MovieChat Forums > Executive Suite (1954) Discussion > Some odd things about this movie

Some odd things about this movie

posted 14 years ago by TCMer
3 replies | jump to latest

First, I just want to be clear that I think "Executive Suite" is a great movie with an unbelievable cast.

Still, there are a few odd things:

- When the board meeting starts, Fredric March says he has Barbara Stanwyck's proxy. In most states (if not all), directors of for-profit corporations can't vote by proxy. They have to vote in person. I'm pretty sure this was also true in the 1950s.

- The directors vote by secret ballot. That never happens. Each directors is entitled to know how the others vote.

- The board never meets until they vote on the new president. Normally, the board would meet as soon as they could after the president's death, to arrange for interim leadership. Then they would take their time finding a permanent successor, and they might also consider strategic alternatives, such as a merger with another company.

"What I got don't need pearls." -- Linda Darnell (1923-65)

[–] spin73 14 years ago

I agree. I thought this was a very good movie but I found the ending just a little unrealistic - one 5 minute speech suddenly turned five hardened hearts 180 degrees.

[–] wbf200 14 years ago

In fact, only two hardened hearts were won over - Julia Treadway and Jesse Grimm, and in reality, Julia really didn't care about the company anymore because of all the pain it caused her. She only signed over her proxy to Shaw because he happened to be the one who took her call earlier that afternoon. Only Grimm really had an axe to grind toward Walling. Dudley only voted for Shaw because he was blackmailing him, not because he either liked or trusted him. Caswell only went along with Shaw in voting for Walling after it was clear he had already had won with five votes.

The point about a single speech making all the difference is a fair one, but the movie needed a dramatic payoff, and the board meeting was it. In reality, most corporate board meetings are probably pretty dull and routine so the producers had out of necessity taken some creative license.

[–] 14 years ago

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