The election of the first female president of the United States was made a joke kiss my president It was released in theaters six years ago. The Warner Bros. film, directed by Curtis Bernhardt, stars Polly Bergen as President Leslie MacLeod, who manages relations with the Soviet Union and Central American dictators. Meanwhile, her husband Ted (Fred MacMurray) is having a hard time coming to terms with his role. The film’s 60th anniversary, released on August 21, 1964, coincided with the Democratic National Convention as Vice President Kamala Harris planned to become the first female commander in chief.
THR‘s comments are called kiss my president A “hot, romantic farce”: “It considers the problems of a female president, not only for the woman but also for her husband, who must perform the functions normally performed by a ‘first lady’ At the end of the film, Leslie learns she is pregnant after collapsing in the White House, and a smug Sade says this signifies “human superiority.” He quipped: “You know, it took 40 million women to get you into the White House, and –” Leslie interjected, “it only took one man to get me out.” Authors Eleanor Clift and Tom Bray 2000 book by Tom Brazaitis Madam President: Breaking the final glass ceiling Includes an analysis of the film and talks about its ending, “Movie audiences in 1964 were undoubtedly relieved by the restoration of traditional social order.” When kiss my president In a 2014 50th anniversary show on Turner Classic Movies, host Ben Mankiewicz recounted this timeless story. “As you might expect from the title, this is not a serious look at anyone’s views on gender equality,” he said. “The idea was more like, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be hilarious to have a female president? How would it feel to be her husband?'”
But the topic was no joke for Bergen, who later played Geena Davis, the mother of the U.S. president, on the ABC show commander in chief and campaigned for Hillary Clinton in real life. When the actress died in 2014, Bergen’s manager Jan McCormack said, “She always thought a real-life female president was long overdue.”
This story first appeared in the August 7 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
