Life in the office and boardroom

Let us list some in category (A) first:

Executive Suite (1954) dir: Robert Wise. I liked Wise's earlier films best. This marks his transition to glamorous Hollywood star-studded A-movies. When the old president dies, various vice-presidents compete to succeed him. But as he left the decision to his daughter (Barbara Stanwyck), and one of the VP's is as attractive as William Holden, the decision is a foregone conclusion. The idea that a modern manufacturing company would choose to make quality products instead of going for a quick buck churning out rubbish was wildly optimistic. Still, there is some enjoyable skulduggery during the ride towards the "Hollywood Ending".




Patterns (1956) dir: Fielder Cook. An early work from Cook, who thereafter worked mainly in TV, but the main interest here is in the story and screenplay by Rod Serling, maverick innovator in television drama who died too soon. Two company directors (Van Heflin and Ed Begley) amicably compete to succeed the President (Everett Sloane). I think of this one as "Executive Suite" for grown-ups as the psychology is more subtle and the resolution more realistic. A welcome and rare screen appearance by Beatrice Straight.




Desk Set (1957) dir: Walter Lang. I have not seen this Tracy/Hepburn vehicle for over 50 years, but if I remember correctly it is less about struggling for power than about Hepburn's fear of being replaced by a computer, a very early example of a situation that is ever-more prevalent today.




A Shock to the System (1990) dir: Jan Egleson. Simon Brett's novel is set in London and I suspect the black comedy would have been more subtle had the film followed suit. Here the jokes are too heavy-handed and the plot-points spelled out as if the audience were not too bright. In this latter part of his career Michael Caine was a lazy actor repeating the same performance. Oddly, the downbeat ending of the novel is set up here, but not followed through on, and a more cynical one replaces it. A late change of plan? I was impressed by Elizabeth McGovern, and reading up on her afterwards, I am now further impressed. She chose to move from Hollywood to Chiswick, London, UK. Great choice!




In Good Company (2004) written and directed by Paul Weitz is on a theme common in movies and more common in real life (as I know all too well). An older man (here Dennis Quaid) in cruise control resents being subordinated to a younger whiz-kid (here Topher Grace). The same trope is the motivator in "A Shock to the System". Scarlett Johansson is the love interest.





The Apartment (1960) dir: Billy Wilder. Jack Lemmon ingratiates himself with senior managers by letting them use his apartment for trysts.




Working Girl (1988) dir: Mike Nichols. Nothing to do with "working girls" as we know and love them where I live, but a sharp satire about back-stabbing and jealousy climbing the corporate ladder, given a typical '80s assertive females twist. Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Griffith and Joan Cusack steal the show. Early role for Kevin Spacey who plays a slimy creep, as does Alec Baldwin.




The Devil Wears Prada (2006) dir: David Frankel. I was a bit reluctant to include this one as its commercial success relied on its depiction of a supposedly glamorous environment, a leading fashion magazine, whereas I am looking for movies with as generic a background as possible. But it does include many of the tropes from types (A) and (B), particularly the "survival of the fittest" system for retention and promotion.




Office (2015), a Hong Kong musical comedy dir: Johnnie To. A satire on corporate politics written by and starring Sylvia Chang. With Yun-Fat Chow. Not to be confused with a Korean movie with the same title and from the same year listed below.




The Office (2001) UK TV Series (2001–2003) written and directed by Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant. Long running mockumentary which was Gervais' finest hour. I do not think there was too much in the way of power struggles. It was more a question of getting through the day. First UK sitcom to win a Golden Globe, and generated dozens of foreign versions and spin-offs.




The Brittas Empire UK TV Series (1991–1997) starring Chris Barrie. The location is the small management office of a suburban sports centre. Not so cool and sarcastic as "The Office". Very British humor rooted in the Ealing tradition, it was surely an influence on the latter series but not as universally pertinent. We all thought it was hilarious in the firm where I was shirking at the time as our boss was a clone of Mr Brittas.

I saw you sneaking in, teleadm. What a gentleman you are!

I did not want to post the whole lot in one go because I have found that adding pictures to a very long post is a nightmare.

I am not suggesting they are all good movies. Some I have not seen.

What previous "topic" threads have shown is that when we think we have listed all the obvious ones, a lot more turn up later and we think "How did I forget that one?". Plus manfromplanetx lists a lot of movies we have never heard of but which look damned interesting.