''Kisses for My President'' is a 1964

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film directed by

Curtis Bernhardt Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a Jewish film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in 1924, wi ...

and starring

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

and

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan in ''The Helen Mo ...

. Leslie McCloud (Bergen) makes history when she is elected the first female

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. However, her husband Thad McCloud (MacMurray) is less enthusiastic. The picture's supporting cast features

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

Arlene Dahl Arlene Carol Dahl (August 11, 1925 – November 29, 2021) was an American actress active in films from the late 1940s. She was one of the last surviving stars from the Classical Hollywood cinema era. She was also an author and entrepreneur. Sh ...

Edward Andrews Edward Bryan Andrews Jr. (October 9, 1914 – March 8, 1985) was an American stage, film and television actor. Andrews was one of the most recognizable character actors on television and films from the 1950s into the 1980s. His stark white hair ...

, and

Donald May Donald Adam May (February 22, 1929 – January 28, 2022) was an American actor who was known for his roles in '' Colt .45'' (1957–1960) and ''The Edge of Night''. Early years May was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Leontine Frances (T ...

. ''Kisses for My President'' was the last theatrical film directed by Bernhardt, whose career stretched back to the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

Plot summary

The United States elects its first female president, Leslie Harrison McCloud (

). She and her husband (he is never called "first gentleman"; he is called "first lady" a few times early in the film, but typically "president's husband") Thad (

) move into the White House with their daughter Gloria (

Ahna Capri Anna Marie Nanasi (July 6, 1944 – August 19, 2010), better known by her professional name Ahna Capri (also as ''Anna Capri''), was an American film and television actress best known for her role as Tania (secretary of Han) in the martial-arts ...

) and son Peter (

Ronnie Dapo Ronald L. Dapo (born May 8, 1952) is an American film and television actor. He is known for playing Flip Rose in the American sitcom television series '' Room for One More''. Life and career Dapo was born in Plattsburgh, New York. At the age ...

). Immediately, the new president is too busy for her husband and family as she deals with powerful opposition from Senator Walsh (

) and a Central American dictator, Raphael Valdez Jr. (

). Thad attempts to find something meaningful to do as the president's husband. He is upset with his feminine bedroom and office within the White House. Doris Reid Weaver (

), Thad's former flame and now an international business woman, wants Thad back. During a seductive visit, she offers to make him vice president of her cosmetics company as bait. Leslie smells Doris's perfume on her husband that night and confronts him. Leslie asks Thad to show visiting dictator Valdez around Washington, with disastrous results, as Thad brawls with a male diner at a burlesque show. To further complicate things, the first daughter is running around town with a very unsuitable boyfriend and using her position to get out of scrapes with the police. First son Peter has become a bully, using his

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...

men for protection as he terrorizes everyone in his school, including the principal. The president's husband finds an important role in a

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

subplot that resembles the rise and fall of Senator McCarthy, when Thad proves that Senator Walsh blindly supports the Latin American dictator for reasons that are not patriotic. Senator Walsh aggressively portrays the lady president as weak in resisting

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

because she refuses to give Valdez more foreign aid for his personal enrichment while he does nothing to alleviate poverty in his country. The Soviets are also co-funding Valdez to prevent him from being influenced exclusively by the United States. As soon as the president drops her support for the dictator, the Soviets do so as well. Leslie then discovers that she is pregnant, and resigns the presidency to devote herself full-time to her family.

Cast

as Thad McCloud *

as U.S. President Leslie McCloud *

as Raphael Valdez Jr. *

as Doris Reid Weaver *

as Sen. Walsh *

as Secret Service Agent John O'Connor *

Harry Holcombe Harry John Holcombe (November 11, 1906 - September 15, 1987) was an American actor and radio director. He was perhaps best remembered as the grandfather in the Country Time commercials, playing the role for almost a decade. Holcombe also played ...

as Vice President Bill Richards *

as Gloria McCloud (as Anna Capri) *

as Peter McCloud * Richard St. John as Jackson * Bill Walker as Joseph *

Adrienne Marden Adrienne Marden (born Mabel Adrienne Baruch, September 2, 1909 – November 9, 1978) was an American film and television actress. Early years Marden was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Lenore (Stein) and Ralph Baruch. Marden attended th ...

as Miss Higgins * Wilbert G. Nuttycombe as Musician *

Norma Varden Norma Varden Shackleton (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989), known professionally as Norma Varden, was an English-American actress with a long film career. Life and career Early life Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea captain ...

as Miss Dinsendorff *

John Banner John Banner (born Johann Banner, January 28, 1910 – January 28, 1973) was an Austrian-born American actor, best known for his role as Sergeant Schultz in the situation comedy ''Hogan's Heroes'' (1965–1971). Schultz, constantly encou ...

as Soviet Ambassador *

Jon Lormer Jon Lormer (May 7, 1906 – March 19, 1986) was an American actor, known for his guest and supporting roles in television series, such as the 1960s' ''Star Trek'', ''The Twilight Zone'', ''Perry Mason'', '' Peyton Place'', and mega movie perfor ...

as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court *

Eleanor Audley Eleanor Audley ( Zellman; November 19, 1905 – November 25, 1991) was an American actress with a distinctive voice and a diverse body of work. She played Oliver Douglas's mother, Eunice Douglas, on the CBS sitcom ''Green Acres'' (1965–1969) ...

as Principal Osgood * Beverly Power as Nana Peel *

Lillian Bronson Lillian Rumsey Bronson (October 21, 1902 - August 2, 1995) was an American character actress. She performed in more than 80 films and 100 television productions. Biography Bronson was born in Lockport, New York, the daughter of a carriage build ...

as Miss Currier

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' panned the movie, commenting, "...All that one can say is that we hope the first woman to become President brings along a more amusing husband than Mr. MacMurray and a more imaginative team of writers than Mr. Binyon and Mr. Kane." He also criticized Bernhardt for taking "a dim view of the prospect of a woman as President. It wouldn't be funny! That's what his picture says."Crowther, Bosley. "The Screen: 'Kisses for My President':Fred MacMurray and Polly Bergen Star," ''The New York Times'', Saturday, August 22, 1964.
/ref>

References

External links

* * * * {{Curtis Bernhardt 1964 films 1964 comedy films American political comedy films American political satire films American black-and-white films Films about fictional presidents of the United States Films directed by Curtis Bernhardt Films scored by Bronisław Kaper Films set in Washington, D.C. Warner Bros. films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films

Plot summary

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links