{"id":47991,"date":"2020-03-10T22:13:49","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T05:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=47991"},"modified":"2020-11-23T18:44:08","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T01:44:08","slug":"gabriel-over-the-white-house-1933","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=47991","title":{"rendered":"Gabriel Over the White House (1933)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;We felt from the beginning that the president is really two men &#8212; but I became aware tonight, somehow, of a third being.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Poster-206x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-47992\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Poster-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Poster-88x128.jpg 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Poster.jpg 688w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen the newly elected president of the United States (Walter Huston) is injured in a car accident, he awakens a completely different man, surprising his top aide (Franchot Tone) and his personal secretary (Karen Morley) with a sudden passion for the people.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Character Arc<\/li>\n<li>Depression Era<\/li>\n<li>Fantasy<\/li>\n<li>Franchot Tone Films<\/li>\n<li>Karen Morley Films<\/li>\n<li>Walter Huston Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nMade during the height of the Great Depression (just before the start of the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/New_Deal\">New Deal<\/a>), this fantasy film starts with a far-out premise: what if our president was suddenly invested with a supernatural version of a TBI-induced extreme personality change, shifting from a typically grandstanding but ineffectual politician to one who scolds his colleagues (&#8220;You&#8217;ve been traitors to the concept of democracy upon which this government was founded!&#8221;) to a dictator-like leader (&#8220;I can repudiate anything!&#8221;) before ordering notorious bootlegging criminals to be murdered by firing squad and world leaders to destroy their weapons? Such is the wild tale on display in this cinematic curio, a political morality tale which showcases an eerie form of fascism emerging in a figure who initially presents as an inspiring hero of the people. As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3054gabr.html#return%201\">DVD Savant<\/a> writes in his interesting and fact-filled review, &#8220;This well made fantasy will perplex ordinary viewers while leaving political thinkers with their mouths hanging open.&#8221; It would make a fascinating double-bill with <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=46655\"><em>The Man Who Could Work Miracles<\/em> (1936)<\/a>, also about the inception and outcome of supernaturally-driven &#8220;omnipotence&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> I was unaware of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Karen_Morley\">Karen Morley&#8217;s<\/a> HUAC-incited career decline<\/a>; given her life-long interest in labor activism, it&#8217;s fitting that she co-starred in this film, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3102\"><em>Our Daily Bread<\/em> (1934)<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36836\"><em>Black Fury<\/em> (1935)<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Luminous cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography2-1024x664.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"415\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47993\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography2-1024x664.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography2-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography2-128x83.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography2-768x498.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography2-1536x995.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography2.png 1699w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography-1024x659.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"412\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-47994\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography-1024x659.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography-300x193.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography-128x82.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography-768x494.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography-1536x989.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House-Cinematography.png 1723w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, once, for its unique storyline and historical relevance. Listed as a Cult Movie and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1784#historical\">Historically Relevant<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0024044\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3054gabr.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a> (spoilers alert)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/gaboverwh.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1933\/04\/01\/archives\/walter-huston-as-a-president-of-the-united-states-who-proclaims.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tcm.com\/this-month\/article\/64130%7C0\/Gabriel-Over-the-White-House.html\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/fantasy\/gabriel-over-the-white-house-1933.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;We felt from the beginning that the president is really two men &#8212; but I became aware tonight, somehow, of a third being.&#8221; Synopsis: When the newly elected president of the United States (Walter Huston) is injured in a car accident, he awakens a completely different man, surprising his top aide (Franchot Tone) and his personal secretary (Karen Morley) with a sudden passion for the people. Genres: Character Arc Depression Era Fantasy Franchot Tone Films Karen Morley Films Walter Huston&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=47991\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47991"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54236,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47991\/revisions\/54236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}