"The President's Analyst" is On the Run!

The President's Analyst goes for a ride

In 1967, James Coburn's star was firmly on the rise. After appearing in memorable supporting roles in films like The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape and Charade, he starred as the ultra-cool secret agent Derek Flint in the spy spoof Our Man Flint, and its sequel, In Like Flint. Coburn was very much in demand in Hollywood at the time.  One of the more intriguing films he appeared in during this period was The President's Analyst, written and directed by Theodore J. Flicker. This offbeat satire features Coburn as Dr. Sidney Schaefer, a well-regarded psychiatrist who is chosen to be the personal analyst for the President of the United States. Schaefer is provided with an office which is connected to the White House by a secret tunnel. Due to the special needs of the president, he's expected to be on call 24 hours a day.

Schaefer initially enjoys the perks this top-secret gig provides him, but eventually realizes it comes with its own set of problems. He can't talk to anyone about his sessions with the president, even his girlfriend Nan. Some members of the cabinet aren't happy about his role as the president's analyst/confidante, since Schaefer's learned a lot of top secret information. Eventually, he thinks he's being followed and monitored by government agents. An increasingly stressed-out Schaefer even suspects Nan might be spying on him. Is he being paranoid, or are there people actually out to get him? 

It turns out that Schaefer is being hunted by spies from several different countries, who all want access to the secrets they believe the president has shared with him, or to prevent him from sharing them. He goes on the run, and interacts with a disparate cast of characters, including a not so innocent suburban family, spies, hippies, and.....a British pop group?  Eventually, he realizes there's a sinister plot to control the world being hatched by a mysterious group called the TPC (spoiler alert).....aka the phone company! The President's Analyst is filled with wild set pieces, off the wall humor, and even a touch of the psychedelia that was ever-present in pop culture at the time. 

 

Writer-Director Theodore J. Flicker, later co-creator of the classic television series Barney Miller, showed Coburn the script when they were both working on Charade, and the duo brought the project to producer Robert Evans, who also worked on The Godfather and Chinatown. Due to pressure from the studio management, the names of the agencies in the film had to be changed from "FBI" to "FBR", and "CIA" to "CEA," requiring some of the dialogue to be re-dubbed at the last minute, though no one changed the name of those ultimate villains, the phone company!

The President's Analyst is a sharply written, well-directed satire that in some ways feels more timely than ever. The cast is superb, with Coburn joined by a gallery of familiar faces, including Godfrey Cambridge, Walter Burke, Severn Darden, Pat Harrington, Jr., Joan Delaney and William Daniels. While the film wasn't a huge success when it was first released, its reputation has grown over the years, and it's recently been revived for retrospective screenings, and also been released on DVD and Blu-ray. It's definitely worth checking out if you haven't seen it, or re-discovering it if you haven't watched it in a while. Here's a look at the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XvaDL-laNA.

Knock, Knock: Folk Horror and Family Secrets

Even though the Halloween season has concluded, you might still be in the mood for a well-written horror tale to curl up with as the weather gets colder. If that's the case, look no further than Neil Sharpson's spellbinding Knock Knock, Open Wide. This chilling novel is a deftly conceived combination of Celtic folklore and Lovecraftian horror. It's also a sweetly affecting love story, and a tale about family secrets, featuring well developed characters who are dealing with the emotional toll the choices they've made has taken on their lives.

 

The book begins with the story of Etain Larkin, who finds a corpse in the road while driving home one night in the Irish countryside, after spending the evening with her boyfriend Barry. This discovery leads to a terrifying encounter at a creepy farmhouse. Etain disappears, and is presumed dead, and Barry becomes the chief suspect. Much to everyone's relief, she is discovered alive some time later, but whatever she experienced that fateful night has changed her forever.

The story then fast forwards to a pair of Dublin-based college students, Ashling Mallen and Betty Fitzpatrick, who are in drama society together. They become friends, and later lovers. It turns out Ashling has a troubled home life. When Betty tries to help her with her family issues, she learns that Ashling is Etain's daughter. Ashling's childhood was scarred by a horrifying incident, and the evil events that have beset her family appear to be tied to a long-running children's show which features a mysterious puppet who lives in a box.

 

Knock Knock, Open Wide is an atmospheric horror story that benefits from Sharpson's skillful use of Irish folklore and myth. He uses the Irish setting (which becomes almost a supporting character) to weave the folk horror and supernatural elements into an emotionally rich love story and intense family drama. The suspense, horror and sense of dread builds slowly throughout the novel. Just when you think you might have figured out the mystery, there's another terrifying revelation about the true nature of the evil at the heart of the tale. Highly recommended for horror fans.