The President Vanishes (film)
| The President Vanishes | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | William A. Wellman |
| Produced by | Walter Wanger |
| Written by |
Rex Stout (novel) Carey Wilson Cedric Worth |
| Starring |
Edward Arnold Arthur Byron Paul Kelly Peggy Conklin Andy Devine |
| Music by | Hugo Riesenfeld |
| Cinematography | Barney McGill |
| Edited by | Hanson T. Fritch |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | November 17, 1934 |
Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $290,056[1] |
| Box office | $391,542[1] |
The President Vanishes, released in the United Kingdom as Strange Conspiracy, is a 1934 American political drama film directed by William A. Wellman and produced by Walter Wanger. Starring Edward Arnold and Arthur Byron, the film is an adaptation of Rex Stout's political novel of the same name.
Upon its release, the film was praised for its ensemble cast[2][3] but author John Douglas Eames, in his 1985 book The Paramount Story, stated that even with "an accomplished cast and an out-of-the-rut story, but The President Vanishes couldn't buck moviegoers' apathy towards political subjects".[3]
Premise
The film follows the story of The President Vanishes.[4]
Cast
- Edward Arnold — Secretary of War Wardell
- Arthur Byron — President Craig Stanley
- Paul Kelly — Chick Moffat
- Peggy Conklin — Alma Cronin
- Andy Devine — Val Orcott
- Janet Beecher — Mrs. Stanley
- Osgood Perkins — Harris Brownell
- Sidney Blackmer — D.L. Voorman
- Edward Ellis — Lincoln Lee
Hays Code
Upon its release in 1934, The President Vanishes was named by the National Legion of Decency — an organization of the United States Catholic Church — as one of Hollywood's problematic and "immoral" films. The Catholic Church demanded an implementation and enforcement of a set of industry censorship guidelines to control and remove content that the church saw as immoral. Threatened by a large scale boycott of all Hollywood films, Will H. Hays, then president of Motion Picture Association of America, came to an agreement with the church that saw the establishment of Production Code Administration and passage of the Motion Picture Production Code, also known as Hays Code.[5] The Hays Code was in use from 1934 until 1968 when it was abandoned in favor of the MPAA film rating system.
Reception
The film recorded a loss of $145,948.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Matthew Bernstein, Walter Wagner: Hollywood Independent, Minnesota Press, 2000 p435
- ↑ Sennwald, Andre. "The Mysterious Disappearance of President Stanley in The President Vanishes, at the Paramount", The New York Times, December 8, 1934. Accessed January 29, 2010.
- 1 2 Eames, John Douglas, The Paramount Story; 1985, Crown Publishers, Inc.; Hardcover ISBN 0-517-55348-1 p. 100
- ↑ Fraser A. Sherman Screen Enemies of the American Way: Political Paranoia About Nazis p.164
- ↑ Black, Gregory D. Hollywood Censored, Indiana University Press, 1989. Accessed January 29/2010.