This is what power-hungry Army general Burt Lancaster must discover when he takes on the President of the United States (Fredric March) who is in the process of signing a peace treaty with Russia. Cold War notwithstanding, Lancaster believes that the Russians are only interested in a treaty to distract the American government from their real plans. The director of "The Manchurian Candidate" (John Frankenheimer) takes on another political melodrama about the obsession with power and the ideals that the electoral process was founded on. Like other military villains (real and fictional), Lancaster is cool, calm, collected and charming. He's also an emotionless lover as former mistress Ava Gardner informs another officer (Kirk Douglas) who is after private letters from her he intends to give to the president to prove his claim. Douglas and Lanchaster are friendly colleagues, so this is a Julius Caesar/Brutus type betrayal, set in modern times. Like "The Manchurian Candidate", this was around the same time as the Kennedy assassination (just a year after that), so this really reflects the political environment of America during this time.
It is ironic that while this deals with a treaty with the Russians, they are not the villain here. That goes to someone inside our own back yard that would gladly kill to get what he wants and utilize the military to force the president out of office. All of the lead actors are excellent, particularly March and Douglas, with Oscar Nominated Edmund O'Brien, John Houseman and Martin Balsam outstanding in supporting roles. The confrontation between March and Lancaster, both on a TV screen which shows them both live, and later in person, is riveting. The film does drag only slightly with the romantic elements concerning Gardner, but there is a purpose concerning her character, sadly not utilized when the betrayal does come to the forefront. The film certainly does not have the bang that "The Manchurian Candidate" had at the end, but what does result is an ending that satisfactorily exposes the villain yet warns the audience against the evils of one person obtaining too much power and the desire to use it in a negative way.
It is ironic that while this deals with a treaty with the Russians, they are not the villain here. That goes to someone inside our own back yard that would gladly kill to get what he wants and utilize the military to force the president out of office. All of the lead actors are excellent, particularly March and Douglas, with Oscar Nominated Edmund O'Brien, John Houseman and Martin Balsam outstanding in supporting roles. The confrontation between March and Lancaster, both on a TV screen which shows them both live, and later in person, is riveting. The film does drag only slightly with the romantic elements concerning Gardner, but there is a purpose concerning her character, sadly not utilized when the betrayal does come to the forefront. The film certainly does not have the bang that "The Manchurian Candidate" had at the end, but what does result is an ending that satisfactorily exposes the villain yet warns the audience against the evils of one person obtaining too much power and the desire to use it in a negative way.