'Executive Suite' - Movie Review

The movie starts with a voice-over about how the people at the tops of those business buildings you see in major cities are exactly like us normal people: "you'd be surprised" the voice says. The movie then shows us one of those executives - but first person POV, which is very rare in movies ("Hardcore Henry" is extremely unusual even today, and "Executive Suite" was shot in 1954!) ... who promptly dies of a stroke. It then shows the political manoeuvrings that follow after his death, the cult of personality he'd built around himself, and finally emphasizes how different, unusual, special, even exalted a man must be to be the CEO of a company. Not exactly "just like us."

The writing is quite good, and a lot of thought went into the complexity, political wrangling and personal problems of all the people fighting at the top of the heap. And most of the acting (except possibly Barbara Stanwyck) was quite good too. Which made most of the movie reasonably enjoyable. But I guessed - correctly - that the good guys would win, and the whole "not actually just the same as us" thing left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth as they exalted the new CEO. It's also a bit dry - you get their passion for the business (or for money in some cases), but it doesn't quite get transmitted to us, the audience, in the way it does in the best movies. Not a great movie, won't consider rewatching it.