Gregory La Cava's "Gabriel Over the White House" is a Capraesque fantasy but without any of Capra's corn. Rather, under La Cava's direction, this is a fairly serious satire on Roosevelt and the New Deal with Walter Huston as a potentially weak US President who, after a near-fatal accident, becomes an all encompassing do-gooder, doing whatever he can for the mass unemployed and the American people. However, good intentions may not be enough and as the movie progresses it takes a surprisingly dark turn.
It's certainly well made even if its message is sledge-hammered home with too much emphasis on the religious aspect and the potential conflict between good and evil. Also Huston is unusually stiff here and it's left to Franchot Tone and Karen Morley as his secretaries to inject a little feeling into proceedings. It wasn't successful and it's hardly ever revived but today it feels surprisingly prescient with Huston's President reminding you, at times, of someone much closer to home.
It's certainly well made even if its message is sledge-hammered home with too much emphasis on the religious aspect and the potential conflict between good and evil. Also Huston is unusually stiff here and it's left to Franchot Tone and Karen Morley as his secretaries to inject a little feeling into proceedings. It wasn't successful and it's hardly ever revived but today it feels surprisingly prescient with Huston's President reminding you, at times, of someone much closer to home.