The Best Man

An election campaign for the presidential nomination: a principled intellectual (Henry Fonda) with flaws in his past life competes against a ruthless opportunist (Cliff Robertson) who stages himself as a ‘man of the people’. A prime example of Hollywood's early-1960s interest in politics, which had now become a media event in its own right - and thus also an attractive cinema subject, whether as a farce or a thriller. Or as an investigative drama like The Best Man. Gore Vidal's look behind the scenes reveals what goes on between the honourable speeches of a party convention: machinations, sheer striving for power, slander. Franklin J. Schaffner, previously the designated in-house director of the assassinated President JFK, draws on his own experience with ‘political’ image staging and commissioned reportage: The Best Man is in every respect a film from the beginning of the new era of media politics - personality instead of content. (Christoph Huber/Harry Tomicek)

Photo: Österreichisches Filmmuseum