The President's Analyst (1967)

There are those who will call this a cult classic, and those who will be a bit bored. The truth is probably somewhere in between. This is a cult movie, to be sure, with very dry humor, about the president'ts psychologist, and all the powerful groups who try to kidnap him, use him, or, in most cases, kill him. Coburn plays the title character, and he is along for the ride. The big scene involves the most entertaining stereotypes of the time, the peace loving hippies in a field, practicing love, unaware that an assassination or two or three or maybe more is about to take place. The laughs are well earned, but pretty sparse. It is more of a satire than a bust out laughing comedy. It's hard to know what frame of mind a person should be in to sit down and watch this movie. Possibly at a small party where the movie plays while people talk and give an occasional glance. Still, the movie deserves more than that. Like most cult classics, it has a surreal quality about, but unlike more successful ones, it doesn't develop the stereotypical characters all that much. However, there are a few instances, such as the government man being analyzed by Coburn and telling of his childhood experience. But there aren't a lot of these revealing scenes. Most of the characters are clownish (in a dark way.) The movie has a lot of appeal to it. It would be better with more hysterical scenes, but it works as dry wit. Maybe not for the more impatient viewer.

"The President's Analyst" is the sort of movie they wouldn't make today; it's a scatter-shot spoof without a mean-spirited bone in its body. It wouldn't even have been made a couple of years later. Richard M. Nixon, elected president in 1968 and at the top of Hollywood's "Enemy's List" would never have been treated as reverently and indulgently as this unnamed President (obviously LBJ, who was president when this movie was made).James Coburn (flashing his trademark grin on many occasions) plays Dr. Sidney Schaefer, who is offered, an accepts, the post as analyst to the President of the United States. When he discovers the president now has someone to talk to about his problems and he himself (Schaefer) is denied the privilege because of the high degree of national security he's privy to, he grows increasingly paranoid and he finally escapes -- and is pursued by the secret service of every country in the world, including his own. He tries to deal with problems first by running away, then by facing them and defeating them by intelligence -- and, eventually, by delighting in raw violence. The movie has culture and counter-culture in its cross-hairs. For instance, while the FBI and CIA are common fodder for satire, when Schaefer finds himself in a group of hippies, they utter vacuous phrases and sing songs with banal lyrics -- and even the hippies, mods and rockers are not what they seem. Though the FBR (based on the FBI, with every agent looking and talking like every other agent) is colored in less than friendly tones, when a young boy uses a derogatory ethnic term, it's an FBR agent who upbraids him and tells him not to use that word because "It's bigoted." A liberal New Jersey householder, trying to show how far he agrees with a liberal president, begins to grouse about the "right wingers" next door who put out a flag every day. "They ought to be gassed," he growls. Moments like these make the movie shine. Whoever you are, whatever your politics or nationality, you can't take offense, since everybody is in the movie's cross-hairs at some time. Even the Canadians.**Spoiler Alert** The chief enemy in the movie, however, is not the Russians or the FBR or the right-wingers or the liberals or the hippies or even the Canadians, but a common enemy of all. Like the Soviet Union, this enemy is largely non-existent as such these days, but even in its present form it's something everybody loves to hate, whoever their provider. Coburn is surrounded by a solid cast, chief of whom are Godfrey Cambridge and Severn Darden as friendly rival agents from different sides of the Cold War. They provide lots of laughs, as does Pat Harrington, who comes in late but makes the whole thing worthwhile. The happy ending is SO happy it's a scream, even considering the sting in its tail.

During the first few minutes of "The President's Analyst", it's a little hard to tell what's going on. But once James Coburn gets a stressful, paranoid job as the Chief Executive's personal psychiatrist, all bets are off as every government on Earth is after him. And to think that throughout the movie, we hear some Christmas songs - often sounding like they were sung by hippies! Anyway, this is a really funny movie. I get the feeling that Coburn is sort of spoofing his own role as Derek Flynt, what with all the espionage stuff. And the fact that he has a hot young woman (Joan Delaney) as his soul-mate. But the movie partially plays off of our various pet peeves about contemporary life. It has the definite feeling of a zany '60s comedy. Also starring Godfrey Cambridge and Severn Darden.The Phone Company. Ha!

When James Coburn passed away in 2002, it was sad to see how little fanfare was generated by this event. Coburn's resume is as strong as any actor of the Sixties and Seventies. For almost a decade, Coburn played in some of the strangest and most unorthodox films of the era. Everyone knows that he capably spoofed the popular spy genre with his "Flint" films. But it wasn't until he became the President's analyst that he really hit his stride. The fabulous panoramic views of a pre-World Trade Center New York duel with the more grimy shots of the Manhattan Garment District. Look for a humorous assassination involving a knife and a clothing pushcart. Nostalgic observation: the New York Skyline appears the way it does on the New York Mets' uniform patch. The plot concerns the President's need for a head shrinker. Wanted: a man who can be trusted with the leader of the free world's secrets. Grandpa Walton (Will Gear) shows up as the President's prior therapist. He is wonderful as always. Edgy pop singer, Barry McGuire, plays a stoner with a catchy song on his acoustic guitar. One memorable sequence combines McGuire's tune (something about "changes") and a team of assassins in a field, attempting to kill our hero, Coburn. The killers use everything from guns to gas to blow darts. Even a net. In widescreen, the final shot of the movie resonates with a sly, satirical nod to the genre. The villain of the piece comes as a big surprise to anyone under the age of forty: think telephone exchanges and room-size computers. And mix. Bravo!