The Best Man (35mm)

(Franklin J. Schaffner, US 1964, 102 min., 35mm)

Gore Vidal’s 1960 play about a presidential campaign that turns exceedingly nasty hasn’t aged a bit: The Best Man recently made a triumphant return to Broadway in a widely acclaimed new production. Schaffner’s gripping 1964 film adaptation has also proved to be an enduring piece of political melodrama, thanks largely to Vidal’s engrossing script and Henry Fonda’s and Cliff Robertson’s performances as a pair of compromised candidates.