Putney Swope
Encyclopedia
Putney Swope, a 1969
film written and directed by Robert Downey Sr.
and starring Arnold Johnson
as Swope, is a comedy satirizing the advertising world, the portrayal of race in Hollywood films, the white power structure, and nature of corporate corruption.
: each board member actually believed that he, himself, should be elected Chairman, but the bylaws of the corporation prohibit voting for oneself, so each individual member voted his secret ballot
for the person that no one else would vote for: Putney Swope.
Renaming the business "Truth and Soul, Inc.", Swope replaces all but one of the white employees and insists they no longer accept business from companies that produce alcohol
, war toys, or tobacco
. The success of the business draws unwanted attention from the United States Government, which considers it "a threat to the national security
."
version of the film, Downey states that Arnold Johnson had great difficulty memorizing and saying his lines during the film shoot. Downey says he didn't worry about it because he had developed a plan to dub in his own voice to replace Johnson's line readings.
Though the movie is in black and white, the commercials shown in the movie from Truth and Soul are in color.
cites the film as being particuarly significant in inspiring his own short films and other works, saying it completely changed his perception of movie-making.
The character Buck Swope (Don Cheadle
) from Paul Thomas Anderson
's Boogie Nights
was named as an homage to this film. Robert Downey Sr.
also made a small cameo as the owner of a recording studio.
1969 in film
The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
film written and directed by Robert Downey Sr.
Robert Downey Sr.
Robert John Downey, Sr. is an American actor, writer, and film director, and the father of actor Robert Downey, Jr...
and starring Arnold Johnson
Arnold Johnson (actor)
Arnold Johnson was an actor who played the lead role in the film Putney Swope. In the film his voice was dubbed by Robert Downey Sr. because Johnson could never remember his lines. He also had a recurring role as one of Fred Sanford's tenants in Sanford and Son...
as Swope, is a comedy satirizing the advertising world, the portrayal of race in Hollywood films, the white power structure, and nature of corporate corruption.
Plot
Putney Swope, the only black man on the executive board of an advertising firm, is accidentally put in charge after the unexpected death of the chairman of the boardBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
: each board member actually believed that he, himself, should be elected Chairman, but the bylaws of the corporation prohibit voting for oneself, so each individual member voted his secret ballot
Secret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
for the person that no one else would vote for: Putney Swope.
Renaming the business "Truth and Soul, Inc.", Swope replaces all but one of the white employees and insists they no longer accept business from companies that produce alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
, war toys, or tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. The success of the business draws unwanted attention from the United States Government, which considers it "a threat to the national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
."
Production
In an interview on the DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version of the film, Downey states that Arnold Johnson had great difficulty memorizing and saying his lines during the film shoot. Downey says he didn't worry about it because he had developed a plan to dub in his own voice to replace Johnson's line readings.
Though the movie is in black and white, the commercials shown in the movie from Truth and Soul are in color.
Legacy
Comedian Louis C.K.Louis C.K.
Louis Szekely , known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian, television and film writer, actor, producer, and director...
cites the film as being particuarly significant in inspiring his own short films and other works, saying it completely changed his perception of movie-making.
The character Buck Swope (Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
) from Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has written and directed five feature films: Hard Eight , Boogie Nights , Magnolia , Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood...
's Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...
was named as an homage to this film. Robert Downey Sr.
Robert Downey Sr.
Robert John Downey, Sr. is an American actor, writer, and film director, and the father of actor Robert Downey, Jr...
also made a small cameo as the owner of a recording studio.