremists with his own skin colour. Robert Wheeler (
Georg Stanford BrownGeorg Stanford Brown is a Cuban-American actor and Emmy Award winning director, perhaps best known as one of the stars of the ABC police television series The Rookies from 1972-76...
), a young black man, is sought for
extraditionExtradition is the official process whereby one nation or state requests and obtains from another nation or state the surrender of a suspected or convicted criminal. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
by apartheid South Africa for a deadly act in that country; Dilman offers his help and the young man claims he was in
BurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi, is a country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its size is just under 28,000 km² with an estimated population of...
.
Senator Watson (
Burgess MeredithOliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor. He was best-known for portraying Rocky Balboa's trainer Mickey Goldmill in the Rocky films and The Penguin in the television series Batman...
) introduces a bill before Congress that would require approval of Congress of any attempt by the president to dismiss a member of the cabinet. Eaton doesn't tell Dilman about it, but some black congressmen have a meeting with Dilman to discuss their concerns. Dilman believes they are referring to a minority rights bill, pledges his support, and then one of the congressmen tells the president it isn't about the rights bill, but the Watson bill. Dilman subsequently chews out a group of senior leaders that Eaton is meeting with, questioning his relevance if such an important bill is not being brought to his attention.
Senator Watson visits the South African embassy, where the ambassador (
Patric KnowlesReginald Lawrence Knowles was an English film actor who renamed himself Patric Knowles, a name which reflects his Irish descent. He appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s...
) comments that his country would never have a black man as president. He shows news film to Senator Watson that proves Wheeler was indeed in South Africa, and it breaks as
scandalA scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed. A scandal may be based on true or false allegations or a mixture of both....
, threatening Dilman's young presidency.
Dilman's activist daughter Wanda (Janet MacLachlan) clashes with Kay Eaton at a dinner in the White House; Dilman watches the verbal exchange, Kay baiting Wanda, with bemusement.
Dilman finally obtains the young man's confession, but handing him over for extradition alienates Wanda Dilman, who doesn't agree with handing over an activist against white minority rule in South Africa. President Dilman addresses a scrum of reporters, explaining that some people think only violence is the answer and that he will rely on peaceful means, as he washes his hands of the Wheeler issue; a reporter asks if he's going to pass up a run for the presidential nomination.
Dilman replies that he is going to "fight like heck (sic)" to win the nomination, and to the tune of "
Hail to the Chief"Hail to the Chief " is a march primarily associated with the President of the United States. Its playing accompanies the appearance of the President at many public appearances. For major official occasions, the United States Marine Band and other military ensembles generally are the performers,...
," he is introduced to the party's national convention.
Note
William Windom sought the presidency in this movie. A year earlier, in "
Escape from the Planet of the ApesEscape from the Planet of the Apes is a 1971 science fiction film starring Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, and Bradford Dillman. It is the second sequel to the Planet of the Apes movie of 1968, the first sequel being Beneath the Planet of the Apes . This sequel is considered by critics to be one of the...
", Windom played the president.