The President's Analyst

1967 • 102 minutes

About this movie

The President's Analyst is James Coburn, whose position makes him privy to any number of delicate government secrets. Thus Coburn becomes a most desirable prize for several secret-agent organizations, including the CEA and the FBR (we know who these folks are really supposed to be, even though the phony names were crudely dubbed onto the soundtrack after the film was completed). When Coburn becomes expendable, he finds a pair of strong allies in the form of likeable political assassin Godfrey Cambridge and gay Soviet spy Severn Darden. The main plot involves an insidious, unnamed concern that wishes to harness Coburn's talents in order to brainwash the president — and everyone else in America — into submission. The President's Analyst is a terrific, on-target satire of virtually every sacred cow of the late 1960s, the satire was so potent, in fact, that when the NBC network broadcast the film in the early 1970s, it was compelled to remove the picture's punchline.

Ratings and reviews

I saw this film a good 30 year's ago and have been waiting for it to be re-aired ever since; so finally rented it. James Coburn is perfectly cast as the president's analyst. The memorable scene of the CEA agent on the couch, on the chair, the one-liners (like so the Canadians have a Secret Service) to the telephone company ( not explaining that, you'll have to watch it)) are all spot on for it's time. Even though a spoof part of its conclusion could still come true.