The Senator Was Indiscreet

The Senator Was Indiscreet is a 1947 comedy film, the only movie directed by playwright, theatrical director/producer, humorist, and drama critic George S. Kaufman. Produced by Universal Pictures it starred William Powell as a dim-witted U.S. senator who decides to run for president, with Ella Raines as a reporter interested in the detailed diary he has kept about all the political misdeeds of his colleagues. Powell won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his performances in this film and in Life with Father.[1]

The Senator Was Indiscreet
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeorge S. Kaufman
Produced byNunnally Johnson
Written byCharles MacArthur
Story byEdwin Lanham
StarringWilliam Powell
Ella Raines
Music byDaniele Amfitheatrof
CinematographyWilliam C. Mellor
(as William Mellor)
Edited bySherman A. Rose
Production
company
Nunnally Johnson Productions
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • December 26, 1947 (1947-12-26) (New York City)
  • December 31, 1947 (1947-12-31) (Los Angeles)
  • January 25, 1948 (1948-01-25) (United States)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film also was known as Mr. Ashton Was Indiscreet (see photo).

Plot

The inept, slow-witted U.S. Senator Melvin G. Ashton wants to run for President of the United States. His eager publicist, Lew Gibson, encourages him with various attention-gaining stunts, disappointing his girlfriend Poppy McNaughton, a reporter for a local newspaper. When Ashton arrives at his hotel in New York City, Gibson asks him to accept membership into the Cherokee tribe, purely for publicity. Ashton eagerly agrees.

Fred Houlihan, a political boss, asks Ashton to step down as a presidential candidate. Ashton refuses, but in a long speech publicly and consistently denies he is running for president. The stunning Valerie Shepherd arrives and decides to join the campaign. Lew becomes attracted to her.

Appalled by Ashton's baffling incompetence, Poppy breaks up with Lew. Articles about Ashton's road to the presidency are published in the newspapers. Houlihan again tries to persuade him not to run. However, Ashton blackmails Houlihan into silence, telling him he has kept a diary of scandalous party activity for the past thirty years. Ashton embarks on a cross-country tour to court voters, becomes a popular candidate, and returns to speak at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Ashton discovers his diary is missing, and suspects the communist hotel room service clerk Karl has stolen it. However, Lew suspects the thief was Poppy. Ashton's former secretary, Robert Oakes, is soon found with the diary, but he insists someone else stole it before he got hold of it. Lew finds out that Valerie's beau Bill Fisher is Ashton's political enemy and has started a petition to investigate the senator in his home state. From various clues, Poppy deduces that Valerie stole the diary.

Aware that the explosive diary is missing, Houlihan again asks Ashton to step down, at which point Ashton agrees to do so if they find him another job. They offer to get him appointed commissioner of a professional sports league, a job that pays twice the salary of the President of the U.S.

Poppy manages to retrieve the diary from Valerie, but loses it to Lew, who tells Ashton the good news. Houlihan then tries to convince Ashton to get back into the race, but Ashton hesitates. Lew then decides that the truth should be revealed and gives the diary back to Poppy. When it is published, both Ashton and his bosses are forced to flee to a South Sea island, where Ashton soon becomes chief of the native population.

Cast

Myrna Loy, Powell's frequent screen co-star, has an uncredited cameo appearance as Ashton's wife.

Radio adaptation

On October 3, 1949, Screen Directors Playhouse presented The Senator Was Indiscreet on NBC radio. The 30-minute adaptation starred Powell and Peggy Dow.[2]

gollark: - To increase the efficiency of the education system and encourage self-directed learning, I believe schools should lock children in individual cubicles with textbooks for 5 hours a day instead of using classrooms and teachers.
gollark: - It's important to me that women aren't forced to have children they don't want or may not be able to take care of.- which is why I support mandatory sterilization for all - children would be grown in vats and raised by the government instead.
gollark: - I support the right to privacy!- In light of governments' large-scale mass surveillance campaigns which they do not seem inclined to stop, I would support an open and transparent volunteer spying agency using open source software and hardware to gather and process data in order to act as a competitor.
gollark: These are hard...
gollark: - which is why I think all government workers should be randomly selected, similarly to jury duty

References
  1. "1947 Awards". New York Film Critics Circle Awards. New York Film Critics Circle. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  2. "Those Were The Days". Nostalgia Digest. 44 (1): 37. Winter 2018.
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