The President's Analyst

The erie ironies about our society this film conjures are amazing. Especially, the TPC subplot. The writer was certainly a visionary. Makes you wonder about SKYNET from the Terminator series.

James Coburn is "The President's Analyst" in this 1967 dark-humored film also starring Godfrey Cambridge, Severn Darden, Eduard Franz, Will Geer and Barry McGuire. Coburn is Sidney Schaefer, a New York psychiatrist chosen to be the analyst for the President of the United States. It's a great honor and all that, but the assignment turns out to be nothing but trouble. He becomes paranoid and when he starts to believe his girlfriend is a spy, he escapes his many watchers by joining a White House tour and attaching himself to a couple, Bing and Jeff Quantrill (Wiliam Daniels and Joan Darling). Claiming that he works for the President who wants to get a handle on what Americans are thinking, they agree to take him back to the New York suburbs with them. But Sidney can't escape - everyone seems to know where he is, even later on, when he runs away with a group of hippie musicians and dons a wig. One faction of the U.S. government wants him found and returned to Washington; another one, the FBR, wants him dead. All the other countries want him to find out what he knows, or they want him dead so no one else learns anything.

There are lots of great things in this film, but the best is the segment with William Daniels and Joan Darling, who play two liberals who have more guns in their house than a gun store. "The people next door are Fascists," Bing says. "They ought to be gassed." With Sidney in Chinatown, government agents approach them to kidnap Sidney. Jeff attacks with karate while Bing shoots to kill - and Sidney takes off.

Baby boomers will especially enjoy all the '60 elements. "The President's Analyst" walks a line between satire and the real feelings of the '60s (many of which are still held) about the government. And it succeeds beautifully. James Coburn was an underrated actor who always delivered unique characterizations, and he was never without some underlying humor. You can see the analyst deteriorate - he starts off with an ego as big as New York after getting his assignment, and bit by bit he descends into nervous breakdown-land. The other performances are excellent, from Godfrey Cambridge, Eduard Franz, Will Geer and the rest. But Daniels and Darling - priceless.

Excellent film, highly recommended.

I forgot what a masterpiece of paranoia this movie is; only in this

case, it isn't paranoia, everyone really IS out to get you! This is

James Coburn's best performance in my opinion, as a psychiatrist

who has been conscripted to become the President's analyst, and

when he decides to quit, discovers just how disposal American

citizens are. This is my pick for THE paranoia movie of the 1960s.

That this movie came out in 1967 is incredible; it deals with

assassination carried out casually by the FBI, the CIA, the violence

that has been absorbed as wholesome by America, the escape

from violence into sex and drugs, and much, much more, all

during the time of the Vietnam War and zero tolerance for differing

views. The speech by the black FBI agent in the beginning on

how he discovered racism is especially painful, and remarkable

given the time period.

The movie is hysterically funny, cynical, black, and most ironically,

hopeful, and a must-see for any film lover. The script is terrific, but

the direction stands out in the inspired camerawork. This

obviously was a labor of love by the director/writer, and

interestingly, one of only two or three non-t.v. films he ever directed.

If you see it, you may be bored by today's sex and gore standards.

But if you remember the 60s, keep them in mind when you see

this film. You'll wonder how it ever got made.

Ten out of ten stars, because there isn't anything I can find wrong

with this film; it's brilliant in every aspect.

Because of copyright problems (probably resulting from Barry McGuire finding God) some of the music has been replaced on most copies of the home video version. This replacement REALLY spoils some of the best parts of the film. The most evident example takes place during the stalking scene in the field. The sceen was designed to keep in pace with the song being played. The replacement is at the wrong tempo and spoils the whole scene. The scene at the club when Dr. Schaffer gets nabs was missing on my copy as well.

AMC showed the film with the proper music, but without the eyeball footage and how he meets Nan.

In the uncut version, it is one of my favorite films.

James Coburn is a psychiatrist selected for a major assignment: personal analyst to the President of the U.S. of A. At first, he's beaming with pride at this great honour, until he realizes that he has to be constantly on call. Suffering a nervous breakdown, he goes A.W.O.L. This proves to be too much temptation for foreign powers to withstand, as they send agent after agent to abduct Coburn and find out just what the President may have told him during therapy. Meanwhile, Coburns' own government doesn't want him divulging anything, of course, so now he's expendable.

Written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker, "The President's Analyst" is a very sharp and clever political satire, taking aim at so-called "liberalism", the hippie generation, the Cold War, etc. It's not necessarily always funny in a "ha-ha" sort of way, but it should continuously amuse the viewer, especially if they were alive during the era when this first was released. Its plot involves such agencies as the "C.E.A." and the "F.B.R.", not to mention the most heinous of them all: "T.P.C." Over 50 years later, it still works quite well, with top performances by all concerned. It further benefits from grand widescreen photography and a jaunty soundtrack composed by Lalo Schifrin. Best of all is the priceless left turn the film takes in the final act, when it shows us just who the TRUE villains are.

Coburn is always fun, and he shines once again in this performance. It's just hilarious to see him hiding out with the hippies, and wearing an appropriate disguise. (He also plays a mean gong.) He's very well supported by a clean-shaven Severn Darden as Russian agent Kropotkin, Godfrey Cambridge as amiable C.E.A. agent Don Masters, and the enticingly sexy Joan Delaney as Coburn's girlfriend. Other familiar faces include Pat Harrington Jr., Jill Banner, Eduard Franz, Walter Burke, Will Geer, William Daniels, Joan Darling, and Arte Johnson. In one interesting twist, we never do see the President on screen.

Good fun, and somewhat forgotten over time, although you CANNOT miss it if you enjoy a solid satire and / or are a big fan of the eternally cool Coburn.

Eight out of 10.