The Phantom President
1932 film
- September 23, 1932 (1932-09-23)
Running time
The Phantom President is a 1932 American pre-Code musical comedy and political satire film. It was directed by Norman Taurog, starred George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert, and Jimmy Durante, with songs by Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Hart (lyrics).[1]
According to Rodgers, Cohan deeply resented having to work with Rodgers and Hart on the film. Cohan was bitter that his type of musical theatre had gone out of fashion, supplanted by the more literate and musically sophisticated shows of Rodgers and Hart, among others. During the filming, Cohan would sarcastically refer to Rodgers and Hart as "Gilbert and Sullivan".
However, in 1937 Cohan starred in I'd Rather Be Right, a musical with songs by Rodgers and Hart. (In the Cohan biopic Yankee Doodle Dandy, the segments dealing with I'd Rather Be Right only mention librettists George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, not Rodgers and Hart.)
Plot
The Phantom President tells the fictional story of American presidential candidates, based on the novel by George F. Worts. A colorless stiff candidate for President is replaced in public appearances by a charismatic medicine show pitchman, from the day when the show included blackface makeup and eccentric dancing.[2]
Cast
- George M. Cohan as Theodore K. Blair/Peeter J. 'Doc' Varney
- Claudette Colbert as Felicia Hammond
- Jimmy Durante as Curly Cooney
- George Barbier as Boss Jim Ronkton
- Sidney Toler as Prof. Aikenhead
- Louise Mackintosh as Sen. Sarah Scranton
- Jameson Thomas as Jerrido
- Julius McVicker as Sen. Melrose
- Charles Middleton as Abraham Lincoln (uncredited)
- Alan Mowbray as George Washington (uncredited)
Quotes
- Prof. Aikenhead: "Blair lacks political charm. Blair has no flair for savoir faire."
- Peeter J. 'Doc' Varney: "I'm just trying to figure out which one of us looks the most alike."
References
External links
- The Phantom President at the TCM Movie Database
- The Phantom President at IMDb
- The Phantom President at AllMovie
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Films directed by Norman Taurog
- Lucky Boy (1929)
- The Diplomats (1929)
- In Holland (1929)
- The Medicine Men (1929)
- Troopers Three (1930)
- Sunny Skies (1930)
- Hot Curves (1930)
- Follow the Leader (1930)
- Finn and Hattie (1931)
- Skippy (1931)
- Forbidden Adventure (1931)
- Huckleberry Finn (1931)
- Sooky (1931)
- Hold 'Em Jail (1932)
- The Phantom President (1932)
- If I Had a Million (segments "Prologue" and "Epilogue", 1932)
- A Bedtime Story (1933)
- The Way to Love (1933)
- We're Not Dressing (1934)
- Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934)
- College Rhythm (1934)
- The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1936)
- Strike Me Pink (1936)
- Rhythm on the Range (1936)
- Reunion (1936)
- Fifty Roads to Town (1937)
- You Can't Have Everything (1937)
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)
- Mad About Music (1938)
- Boys Town (1938)
- The Girl Downstairs (1938)
- Lucky Night (1939)
- Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940)
- Young Tom Edison (1940)
- Little Nellie Kelly (1940)
- Men of Boys Town (1941)
- Design for Scandal (1941)
- Are Husbands Necessary? (1942)
- A Yank at Eton (1942)
- Presenting Lily Mars (1943)
- Girl Crazy (1943)
- The Hoodlum Saint (1946)
- The Beginning or the End (1947)
- The Bride Goes Wild (1948)
- Big City (1948)
- Words and Music (1948)
- That Midnight Kiss (1949)
- Please Believe Me (1950)
- The Toast of New Orleans (1950)
- Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone (1950)
- Rich, Young and Pretty (1951)
- Room for One More (1952)
- Jumping Jacks (1952)
- The Stooge (1953)
- The Stars Are Singing (1953)
- The Caddy (1953)
- Living It Up (1954)
- You're Never Too Young (1954)
- The Birds and the Bees (1956)
- Pardners (1956)
- Bundle of Joy (1956)
- The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown (1958)
- Onionhead (1958)
- Don't Give Up the Ship (1959)
- Visit to a Small Planet (1960)
- G.I. Blues (1960)
- All Hands on Deck (1961)
- Blue Hawaii (1961)
- Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)
- It Happened at the World's Fair (1962)
- Palm Springs Weekend (1963)
- Tickle Me (1965)
- Sergeant Deadhead (1965)
- Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)
- Spinout (1966)
- Double Trouble (1967)
- Speedway (1968)
- Live a Little, Love a Little (1968)
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