(thanks, Night of the Trailers!)

One of those films that some overly reactionary folk will take WAY too seriously if they ever see it (or already have if they remember seeing it on TV), 1969’s The Chairman is an intriguing mix of drama, action and spy flick that despite a huge chunk of ambition and a nice sense of scale, really doesn’t do much other than shake the pot it’s in before burning up from its good idea/bad ideas never quite blending correctly.

Granted, seeing Gregory Peck play an egghead genius type sent to communist China by the US government to retrieve a special enzyme that can grow crops in any type of soil (cue evil Monsanto theme if there is such a thing) is both the most interesting and most baffling thing about this one. But don’t let that poster fool you too much into thinking Peck will fight Mao in a one on one battle or anything. They meet, but it’s a meeting of wills here – Peck’s got plenty of other stuff to worry about before and after that little engagement, however…

Of course, your tax dollars at work (circa 1969 – don’t get mad if you weren’t born yet and feel left out of funding this particular boondoggle) also means as a fail-safe, Peck’s Dr. John Hathaway has a tracking device implanted into his skull (!) just in case something happens to him. Granted, he’s not at all happy about this surgery (would YOU want a tracking chip installed in your grey matter?) but here’s the kicker: the fine folks who send him off to do his reverse Johnny Appleseed thing neglect to inform the good Doctor that that tracker has an explosive inside which can be detonated from the home base if something should befall him. Like what? Well, dear reader, stuff such as the “Red” Chinese wanting him to stick around for an extended visit (if you know what I mean)… or someone wanting Chairman Mao out of the way for good.

There’s some nice (and fake) “location” shooting and enough extras that give the film a nice air of authenticity and in a fine surprise, the Chinese (and “Chinese looking”) actors playing important roles aren’t playing as caricatures of anything other than the screenwriter’s idea of Communist behavior circa 1969. You’ll even see an actor playing Mao Tse-Tung doing an admirable job, but by saying this, I guess I’m now a communist supporter or something.

As noted, it’s a great idea for a film and there are some pretty decent acting as well as action moments thanks to veteran director J. Lee Thompson. However, Peck looks uncomfortable in some scenes (as if he’s got a bomb in his head) and you kind of know how this is all going to end past a certain point in the film if you’re paying the tiniest bit of attention.

The main problem with the film is as great an actor as Peck is, turning into a reluctant action hero isn’t his strong point. Granted, he does his best with what he’s got to work with, there’s a nice level of tension in some scenes, the film looks great (in that Arthur P. Jacobs post-Planet of the Apes era way) and there’s an absolutely amazing Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack to keep your ears grinning throughout. Toss in a few logic gaps that stick out, some action scenes that make for more laughs than tension and a “will he escape?” ending that’s a bit too drawn out with its ticking clock and slow-moving troops chasing Hathaway and yeah, this isn’t exactly one for the ages. That second movie poster above is an excellent image, but it also definitely packs more oomph than the actual sequence it’s based on.

On the other hand, it’s worth seeing just to check out what’s more or less a propaganda piece with a mild edge to it. Of course, if this were ever to be remade by Hollow-wood, I’d bet the focus would shift to North Korea instead of China, as they’re our big, BIG pals these days and have been for a while Er, if you take “BIG pals”  to include the line “…that we happen to owe a crap load of money to and can’t insult or they take away our cool toys…” Given that they MAKE nearly all of our cool toys these days, that would be a really bad thing, right?

Yeah, I thought so…