'Kisses for My President' (1964) – Starring Polly Bergen and Fred MacMurray.I watched this today again on TCM. It's a funny, if dated, spoof about the first woman president, Leslie McCloud (Polly), and the role of her husband, Thad McCloud (Fred). The story is good at first showing a woman can be a strong very competent leader for the country. It seems especially timely now when we just had our first female democratic presidential candidate in the last election. We almost had a long overdue female president. In the film the women of the country had united to elect a woman. Fred MacMurray gets a chance to show off his impressive comic talents in his role as her husband. He's especially funny in one scene where he's nervous about doing a white house tour before millions of TV viewers. To help relieve his nerves he's given pills and drinks by various people in order to relax him for the camera. None of them realize he's already been given something to relax him. By the time he has to appear for the show he's totally plastered. I found myself laughing out loud more than once at his physical antics. An early scene where he gets seasick during a romantic excursion on the presidential yacht is also very funny. So as a comedy the movie is pretty darn good. The problem for me is the almost sickening ending. ****** warning ending spoiler ahead***** Things are going well with Leslie McCloud's presidency and her husband is finally not such a bumbler in his role as 'First Husband'. At a public hearing meant to embarrass the president Thad is even able to finally bring down a sly windbag of a senator played by well known comedy character actor Edward Andrews. Later, all is going well till the president passes out and it's discovered she is...gasp... pregnant. Of course now she must resign from her strenuous duties or maybe lose the baby. The early 1960s message here is obviously that a woman is not physically able, due to her sex, of being president. It's also pointed out that her other two children are getting into trouble due to lack of proper parental guidance...why her husband isn't doing the guidance himself while she runs the country isn't explained well. The final insult was this line from Thad to his wife as they are leaving the White house following her resignation...Thad says that he has proved male superiority. He explains that it took many millions of women to put her in the white house and only one male to remove her from it, meaning himself of course since he had gotten her pregnant. Of course that line was said in a joking way yet the message to the audience was obvious. This could have been a much better all-around film if it had not fallen into preaching that sickeningly outdated early 60s message that a women's place is at home with the children caring for her husband. If only they had ended it differently this film could have been a timeless comedy. I'll give it a 6 out of 10 stars for the comic movements and what came before the ending.

I had heard about this movie for years and even knew how it ended, but I decided I should finally see it for myself--it was on TCM this past weekend. As a feminist, I was prepared to be offended, but parts of the movie pleasantly surprised me. President Leslie McCloud, well played by Polly Bergen, is a strong, smart woman more than capable of handling the duties of president. And Eli Wallach is very funny as the Castro-like dictator seeking aid for his country. Today the casting of a non-Latino actor in the role wouldn't go over, but Wallach, a gifted character actor, does a good job. The character is a bit stereotypical, but hey, he's a dictator-- we're not supposed to like him. Fred MacMurray's performance is OK--I prefer him cast against type, as in Double Indemnity and The Apartment--but his "first gentleman" character is such a bumbler, until he redeems himself in the congressional hearing, that it's hard to believe he was ever a successful businessman. And Edward Andrews, like Wallach a fine character actor, is excellent as the smarmy senator who had run against McCloud. But the movie finally does a cop-out on the idea of a woman president--she has to resign because she's pregnant! So for most of the film, the script takes the idea of a woman president seriously, and shows Leslie McCloud to be a serious, intelligent, competent one, but in the end biology dictates her destiny. So yes, we needed the women's movement and still do--even in 2016, a lot of Americans wouldn't vote for a woman for president, and don't tell me sexism had nothing to do with it. One more problem: Even though the movie was made at the height of the civil rights movement, the only black character who gets notable screen time is the White House butler.

Granted, this movie is not to be taken too seriously. Who would have given heavy thought to having a female president in 1964? However, I didn't find it insulting. It was simply a comforting little comedy starring top-flight actors.As usual, the highly diversified Fred MacMurray was excellent as the husband of the female president. Polly Bergan, always in grand form, displayed her ability to capture her character perfectly ... as directed by Curtis Bernhart for Warner Brothers.Also presenting good performances were the great Eli Wallach and beautiful Arlene Dahl.This was the type of comedy that reflected what was expected on the "big screen" in 1964. Filming it in Black-and-White was a good decision. Color would have taken away the simplicity that made it special.It was 113-minutes of fun.

Though we haven't had to deal with the idea in reality in the USA, several other countries have managed to get along fine with the idea of a female president and the issues that it would bring out. I suppose it would depend on the man the woman was married to.Kisses For My President was a film already behind the times. I think that audiences might have gotten away with during the Thirties when women's suffrage was not yet 20 years old. Maybe Tracy and Hepburn in their prime could have elevated the material to something better than it was. Or Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Russell would have been perfect for the part of the first female president.Not that Polly Bergen and Fred MacMurray aren't fine themselves, in fact Bergen is the best thing in the film. I'm in agreement with the other reviewer who said her scene telling off the smarmy opposition Senator Edward Andrews is her high point. What I can't get is the fact that there apparently was no thought given to just what Fred MacMurray's role would be as first spouse. I mean this is someone who was smart and dynamic enough to have built his own company which he had to sell as a result of his wife's political career success. That in itself makes the entire film one of forced situations.At least MacMurray was smart enough eventually to see through his wife's former Radcliffe roommate and beauty queen and mantrap Arlene Dahl. She was a trap that the ordinary guy would fall into.The closest we've come to this situation in real life is Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin as Vice Presidential candidates. Ferraro's career eventually failed because of the wheeling and dealing of her husband John Zaccaro. Anything I would say about Sarah Palin and Todd would elicit all kinds of comments. But presidential brother Billy Carter caused no end of embarrassment to his brother Jimmy with his letting the Carter name be exploited by all kinds of nefarious people.I think MacMurray had his best moments with those two ancient biddies of Washington society Lillian Bronson and Evelyn Varden. As staff for the First Lady they come with the White House furniture and seem ready to carry on despite the sex of the boss.Kisses For My President could have been a whole lot better though it does have its moments.