Rare Rod Serling's - The Man 1972 with James Earl Jones as the first black President of the USA

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Dr. Pepper, Jul 29, 2013.

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  1. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    Oh yeah! Rare Rod Serling film presentation, thanks to listener Hank! in 1972 Rod Serling gave us The Man, a movie about the first African American President of the United States featuring a brief appearance by Jack Benny! Below is a link to the movie in it's entirety on youtube. If you like the West Wing, then you will love this!

    Rod Serling's The Man 1972 - Starring James Earl Jones


    My podcast about the film!


    [​IMG]

    The Man is a 1972 political drama directed by Joseph Sargent and starring James Earl Jones. Jones plays Douglass Dilman, thePresident pro tempore of the United States Senate, who succeeds to the presidency through a series of unforeseeable events, thereby becoming the first African American president. The screenplay, written by Rod Serling, is largely based upon The Man, a novel by Irving Wallace.
    In an interview with Greg Braxton of the Los Angeles Times that ran Jan. 16, 2009, four days before Barack Obama was inaugurated as president, Jones was asked about having portrayed the fictional first black U.S. president on film. He replied: "I have misgivings about that one. It was done as a TV special. Had we known it was to be released as a motion picture, we would have asked for more time and more production money. I regret that.






     
  2. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    Never on video or DVD to the best of my knowledge!
     
  3. daglesj

    daglesj Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norfolk, UK
    Wow I just watched that and really enjoyed it.

    Thanks.
     
  4. Solaris

    Solaris a bullet in flight

    Location:
    New Orleans, LA
  5. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    Wow! Thanks! Holy cow I wanted to see this movie since it came out when I was a kid but it never showed up on HBO or home video-I was even holding out hope someone would put it out when President Obama was elected!
     
  6. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    I know when I saw it on you tube, I just had to sure it! It is nearly impossible to go find!
     
  7. Mark Nelson

    Mark Nelson Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Looking forward to watching this. I have the radio spot 45, but have yet to see the flick.
     
  8. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    You mean the promo radio spot? Collectible huh?
     
  9. Mark Nelson

    Mark Nelson Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Yup, that's the one. Picked it up when I briefly tried collecting radio spot 45s on eBay, mostly because it was an AIP release and not expensive.
     
  10. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    Glad you liked it! A really interesting film for sure. With some of my favorite actors!
     
  11. ralphb

    ralphb "First they came for..."

    Location:
    Brooklyn, New York
    Kind of off topic but James Earl Jones got to play a president again last year in the revival of Gore Vidal's 1960 play "The Best Man". Pretty much stole the show and won a Tony.
     
  12. Wright

    Wright Forum Resident

    [​IMG]

    So, the premise of the film is the following: the President and the Speaker of the House both perish in a building collapse. When the Vice President declares himself too ill to serve, the next in the line of succession becomes the President pro tempore of the Senate, who happens to be the African-American Douglass Dilman (played by James Earl Jones).

    Now, I can't believe this film isn't more widely known. It has apparently never been released on either VHS or DVD, which is strange since the premise is so interesting. Why didn't anyone think of capitalizing on it in relation to the 2008 election?

    Fortunately, the whole thing is on YouTube. I rarely have the patience to watch longer material on there, but this kept me captivated. It's not a great film, really, but it's very interesting - and well-acted too.

    Anyone see this when it came out? Other thoughts?

     
  13. GLENN

    GLENN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kingsport,TN, USA
    This was based on a novel by Irving Wallace. I remember seeing it in the library several years ago but it was about a gazillion pages so I never checked it out.
     
  14. jjh1959

    jjh1959 Senior Member

    Location:
    St. Charles, MO
    Yep I saw it back in the day.
     
  15. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    Here is the full movie again with that awesome "ABC Movie of The Week" intro that so many of us remember so fondly.

     
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  16. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    James Earl Jones one of the great ones! I'd love to see this.
     
  17. rufus t firefly

    rufus t firefly Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona
    Thanks for posting this movie. What a great cast! Does any one else see a weird resemblance with a young James Earl Jones and present day Dr. Ben Carson ?
     
  18. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    Definitely worth watching, and I love that Jack Benny is on at the beginning!
     
  19. Andrew

    Andrew Chairman of the Bored

    I recall seeing this on late-night TV eons ago, and being intrigued by the "what if" aspects of the story. Should be released on physical format to be better appreciated.
     
  20. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    love Jack as well! I always watch his Christmas themed shows during the Holiday's...
     
  21. Dr. Pepper

    Dr. Pepper What, me worry? Thread Starter

    As do I... Who ever thought it would be so much fun going Christmas shopping with a Jewish man!
     
  22. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    it's the spirit! Jack was a one of a kind great man!
     
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