Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalIMDb TIFF Portrait StudioHispanic Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
IMDbPro

Red Light in the White House

  • 1977
  • R
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
22
YOUR RATING
Red Light in the White House (1977)
Drama

A reporter digs into the background of a young woman who is running for the U.S. Senate, and finds out a lot more than he bargained for.A reporter digs into the background of a young woman who is running for the U.S. Senate, and finds out a lot more than he bargained for.A reporter digs into the background of a young woman who is running for the U.S. Senate, and finds out a lot more than he bargained for.

  • Director
    • Paul Leder
  • Writer
    • Paul Leder
  • Stars
    • Karin Collison
    • Frank Whiteman
    • Clayton Wilcox
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    22
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Paul Leder
    • Writer
      • Paul Leder
    • Stars
      • Karin Collison
      • Frank Whiteman
      • Clayton Wilcox
    • 2User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos5

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast25

    Edit
    Karin Collison
    Karin Collison
    • Su Shan Andrews
    • (as Karin Mary Shea)
    Frank Whiteman
    • David Sutton
    Clayton Wilcox
    • Stephen Andrews
    Jennifer Rhodes
    Jennifer Rhodes
    • Carrie Russell
    Thomas Lord Duckett
    • Sonny Williams
    Kendall Carly Browne
    • Mrs. Lazar
    Roger Bourban
    • Jean-Paul Carre
    Heath Jobes
    • Ken Harvey
    Harry Cohn
    • Eddie De Carlo
    Marty Davis
    • Donald Zelberg
    Bea Busch
    • Eileen Dawson
    Karl Ellis
    • Mark
    Robert C. Cole
    • Radio Announcer
    Rosella Olsen
    • Cynthia
    Carol Donnelly
    • Billie
    Susan Wichter
    • Cleopatra
    Ken Karp
    • The President
    Armando Resendiz
    • Houseboy
    • Director
      • Paul Leder
    • Writer
      • Paul Leder
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews2

    5.822
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    KdlP

    My jaw dropped...

    ...when a friend tracked me down on IMDb and then read me over the phone the review of this film. I am astonished. My friends ridiculed it at the time as the movie in which you could set your watch by each time my breasts were exposed, and I took their derision on whole cloth. Reading an independent review that is amazingly positive leaves me pretty speechless.

    I had no idea about the fate of this movie, except that I was relieved it wasn't released in the U.S. It was a different time, and I was/am a highly-trained, serious actress, who was already conflicted about taking the role. But, in retrospect, I see I was very young and out of my depth in Ho'wood.

    I would like very much to get a copy of it, now, and see it again! I only saw it once, at the screening, which was a terrifying experience. After a 20 year-plus absence from the 'business,' I find myself close to getting back in it. I've been working in live theater in the repertory scene of the Central Coast, and am inching my way down south again. This review has been a boost to my image of myself as a viable film actress. Thanks.
    Wizard-8

    Low-budget sleaze given a surprising amount of class

    A reporter is hired to dig up dirt on a woman running for political office. He interviews a number of associates of the women, who each tell sleazy stories of the woman (shown in flashback) in various sexual situations.

    Sounds like an easy excuse to show abundant nudity and sex, doesn't it? And yes, there is plenty of that on display here. But surprisingly, it's all handled with much more seriousness than you'd think. A couple of the sex scenes, for one thing, are not treated as fun, and really emphasize the great struggle the heroine went through during her life. The other situations she gets into may sound like the ingredients for camp or sleaze - marriage to a gay movie star, a lesbian relationship - but they are actually handled with some restraint. Even the characters are depicted as real people, talking the way people do in real life.

    While the dialogue would never beat David Mamet, it still more than beats that found in your typical cheap sexploitation movie. There are a few individual lines that are witty or otherwise memorable. The acting by all the players is surprisingly good. While the direction overall isn't terribly special, it does do the job. There is one standout sequence I must admit and point out - the entire boxing ring sequence - that does deliver, well, a knockout punch.

    The date given for this movie is wrong. I don't know exactly when it was made, but there are references to Watergate and "All The President's Men", indicating it was made several years after 1971. Though this mistake is understandable, since this is an unbelievably rare movie. It doesn't seem to have been released on video in North America, nor is it available on cable here. (I had to get a copy from England.) If somehow you get a chance to see it, grab it.

    More like this

    Sketches of a Strangler
    4.7
    Sketches of a Strangler
    My Friends Need Killing
    6.2
    My Friends Need Killing

    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Connections
      References All the President's Men (1976)

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 1977 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Presidential Plaything
    • Production company
      • Paul Leder Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.