An African-American senator becomes the designated survivor of a tragic accident that kills the President of the United States. Now the first black President, he attempts to end the bigotry ... Read allAn African-American senator becomes the designated survivor of a tragic accident that kills the President of the United States. Now the first black President, he attempts to end the bigotry and divide standing in his way.An African-American senator becomes the designated survivor of a tragic accident that kills the President of the United States. Now the first black President, he attempts to end the bigotry and divide standing in his way.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Wheeler's Lawyer
- (as Martin Brooks)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJames Earl Jones was interviewed about portraying a fictional black U.S. president a few days before Barack Obama was sworn in as President. Jones said that he had misgivings about the film, mostly because they were blindsided when the project (which was planned and budgeted as a TV movie) was released in theaters, and he wished that they'd had more time and resources to make a stronger final film.
- Quotes
Wanda: How are you, Dad?
Douglass Dilman: Numb! Numbness being a, er, defence mechanism.
Wanda: Against what?
Douglass Dilman: Against... against breaking into small pieces. They flew you here? From Ohio?
Wanda: On an Air Force jet, no less. Two Secret Servicemen came right into my dorm and got me.
Douglass Dilman: What's known as the long arm of Government!... It's nice to have you in the nation's capital for something other than a protest march.
Wanda: Well, I guess I'll have to cool that sort of thing for a while.
Douglass Dilman: I think maybe so. You are now a member of the nation's First Family, small though it may be. So the next time you throw rocks at the Establishment, keep in mind that the father you hit may be your own.
[beat]
Douglass Dilman: Perhaps by tomorrow morning, I can get my hands to stop shaking. I'm the wrong one, Wanda.
Wanda: Why?
Douglass Dilman: They were expecting a black Messiah. You can tell them what they got, eh?
Wanda: What they got is a black President. That's more than they've ever gotten.
Douglass Dilman: May I remind you, not by election. And the rest of the country is going to want an Uncle Tom. Well, I can't be what everybody wants me to be. And I'm a little afraid that I'm going to cause this country more chaos then it really deserves.
Wanda: Well, I don't give a damn about the rest of this country, their sensitivities, their racial hang-ups. Do me a favour, will you, please? Stop being the pedantic professor with an aversion to causes. Stop being "Senator Ineffectual". There are fifteen million people out there, tied to you by the colour of your skin. And if you go under, they drown with you. They don't want you humble. They don't want you apologetic. They just want you President.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Dick Cavett Show: Episode dated 19 July 1972 (1972)
When the POTUS, the Speaker of the House, and others are killed in a very unfortunate accident, and the VP declines being sworn in due to his health, the next in line for the presidency became Senator Douglas Dilman (James Earl Jones). The initial thought was that the Secretary of State would be the next in line, but due to the Succession Act of 1947 the hierarchy was the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, then President Pro Tempore of the Senate. This thrust a Black man into the presidency for the first time in U.S. history.
Naturally, the implications, expectations, and non-expectations were tremendous. This movie could've gone in almost any direction and that's what we were waiting for as viewers: to see what direction it would go.
The plot thickened as did the agendas once Dilman was sworn in. I think we only got a small taste of both the positive and negative expectations placed upon Dilman by Blacks and Whites. The movie settled in on one hot button issue surrounding the apartheid country of South Africa. It was an intricate hot mess President Dilman had to deal with. He was in a most unenviable position and I think the film (and Jones) conveyed that well.
This was a bold and brave movie for 1972. The dialogue was excellent as was the script. I only wonder if Obama ever watched this?
- view_and_review
- Dec 7, 2019
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- ザ・マン~大統領の椅子~
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1