The President's Analyst
The President's Analyst | |
---|---|
Directed by | Theodore J. Flicker |
Written by | Theodore J. Flicker |
Produced by | Stanley Rubin |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | William A. Fraker |
Edited by | Stuart H. Pappé |
Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | over $2 million[1] |
Box office | $2.4 million (US/Canada rentals)[2] |
The President's Analyst is a 1967 American
Plot
Psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Schaefer is chosen by the U.S. government to act as the president's top-secret personal psychoanalyst, from a referral by Don Masters, a Central Enquiries Agency (CEA) assassin who vetted Schaefer while undergoing his own
However, the president's analyst has a unique problem: there is no one with whom he can talk about the president's top-secret and personal problems. As he steadily becomes overwhelmed by stress, Schaefer begins to feel that he is being watched everywhere until he becomes clinically
Schaefer goes on the run with the help of a "typical" American family in New Jersey who defend him against foreign agents attempting to kidnap him off the street. He escapes with the help of a hippie tribe led by the "Old Wrangler", as spies from many nations attempt to kidnap him for the secret information that the president has disclosed to him. Meanwhile, agents from the FBR seek him on orders to '"liquidate" him as a national security risk. Eventually, Schaefer is found and kidnapped by Canadian Secret Service agents masquerading as a British pop group. Schaefer is rescued from the Canadians and an FBR assassin by Kropotkin (Severn Darden), a Russian KGB agent who intends to spirit him away to the Soviet Union. Kropotkin has second thoughts about his plan following a psychoanalysis session with the doctor during which Kropotkin begins to come to terms with his unrealized hatred of his KGB-chief father for having his mother shot during Joseph Stalin's Purge of 1937. Now feeling that he needs the doctor's help to continue his self-analysis, he instead returns him to U.S. soil.
Kropotkin arranges a pickup with his trusted CEA colleague Don Masters, but Schaefer is kidnapped again, this time by TPC (The Phone Company), a far more insidious organization than the CSS, the FBR, or the KGB, which had been secretly observing him. Taken to TPC headquarters in New Jersey, he is introduced to its leader, who wants Schaefer's help in carrying out their plan for world domination. As the TPC leader makes his presentation, a camera closeup reveals electronic cables connected to one of his feet, revealing that he is actually an animatronic robot.
TPC has developed a "modern electronic miracle", the Cerebrum Communicator (CC), a microelectronic device that can communicate wirelessly with any other CC in the world. With the CC
Masters and Kropotkin use their superspy abilities to come to Schaefer's rescue. They hand Schaefer an M16 rifle that he gleefully uses on The Phone Company's security staff. The trio emerge victorious from the ensuing bloodbath, but months later, as Schaefer and his spy friends are enjoying a Christmas reunion, animatronic executives from TPC are seen staring approvingly at a secret monitor, while "Joy to the World" plays in the background.
Cast
- James Coburn as Dr. Sidney Schaefer
- Godfrey Cambridge as Don Masters
- Severn Darden as V. I. Kydor Kropotkin
- Joan Delaney as Nan Butler
- Pat Harrington, Jr.as Arlington Hewes
- Barry McGuire as Old Wrangler
- Jill Banner as Snow White
- Eduard Franz as Ethan Allan Cocket
- Walter Burke as Henry Lux
- Will Geer as Dr. Lee Evan
- William Daniels as Wynn Quantrill
- Joan Darling as Jeff Quantrill
- Sheldon Collins as Bing Quantrill
- Arte Johnson as Sullivan
- Martin Horsey as 1st Puddlian
Production
James Coburn first met Theodore Flicker on the set of
The film was shot in
The musical band of hippies led by McGuire was a Los Angeles rock group called Clear Light. They evolved from the band Brain Train and had recently been signed to Elektra Records when they were cast in the film, with a few band members given lines of dialogue. However, the band soon replaced its vocalist. (Cliff DeYoung joined the band as singer after the film was made and was their lead singer on their sole album; McGuire had played that part in the film.) The band released just one album and three singles before breaking up. Reportedly, the role was originally offered to the Grateful Dead, but they turned it down.[8]
The ship used by the Canadian Secret Service was John Wayne's personal yacht, the Wild Goose.[9]
Critical reception
The film was a commercial failure,[citation needed] but received positive reviews from critics. As of 2021[update], it holds a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 reviews.[10]
Deleted scenes
Some television prints and videocassette versions of the film were missing some of the songs written and performed by Clear Light with
A scene missing from current editions of the film involves Schaefer meeting his lover Nan seemingly by chance at a 1960s-style underground movie.[3]
In popular culture
The internet fax service The Phone Company took its name from this film.[12]
See also
- List of American films of 1967
- List of films featuring surveillance
- List of films featuring hallucinogens
References
- ^ a b Hyams, Joe (11 June 1967). "Poured in the Mogul Mold".(subscription required) Los Angeles Times. p. I55.
- ^ "Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, 8 January 1969. p. 15. Please note this figure is a rental accruing to distributors.
- ^ a b c d e f Thompson, Nathaniel. "The President's Analyst". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
- ^ D'Angelo, Mike (January 27, 2014). "Cable companies have always sucked, a classic comedy reminds". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ "The Hollywood Interview: James Coburn". The Hollywood Interview. February 28, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ "The President's Analyst". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
- ^ Evans, Robert (2006). The Kid Stays in the Picture. Phoenix Books, p. 133.
- ^ Garcia: An American Life, by Blair Jackson
- ^ Byrne, Diane M. (August 12, 2011). "Megayacht News—John Wayne's Megayacht Now on National Register of Historic Places". Megayachtnews.com. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ "The President's Analyst (1967)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ "Quick Reviews: The President's Analyst". The DVD Journal. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- ^ TPC.INT: FAQ: The History of TPC.INT Archived July 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine