The Chairman (1969)

Memorable, crazy movie

Admirable film.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

You have to ask yourself, what was Gregory Peck thinking when he signed on in this absolutely miserable film.Something is planted in Peck's head as he goes to China to retrieve some enzyme that the Chinese have that can alter food production. If Peck fails, the object will explode. The Americans have never bothered to tell him this. What was in Peck's head to make this mess of a 1hr. and 37 minutes of miserable boredom?Even Peck's escape from China is awfully staged. At the end, he will have to justify the story as the army seems to refuse to reveal what has really gone on. After viewing this film, you can't blame them.

When I first saw this movie in 1969 I was very intrigued by it. sending an American Scientist into Communist China to attempt the theft of a valuable enzyme that could help produce enough food to feed the whole world. Of course with the star power of the handsome Gergory Peck that also did not hurt the film. Arthur Hill was his usual efficient low keyed supporting performance, but the love interest was just not there and could have easily been left out of the plot altogether (an unthinkable idea by Hollywood standards.)Seeing the film now it seems as though there is simply not enough plot and it is all too ho-hum. He is always under the scrutiny of a transmitter implanted under the skin in his head, not knowing that there is also an explosive device included. Conrad Yama is a very believable Chairman Mao, but his appearance in the film is limited to one short scene, which does not serve the title. The best part of the movie is another memorable sound score from Jerry Goldsmith, who next to John Williams is one of the most prolific film composers there is.

This movie is a relic of its day, reflecting the cold war paranoia that was already rather quaint by 1969. This sort of undercuts the film as anything to be taken seriously, but fortunately it's reasonably well-acted and directed so it still holds up as mildly entertaining -- if there's nothing better on TV to watch. Of historic note is that this film was produced by the same guys who made the much more memorable "Planet of the Apes" a year earlier (both films were scored by the great Jerry Goldsmith), and one of the sets is left over from "Fantastic Voyage."

Keep in mind "The Chairman" was released (1969) while America was in the middle of the Vietnam War. Every government type in the movie hates Communism (so much that the assassination of Chairman Mao is considered) but Peck's character reserves judgment. Peck also has his doubts about, and questions, the Chinese system. In this manner he plays an "anti-establishment" role against both systems, the East and the West. The excitement of this movie is bolstered in no small way by the superlative musical score of Jerry Goldsmith. Goldsmith listened to oriental music samples before composing this score, and it is one of Goldsmith's finest (even better than his score for the original Star Trek movie). This film introduced me to the concept of the "Little Red Book", Mao's collection of sayings distributed to every school child. The movie was made when the Chinese were being recognized as the best ping pong players in the world, so Peck even gets a chance to play table tennis with Mao himself. Every great film has its unforgettable moments, and this has a good share of them too. I haven't seen this movie in maybe a decade but I still remember several scenes vividly: In China, the public beating of Peck's scientist colleague. Peck's attempt to get into the armored projection chamber which holds the secret to unlimited food production for the world's starving masses. His border crossing while being chased by the Chinese Army. And Peck's reaction when he observes the detonation of the bomb he didn't know he was carrying (once surgically implanted in his skull). If you like Gregory Peck, you will love this action treat.