---
product_id: 7610803
title: "The Best Man"
brand: "henry fonda, cliff robertson, edie adams, shelley berman, ann sothernfranklin schaffner"
price: "€ 26.93"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 12
url: https://www.desertcart.ie/products/7610803-the-best-man
store_origin: IE
region: Ireland
---

# The Best Man

**Brand:** henry fonda, cliff robertson, edie adams, shelley berman, ann sothernfranklin schaffner
**Price:** € 26.93
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Best Man by henry fonda, cliff robertson, edie adams, shelley berman, ann sothernfranklin schaffner
- **How much does it cost?** € 26.93 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ie](https://www.desertcart.ie/products/7610803-the-best-man)

## Best For

- henry fonda, cliff robertson, edie adams, shelley berman, ann sothernfranklin schaffner enthusiasts

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## Description

The Best Man

## Images

![The Best Man - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51GxbLwl4nL.jpg)
![The Best Man - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81NPZzEpVBL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    A Man for All Times
  

*by S***S on Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2014*

Watching the 1964 political drama, "The Best Man," my immediate thought was "the more things change, the more they remain the same." The film is very much a drama of its own time, both in terms of technology (the characters use oversized walkie-talkies to communicate and carry 3 x 5 cards with information about the delegates) and issues. However, in terms of the sliminess of politics and the importance of character, it's as relevant as ever.The film centers around the nominating convention in Los Angeles of a major political party that's patterned after the Democrats. The convention is pretty much deadlocked among the two front runners, Secretary of State William Russell (Henry Fonda) and Senator Joe Cantwell (Cliff Robertson), although several minor candidates have enough delegates to prevent either front runner from winning on the first ballot. Their task is to persuade the lesser candidates to endorse them or to woo delegates away from each other. Since it's briefly mentioned that the other party is in disarray, the nominee is highly likely to become President.Russell, who's patterned after Adlai Stevenson (although there are some similarties to the character Fonda played in the earlier political drama "Advise and Consent"), is witty, charming, highly intellectual, and a rakish womanizer who maintains his appeal with the ladies. Unfortunately, he's also seen as indecisive. His opponent, Cantwell, is a "man of the people," down to earth, with a reputation of being a tough guy (he became famous for heading a televised Senate hearing investigating the ties between the Mafia and communism). He's also completely ruthless, willing to lie and blackmail his way into the Presidency, a more charismatic version of Richard Nixon and Joe McCarthy. The third major character in the film is the folksy former President Art Hockstader (Lee Tracy, who received the film's and his only Oscar nomination for the role), whose endorsement both candidates desperately want.Despite their highly different personalities, both candidates ironically share something in common. They each have heretofore hidden information about the other that could destroy the opponent's chances of winning the election. Cantwell has proof that Russell was hospitalized several years earlier for a nervous breakdown, while, during the convention itself, a former military acquaintance (Shelley Berman) of Cantwell's reveals to Russell that Cantwell had been outed as being gay during their service in World War II, an incident that the Army had kept under wraps. In one indication of the conventions of the era, the word "homosexuality" is never used, although Hockstader at one point asks whether Cantwell is what is referred to as a "degenerate."At the heart of "The Best Man" is the question of just what will a candidate do to win an election. In Cantwell's case, the answer is clear. Even though Hockstader had intended to endorse him, he instead tells the former President he'll make the medical information he has on Russell public if needed. He's also more than willing to blackmail or bribe delegates to get their support. Russell is willing to do some good old fashioned politicking (one of the best sequences in the film shows the front runners wheeling and dealing with the minor candidates, promising cabinet spots or support on key issues in exchange for endorsements), but he just can't bring himself to stoop to Cantwell's level of mud slinging, even though he's losing support hour after hour."The Best Man" was written by Gore Vidal, based on his play, and it's clear his sympathies lie with Russell, but it's easier to depict a sinner than a saint, so Russell's character isn't nearly as well developed as that of Cantwell. Ironically, viewer reactions to Russell are based more on their feelings about the typical onscreen persona of Henry Fonda than to the way Russell is portrayed in the film. We should feel his growing dilemma more strongly than we do. On the other hand, Cantwell (who's not a total villain... he's a devoted husband, as was Nixon) and Hockstader are very entertaining, well defined characters. The acting is first rate across the board, with one powerful confrontation after another. The best scene occurs when Cantwell confronts his military accuser, a weaselly little man, and pretty much cuts him to shreds in a couple of minutes.Of course, viewers watching the movie in 2014 will immediately note that allegations of treatment for mental illness or homosexuality aren't the career enders they were in 1964, especially in the Democratic party. However, it's clear that other such issues have arisen over the years and will doubtless continue to arise in 2016 and beyond (in 1972, the Democrats' first choice for Vice-president, Thomas Eagleton, pulled out after evidence of his own treatment for mental illness surfaced). It's not the issues themselves that are important; it's how the candidates react to them, as well as their inner character, that mattered in 1964 and matter equally, if not more, today."The Best Man" is a fast paced, witty, generally engrossing drama that was largely ignored on its initial release (in the wake of the Kennedy assassination, people didn't want to dwell on dirty politics) and has been largely forgotten since. However, it's still good drama and an excellent thought provoking political piece. In almost every election today, the candidates piously proclaim that character matters and then proceed to do whatever they think will work. "The Best Man" has a surprising ending that shows, at least in Gore Vidal's mind, whether character actually does matter.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Winner's row
  

*by G***E on Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2015*

Superb on all levels.  Great cast.  Hit Broadway play.  Fine performances.  A totally absorbing story and theme.  Two candidates are running for thePresidency of the United States.  One is honorable.  The other is not .  Anything to grab the solid-gold ring!  A behind-the-scenes look at politicalnational politics and the people who will say and do anything to bring the grand prize home to their nest.  Henry Fonda is the good guy.  Cliff Robertson is the man in black.  Fine performances by Lee Tracy as the sitting president of The United States.  Margaret Leighton as Fonda'sestranged wife and Ann Sothern as an influential women's activist are near-perfect and excel throughout.  Good supporting cast which includes Kevin McCarthy, Gene Raymond and Shelley Berman.  Watch this one.  It's a winner!  Who wins the election?  Watch it and find out.  Hint.  It's anunexpected surprise but most fitting.  Incidently, Lee Tracy was oscar nominated for his portrayal of the president.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    dvdr plays well!
  

*by D***N on Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2011*

This is a fine, suspenseful, well-acted film about the long-lost time when political conventions had stances to decide and candidates to choose.  I don't do reviews, but this is necessary information.I bought this film in the spring of 2010.  It stalled half-way through, and nothing could make it play beyond that point.  I complained, and Amazon sent me another.  They never checked it out.  Same problem exactly.Having seen recent reviews indicating that the problem had been corrected, I ordered a third copy in January 2011 (I really like this movie). I just watched it.  All the way through.  Pristine print.  It was worth all the trouble.I have no way of knowing whether all copies are now playable, but there's a good chance they are.

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*Store origin: IE*
*Last updated: 2026-03-02*