Gabriel Over the White House
| Gabriel Over the White House | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Gregory La Cava |
| Produced by |
Walter Wanger William Randolph Hearst |
| Written by |
Story T.F. Tweed Screenplay Carey Wilson Bertram Bloch |
| Starring |
Walter Huston Karen Morley Franchot Tone |
| Music by | William Axt |
| Cinematography | Bert Glennon |
| Edited by | Basil Wrangell |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn Mayer |
|
Release date
|
March 31, 1933 |
|
Running time
|
86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $232,400 |
Gabriel Over the White House is a 1933 American Pre-Code film starring Walter Huston that has been described as a "bizarre political fantasy" and which "posits a favorable view of fascism."
The movie was directed by Gregory La Cava, produced by Walter Wanger and written by Carey Wilson based upon the novel Rinehard by Thomas Frederic Tweed, who did not receive screen credit (the film's opening credits say "based on the anonymous novel, Gabriel Over the White House") and received the financial backing and creative input of William Randolph Hearst.
The supporting cast features Karen Morley, Franchot Tone, C. Henry Gordon, and David Landau.
When the film opens, U.S. President Judson C. 'Judd' Hammond (Huston) (possibly a reference to Judson Harmon) is variously described as "a Hoover-like partisan hack" or "basically a do-nothing crook, based on, to some extent, Warren G. Harding." Then he causes a near-fatal automobile accident and goes into a coma. Through what Portland State University instructor Dennis Grunes calls "possible divine intervention," (characterized by a breeze blowing through a closed window) Hammond awakens as a decisive man of action.
President Hammond makes "a political U-turn," purging his entire cabinet of "big-business lackeys." When Congress impeaches him, he responds by declaring martial law, dissolving the legislative branch, assuming the “temporary” power to make laws as he "transforms himself into an all-powerful dictator." He orders the formation of a new “Army of Construction” answerable only to him and nationalizes the manufacture and sale of alcohol.
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