Putney Swope

''Putney Swope'' is a 1969 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Robert Downey Sr., and starring Arnold Johnson as the title character, a black advertising executive. The film satirizes the advertising world, the portrayal of race in Hollywood films and the nature of corporate corruption.

In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Plot

Putney Swope, the only black man on the executive board of an advertising firm, is accidentally put in charge after the sudden death of the chairman of the board. Prevented by the company by-laws from voting for themselves, board members voted by secret ballot for the one person they thought could not win: Putney Swope.

Renaming the business "Truth and Soul, Inc.", Swope replaces all but one of the white employees with black employees and insists they no longer accept business from companies that produce alcohol, tobacco or toy guns. The success of the business draws unwanted attention from the United States government and the President (Pepi Hermine), which considers it "a threat to the national security".

Swope decides to test his followers by saying he's going to go back on his pledge to not take certain accounts. He's delighted when they accuse him of copping out, then disillusioned when they relent and say they'll follow him no matter what, and he walks away, leaving them to squabble over a glass bin full of money, which one sets on fire with a Molotov cocktail when he finds out he isn't getting any.

Production

In a DVD interview, Downey claims that Johnson had great difficulty memorizing and giving his lines during filming. Downey says he was unconcerned as he had developed a plan to dub his own voice over Johnson's.

Though the film is in black-and-white, the Truth and Soul commercials are in color.

The Mel Brooks who plays Mr. Forget-It is not the renowned comedian-filmmaker.

Cast

(as listed in the end credits by order of appearance)
* Stan Gottlieb as Nathan (as Stanley Gottlieb)
* Allen Garfield as Elias, Jr.
* Archie Russell as Joker
* Ramon Gordon as Bissinger
* Bert Lawrence as Hawker
* Joe Madden as Mr. Syllables (credited as Joe Engler)
* Arnold Johnson as Putney Swope
* David Kirk as Elias, Sr.
* Don George as Mr. Cards
* Buddy Butler as Putney's Bodyguard
* Vincent Hamill as Man in White Suit
* Tom Odachi as Wing Soney
* Ching Yeh as Wing Soney, Jr.
* Spunky-Funk Johnson as Mr. Major
* Joe Fields as Pittsburgh Willie
* Norman Schreiber as Messenger
* Robert Staats as Mr. War Toys
* Mel Brooks as Mr. Forget It

Release

Poster controversy

The theatrical release poster showed a raised hand with the image of a girl replacing the out-thrust middle finger. The ''Los Angeles Times'' declined to print the advertisement, and it was not reprinted by the ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner'' after initial complaints. In Chicago, the ''Tribune'' and ''Today'' refused to publish it, and it was pulled by the ''Sun-Times'' and '' Daily News'', although they later published the advertisement without the girl as the middle finger. Roger Ebert was embarrassed by the ''Sun-Times'' censorship.

Box office

''Putney Swope'' opened on July 10, 1969, at Cinema II in New York City, grossing $32,281 in its first week. The film opened in Los Angeles on January 21, 1970, and set a house record of $16,000 at the 3 Penny Cinema in Chicago when it opened in February 1970; and, in Los Angeles, it was felt that the controversy boosted public interest.

Home media

The film was released on DVD on May 22, 2001, by Rhino Home Video. It received a Blu-ray on July 2, 2019, by Vinegar Syndrome.

Legacy

The character Buck Swope from Paul Thomas Anderson's ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), portrayed by Don Cheadle, was named as a homage to this film. Downey also made a small cameo in ''Boogie Nights'' as the owner of a recording studio. The character Wing Soney, a Chinese businessman, was the inspiration for Cosmo, the Chinese man throwing firecrackers during the drug deal scene.

Anderson, Louis C.K. and Jim Jarmusch have cited ''Putney Swope'' as an inspiration for their approach to filmmaking.

The Beastie Boys song " Shadrach", from their 1989 album ''Paul's Boutique'', mentions the film in the lyric "Music for all and not just one people, and now we're gonna bust with the Putney Swope sequel". Film dialogue is sampled on De La Soul's 1989 song " The Magic Number", as well as The Avalanches' 2016 album ''Wildflower''.

A black-and-white photo of the film's poster, which Sloan band member Jay Ferguson saw in a book, inspired the "quick and photocopy looking" look of the album cover for the band's 1999 album '' Between the Bridges''.

''Putney Swope'' was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2019. It is currently available to stream on Peacock.

References

External links

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{{Robert Downey Sr.

1969 films
1969 comedy films
American black-and-white films
American business films
American comedy films
American satirical films
Films about advertising
Films about businesspeople
Films about race and ethnicity
Films directed by Robert Downey Sr.
Films set in New York City
Films with screenplays by Robert Downey Sr.
United States National Film Registry films
1960s English-language films
1960s American films