UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Console best movie i've ever seen.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Leofwine_draca THE PRESIDENT'S MYSTERY is a 1936 potboiler solely of interest for having a story written by none other than Franklin D. Roosevelt, the only time a film in history can boast being written by a president as such. Whether it's a good story or not is another question, one that only the viewer can decide.The film's protagonist is a millionaire who has made some bad decisions in life, leading him to decide to just disappear and reappear elsewhere with a new, assumed identity. Intrigue proceeds to follow him. There's some mystery and comedy but the film never really succeeds in either genre, instead coming across as bland and instantly forgettable.

mark.waltz Proving that he was a regular fellow, Franklin D. Roosevelt dabbled in a bit of creative writing to contribute to the story with Samuel Hopkins Adams in this story of a wealthy man (Henry Wilcoxin) fed up with being one of the richest men in the world, how it affects his personal life, and the lack of freedom and privacy he has to do what he wants. So he cashes out everything and disappears, ending up in a small town, where, guess what happens, he becomes an adviser to some of the happenings going on, loosing his freedom and privacy, while the rest of the country wonders what happened to him, especially when his wife is murdered and he is accused of the crime.This storyline sounds like something that would embarrass Frank Capra, and while the acting and dialog are sound, it is the execution of the structure of the plot that raises eyebrows. A bit too much happens over the course of an hour, like an over-exaggerated version of that bad morning that starts off with you stubbing your toe, unable to find your keys or wallet, not having hot water, etc. So while you give kudos to the president for pursuing a dream outside politics, you can't help but wonder how things could have turned out had he toned down the dramatics a bit. He tosses in some comic relief with an effeminate butler (was there any other kind during the golden age of movies?) who ironically ends up saving the day.

bkoganbing Reading some of the information about how The President's Mystery came into being it seems like that story would make a far better film than The President's Mystery itself. Even if I had seen the director's cut which was originally 80 minutes. Sad to say about 3/8 of this film seems to have been gutted and I had to fill in a lot of blanks.Another president named Warren G. Harding had a campaign song that came about just about like this film. At the famous Republican convention of 1920 several prominent songwriters did a collaborative effort and came up with a campaign song that featured such gems as "we need another Lincoln to do our country's thinking, Mr. Harding we're behind you". None of the writers which included Irving Berlin and George Gershwin took copyright credit.Here Franklin D. Roosevelt pitches a story idea about whether a rich man could liquidate his assets and just disappear. Six prominent authors of the time and their names are listed on the credits of The President's Mystery wrote a collaborative story. Of course when have that much variety in the mix the result can be bland.This film can't make up its mind whether it's a screwball comedy, a murder mystery, or in the end a Capra like populist song for the common man. Henry Wilcoxon is our protagonist who does liquidate his assets and leaves an unhappy marriage with Evelyn Brent and moves down south and finds a company town where the cannery is shut down and everyone on relief as they called public assistance back in the day. He gets the place started again, but some old enemies in the person of Sidney Blackmer try to defeat his plans. It turns out someone murdered Evelyn after Wilcoxon left town and he's looking good for it.Betty Furness is the country girl who wins Wilcoxon and Barnett Parker is his former butler who saves the day.The film was shut on a nickel and dime budget by the even tighter than usual fisted Herbert J. Yates and Republic Pictures. Since the overhead was cheap, FDR's Warm Springs Foundation for Infantile Paralysis I'm sure got a nice check from Republic where the picture credits say all profits went to.Maybe the film might be higher rated if we could see the whole thing, but we have to go with what we have.

JohnHowardReid An unconvincing drama which fails dismally to convert a thinking audience to its inflammatory anti-big business point of view, but is nonetheless quite entertaining despite a whole slew of loose plot ends which, if properly tied up would see the hero sent to jail for a far longer term than the villainous tycoon—who would probably escape conviction anyway when his smart lawyer quickly destroyed the credibility of all the people's witnesses—criminals or even worse, professional liars, the lot of them!Henry Wilcoxon, who seemed to make a career of giving indifferent performances in big pictures, and really impressive portrayals in "B" films, is not unexpectedly, at his best here. He receives hearty support from pretty Betty Furness, and heavies Blackmer and Brent, but it is Barnett Parker who walks away with the acting honors, thanks to indulgent writing. Wade Boteler also makes the most of a rare big scene opportunity, while Clem Bevans makes his mark in a key instant-information sequence. By his usual humble standards, Phil Rosen's direction is remarkably polished and even accomplished. Production values are solid too.