Review of Gabriel Over the White House (1933) by Antoine S — 30 Nov 2008

An early-30's, Progressive fantasy, whose basic idea is "Hey you know what would cure all of America's ills? A dictatorship, that's what." Really.

Shortly after he's elected president, callous politician Walter Huston is nearly killed in an auto accident. After lying in a coma for a few weeks, he "sees the light" and comes to the realization that what America really needs is a Dictator (Namely him, of course.) that can provide the citizenry all they want, and neither Congress nor that pesky old Constitution should get in the way. An interesting time capsule from a time when "Fascism" and "dictatorship" weren't words with a negative connotation, but rather, ideas that were the height of political fashion. Good acting by Huston, with a jaw-dropping, creepy moral theme.