The Phantom President
| The Phantom President | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Norman Taurog |
| Written by | Walter DeLeon Harlan Thompson George F. Worts (novel) |
| Starring | George M. Cohan Claudette Colbert Jimmy Durante |
| Cinematography | David Abel |
| Music by | Richard Rodgers Rudolph G. Kopp (uncredited) John Leipold (uncredited) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 78 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Phantom President is a 1932 American pre-Code musical comedy/political satire film directed by Norman Taurog, and starring George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert and Jimmy Durante.
According to Richard Rodgers, George M. Cohan deeply resented having to work with Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart on the film. Cohan was bitter that the type of musical theatre that he had created was now out of fashion, and that it was being supplanted by the more literate and musically sophisticated shows of Rodgers and Hart, among others. During the filming, Cohan would sarcastically refer to Rodgers and Hart as "Gilbert and Sullivan". On the other hand, 5 years later (1937), Cohan starred on Broadway in Rodgers and Hart's musical I'D RATHER BE RIGHT, as a thinly disguised singing and dancing F.D.R. so he must have gotten over that resentment (although in Yankee Doodle Dandy segments dealing with I'd Rather Be Right, the show is credited to librettists George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart and Rodgers and Hart are not mentioned).
Plot
The Phantom President tells the fictional story of American presidential candidates, based on the novel by George F. Worts. A colorless stiff candidate for President is replaced in public appearances by a charismatic medicine show pitchman, from the day when the show included blackface makeup and eccentric dancing.
Quotes
- Prof. Aikenhead: "Blair lacks political charm. Blair has no flair for savoir faire."
- Peeter J. 'Doc' Varney: "I'm just trying to figure out which one of us looks the most alike."
Cast
- George M. Cohan as Theodore K. Blair/Peeter J. 'Doc' Varney
- Claudette Colbert as Felicia Hammond
- Jimmy Durante as Curly Cooney
- George Barbier as Boss Jim Ronkton
- Sidney Toler as Prof. Aikenhead
- Louise Mackintosh as Sen. Sarah Scranton
- Jameson Thomas as Jerrido
- Julius McVicker as Sen. Melrose
- Charles Middleton as Abraham Lincoln (uncredited)
- Alan Mowbray as George Washington (uncredited)
External links
- The Phantom President at the TCM Movie Database
- The Phantom President at IMDb
- The Phantom President at AllMovie
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