After The President (Fredric March) signs a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff begin plotting a coup d'etat.
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Though I wouldn't go so far as to call this film a masterpiece, I love it for all the ways in which it deviated from the expectations set by its star, writer, director and subject matter. I went into this film expecting an unbelievably taught John Frankenheimer thriller (ie: The Manchurian Candidate), with a twist ending (courtesy of Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling) and lots of overly sincere, bleeding-heart speeches by liberal do-gooder Kirk Douglas. What I got instead was a rather calmly told and very well-articulated defense of our political process. There are even large chunks of this film where Douglas is nowhere to be found! And while the title alone might suggest a countdown to some sort of BIG moment, this film opts instead to end on a quiet note of subtle victory. As someone who watches lots of films, I live for little surprises like this. Hopefully reading this won't saddle your first viewing with unrealistic expectations....
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