The Candidate (1972 film)
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The Candidate is an American film released in 1972, starring Robert Redford. Themes of the film include that of how the political machine corrupts, and the pointlessness of politics. There are also parallels between John F. Kennedy and Redford's character Bill McKay. The film serves mainly to show how a race for a seat in the Senate develops.
The film was shot in Northern California. Peter Boyle, later famous for his role as Frank Barone on the 1990s sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, gives a memorable performance as political consultant Marvin Lucas. The screenplay was written by Jeremy Larner, a speech-writer for Senator Eugene J. McCarthy during McCarthy's campaign for the 1968 Democratic Presidential nomination. The film won a Best Writing Oscar and was also nominated for Best Sound.
Tagline: Nothing matters more than winning. Not even what you believe in.
Plot
Robert Redford plays Bill McKay, who is running for the United States Senate as a Democrat in California against the Republican incumbent Crocker Jarmon. McKay, a public-interest lawyer, is asked to run by political consultant Marvin "Luke" Lucas, who after failing in one election needs to make some money. McKay, son of popular ex-governor John J. McKay, decides to run assuming he will lose, and uses the race to speak his mind. The race tightens as McKay increasingly cedes control of his image and speeches to Lucas. McKay is somehow able to pull off a victory on election day; the film ends with McKay, shocked at his victory and trying to get a private word in with Lucas, flooded with supporters: McKay was so preoccupied with being a candidate that he has no idea how he will actually go about being a Senator.
The film highlights many criticisms of modern day American politics, such as the importance of money and the emphasis on the image of political candidates. In particular, the degeneration of McKay from an idealistic public-interest lawyer working for unpopular and then-little-known causes (the young environmentalist movement, civil rights for Latinos, integration through busing) and strong opinions on all issues into a construct of his campaign, dominated by idiotic little slogans (most notably "Bill McKay: the better way") and a road-weary nervous wreck, to boot.
Reception
N.Y. Times (June 30, 1972) reviewer Vincent Canby applauded Redford's performance and commented that: "The Candidate is serious, but its tone is coldly comic, as if it had been put together by people who had given up hope." Christopher Null from filmcritic.com gave the film 4.5/5 and said: "... this satire on an American institution continues to gain relevance instead of lose it."Cast
- Robert Redford as Bill McKay
- Peter Boyle as Marvin Lucas
- Melvyn Douglas as John J. McKay
- Don Porter as Sen. Crocker Jarmon
- Allen Garfield as Howard Klein
- Karen Carlson as Nancy McKay
- Quinn K. Redeker as Jenkin (as Quinn Redeker)
- Morgan Upton as Henderson
- Michael Lerner as Corliss
- Kenneth Tobey as Floyd J. Starkey
- Natalie Wood as Herself
Selected quotations
- Bill McKay: It's the basic indifference that made this country great.
- Marvin Lucas: You're the Democratic nominee for Senator.
Bill McKay: You make that sound like a death sentence. - Bill McKay: So vote once, vote twice, for Bill McKay... you middle class honkies.
- In an ominous voice, an election-day sound truck bellows: What has Bill McKay done for California? Not much... but his father was governor.
- Bill McKay: What do we do now?
Trivia
- Groucho Marx has an uncredited walk-on cameo in what would be his last screen appearance.
- Numerous real-life politicians, such as George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, Alan Cranston, Sam Yorty, and Jesse Unruh, make cameo appearances as themselves, as do a number of journalists -- notably, KGO-TV anchor Van Amburg, the debate moderator.
- The character of Bill McKay is based on California Senator John V. Tunney.
References
- [N.Y. Times review by V. Canby June 30, 1972]
- [Filmcritic.com review]
- [Shooting locations for The Candidate]
External links
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