Executive Suite (1954)
Synopsis of Executive Suite
Cameron Hawley's novel Executive Suite appeared around the same time as two other tales of big-business intrigue, the 1954 film A Woman's World and the 1955 Rod Serling teleplay Patterns. Elements of all three properties inevitably overlap. In Executive Suite, a furniture-store executive dies suddenly, resulting in a power play between five of his vice presidents. Julia O. Tredway (Barbara Stanwyck), daughter of the company founder and mistress of the president, must choose between solid family man McDonald Walling (William Holden), blackmail-prone Josiah Walter Dudley (Paul Douglas), ruthless Loren Phineas Shaw (Fredric March), duplicitous George Nyle Caswell (Louis Calhern), and eternal corporate bridesmaid Frederick Y. Alderson (Walter Pidgeon). Only Walling, the most honest of the bunch, refuses to campaign for the presidential chair. Despite the presence of the A-list leads and of supporting actors Shelley Winters, Dean Jagger, and Nina Foch, Executive Suite is a true ensemble effort, with everyone carrying like weight onscreen. The property was later adapted into a TV series, which owed more to Dallas than it did to the Hawley novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 104 mins
Complete Cast of Executive Suite
- William Holden - McDonald Walling
- Barbara Stanwyck - Julia O. Tredway
- Walter Pidgeon - Frederick Y. Alderson
- Paul Douglas - Josiah Walter Dudley
- Dean Jagger - Jesse Q. Grimm
- Tim Considine - Mike Walling
- Lucy Knoch - Mrs. George Nyle Caswell
- Mary Adams - Sara Asenath Grimm
- Harry Shannon - Ed Benedeck
- Gus Schilling - News Dealer
- Mary Ellen Hokanson - Nurse
- John Doucette - Morgue Officials
- Helen Brown - Miss Clark
- Abe Dinovitch - Cab Driver
- Bert Davidson - Salesman
- Kasia Orzazewski - Liz
- Faith Geer - Stork Club Hatcheck Girl
- Phil Chambers - Toll Station Attendant
- Ann Tyrrell - Shaw's Secretary
- Chet Huntley - Narrator/Tredway
- Matt Moore - Servant
- Robert Carson - Lee Ormond
- June Allyson - Mary Blemond Walling
- Fredric March - Loren Phineas Shaw
- Shelley Winters - Eva Bardeman
- Louis Calhern - George Nyle Caswell
- Nina Foch - Erica Martin
- William Phipps - Bill Ludden
- Edgar Stehli - Julius Steigel
- Virginia Brissac - Edith Alderson
- May McAvoy - Grimm's Secretary
- Charles Wagenheim - Luigi Cassoni
- Burt Mustin - Sam Teal
- Paul Bryar - Stork Club Waiter
- Michael Lally - Spectator at Ball Game
- Robin Camp - Mailroom Boy
- Wilson Wood - Airport Clerk
- John Hedloe - Reporter
- Jonathan Cott - Cop
- John R. McKee - Umpire
- Mimi Doyle - Telephone Operator
- Raoul Freeman - Avery Bullard
- John Banner - Enrique, Stork Club Waiter Captain
- Director(s):
- Robert Wise
- Writer(s):
- Ernest Lehman
- Producer(s):
- John Houseman
- 1954 - National Board of Review - Best Supporting Actress
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