The Man

1972
G
1h 33m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

James Earl Jones, Martin Balsam, Barbara Rush, and William Windom in The Man (1972)

African American senator Douglas Dillman becomes designated survivor of a tragic accident that kills the U. S. President. Eventually, Dillman becomes the first black U. S. President and atte... Read allAfrican American senator Douglas Dillman becomes designated survivor of a tragic accident that kills the U. S. President. Eventually, Dillman becomes the first black U. S. President and attempts to end the bigotry standing in his way.African American senator Douglas Dillman becomes designated survivor of a tragic accident that kills the U. S. President. Eventually, Dillman becomes the first black U. S. President and attempts to end the bigotry standing in his way.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

442

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination

Trivia
James Earl Jones was interviewed about portraying a fictional black U.S. president a few days before Barack Obama was sworn in as President. Jones said that he had misgivings about the film, mostly because they were blindsided when the project (which was planned and budgeted as a TV movie) was released in theaters, and he wished that they'd had more time and resources to make a stronger final film.

Quotes
Wanda: How are you, Dad?
Douglass Dilman: Numb! Numbness being a, er, defence mechanism.
Wanda: Against what?
Douglass Dilman: Against... against breaking into small pieces. They flew you here? From Ohio?
Wanda: On an Air Force jet, no less. Two Secret Servicemen came right into my dorm and got me.
Douglass Dilman: What's known as the long arm of Government!... It's nice to have you in the nation's capital for something other than a protest march.
Wanda: Well, I guess I'll have to cool that sort of thing for a while.
Douglass Dilman: I think maybe so. You are now a member of the nation's First Family, small though it may be. So the next time you throw rocks at the Establishment, keep in mind that the father you hit may be your own.
[beat]
Douglass Dilman: Perhaps by tomorrow morning, I can get my hands to stop shaking. I'm the wrong one, Wanda.
Wanda: Why?
Douglass Dilman: They were expecting a black Messiah. You can tell them what they got, eh?
Wanda: What they got is a black President. That's more than they've ever gotten.
Douglass Dilman: May I remind you, not by election. And the rest of the country is going to want an Uncle Tom. Well, I can't be what everybody wants me to be. And I'm a little afraid that I'm going to cause this country more chaos then it really deserves.
Wanda: Well, I don't give a damn about the rest of this country, their sensitivities, their racial hang-ups. Do me a favour, will you, please? Stop being the pedantic professor with an aversion to causes. Stop being "Senator Ineffectual". There are fifteen million people out there, tied to you by the colour of your skin. And if you go under, they drown with you. They don't want you humble. They don't want you apologetic. They just want you President.

Connections
Featured in The Dick Cavett Show: Episode dated 19 July 1972 (1972)

User reviews21

Review

Featured review

Very Well Made TV-Movie

First off, the last reviewer doesn't know what he's talking about when he says the Constitutional fluke that makes James Earl Jones president is "fictional." It is indeed true that when the President, Vice-President and Speaker Of The House are all dead and/or incapacitated the President Pro Tempore of the Senate becomes President. The only stretch is that the job usually goes to the most senior member of the majority Party of the Senate, and not to someone as young as Jones' senator is.

Also, there is no assassination plot against the President in the movie.

As for the movie itself, despite the fact that it is penned by Rod Serling (from Irving Wallace's novel), it is remarkably less free of the kind of pretentious liberalism that marred his script for "Seven Days In May." In fact, what is remarkable for the film is how it falls much closer to the center of the spectrum politically in comparison to what Hollywood churns out today like "West Wing".

Jerry Goldsmith's score is the best work he ever did for a TV-movie and hopefully some day it will find its way to CD as many other obscure TV scores of his have.