# Advise & Consent
**Advise & Consent** is a 1962 American political drama directed by [Otto Preminger](https://www.edgepedia.org/otto-preminger), adapted by Wendell Mayes from Allen Drury's 1959 [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize)-winning novel about a bitter Senate confirmation battle over a controversial nominee for Secretary of State.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE--CONSENT?cxt=filmography) • [2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm) The title comes from Article II, section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives the Senate the responsibility to advise the president on cabinet nominees and the authority to consent to or reject them.[3](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Spandorf/spandorf_intro.htm) Filmed largely on location in Washington, D.C., with unusual access to Senate spaces, the film is regarded as a template for later political thrillers.[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm) • [4](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=advise-and-consent)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source | Adaptation of Allen Drury's 1959 novel, which spent 102 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1960[5](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/what-we-can-learn-from-advise-and-consent/) |
| Director, writer, producer | Otto Preminger; screenplay by Wendell Mayes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE--CONSENT?cxt=filmography) |
| Principal cast | Henry Fonda (Robert Leffingwell), Walter Pidgeon (Senate majority leader), Charles Laughton (Seab Cooley), Don Murray (Brig Anderson), Franchot Tone (the president), Lew Ayres (the vice president)[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/advise_and_consent) |
| Production | Filmed 5 September to 31 October 1961, mostly in Washington, D.C.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE--CONSENT?cxt=filmography) |
| Format | 140 minutes, black-and-white Panavision, music by Jerry Fielding[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE--CONSENT?cxt=filmography) |
| Release | Cannes Film Festival premiere 8 May 1962; New York opening 6 June 1962[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE--CONSENT?cxt=filmography) |
| Box office | $142,000 in its Los Angeles opening week at 24 locations; $2 million in rentals during 1962[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
A seriously ill president asks the Senate to advise and consent to the appointment of Robert Leffingwell, a controversial figure, as Secretary of State. Senate Majority Leader Bob Munson leads the president's supporters, while the chief resistance comes from Seab Cooley, a southern senator who invokes the account of Herbert Gelman, an unstable clerk, to denounce Leffingwell as a former Communist. Leffingwell confesses the truth of the accusation to the president but denies it under oath before a Senate subcommittee. Committee chairman Brigham Anderson learns of the perjury and demands the nomination's withdrawal; when the president refuses, Anderson resolves to make the truth public. Senator Fred Van Ackerman blackmails Anderson with the threat of exposing his own wartime homosexual experience in Hawaii. Unable to face the shame or confess to his wife, Anderson kills himself with a razor. The Senate vote ends in a deadlock, and as the vice president ponders his decisive vote, word arrives that the president has died; the newly elevated president announces he will appoint his own Secretary of State.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE--CONSENT?cxt=filmography)
## The novel and its success
Allen Drury, a Washington correspondent, published *Advise and Consent* in 1959. It portrayed the nomination of a controversial liberal to be Secretary of State and the fierce, ultimately deadly struggle within the Senate to confirm him. The book debuted on the New York Times bestseller list in August 1959 and stayed until July 1961, a run two weeks short of two years, competing against *Exodus*, *Lady Chatterley's Lover*, and *Doctor Zhivago*. One contemporary review compared its storytelling to *Gone with the Wind*, and the novelist [Herman Wouk](https://www.edgepedia.org/herman-wouk) placed Drury alongside [Anthony Trollope](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-trollope). Drury won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1960 and retired from journalism to write books full time.[5](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/what-we-can-learn-from-advise-and-consent/) When a photographer snapped presidential frontrunners [John F. Kennedy](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-f-kennedy) and Richard M. Nixon looking over the book at an airport, the publisher ran the picture as an advertisement captioned "Everyone is reading Advise and Consent."[8](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/idea-of-the-senate/1963Drury.htm)
The first dramatization was a stage adaptation by Loring Mandel, which opened in Washington, D.C., in 1960 and then ran on Broadway at the Cort Theatre from 17 November 1960 to 20 May 1961, directed by Franklin Schaffner and playing 212 performances.[9](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/advise-and-consent-2272) • [7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT) Preminger had secured the motion picture rights by November 1959, with distribution through [United Artists](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-artists).[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT)
## Filming in Washington
In the fall of 1961 Preminger brought an all-star cast and a crew of more than 150 people to [Capitol Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/capitol-hill). The Washington Post reported more excitement about the filming than about the long-anticipated adjournment of Congress.[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm) Filming took place in the Senate Press Gallery, the Capitol corridors outside the Senate Chamber gallery, the old Senate subway, and inside the Old Senate Office Building (now the [Russell Senate Office Building](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-senate-office-building)), especially its Caucus Room.[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm) • [10](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-200NOTABLEDAYS/pdf/GPO-200NOTABLEDAYS-10.pdf)
**The Senate Chamber set.** A long-standing Senate rule prohibited filming in the Chamber itself. Preminger instead retrieved the replica Senate Chamber that [Frank Capra](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-capra) had built on a Hollywood sound stage for *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington* (1939), updated it to reflect the modern Chamber, and shot all Chamber scenes there.[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm)
**Authenticity and locals.** Drury served as technical advisor, and Senate staff were consulted; Ruth Young Watt, chief clerk of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, advised on setting up the Caucus Room for a hearing scene, declining an offer to appear as a clerk on screen.[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm) Preminger hired hundreds of extras, including prominent Washingtonians, for a party scene filmed at the Tregaron estate, and members of the press corps recreated the annual White House Correspondents Dinner at the Sheraton-Park Hotel. Former senators Guy Gillette of Iowa and 87-year-old Henry Ashurst of Arizona played fictional senators, and Washington senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson played himself.[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm) Some characters were based on real politicians: George Grizzard's character was loosely based on Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, and [Betty White](https://www.edgepedia.org/betty-white) made her feature film debut as the film's only female senator, based on Maine's Margaret Chase Smith.[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm)
The filming was the last time a motion picture crew was allowed largely uninhibited access to Senate spaces.[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm) The freelance artist Lily Spandorf, sent by the Washington Star to sketch the production, stayed through the entire Washington shoot and produced 68 pen-and-ink and two gouache illustrations; at Preminger's request, selections were exhibited at the movie's premiere.[3](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Spandorf/spandorf_intro.htm)
## Casting and censorship
Preminger declared in February 1960 that his picture would include the homosexual content of the novel, despite objections from Geoffrey Shurlock of the Motion Picture Association of America. The BFI later described the film as audacious in its day for challenging the [Hays Code](https://www.edgepedia.org/hays-code) with a depiction of a gay nightclub.[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT) • [4](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=advise-and-consent) He also assured the industry press that he would remove the novel's "self-criticism" of the U.S. government, omitted a ruthless Supreme Court justice, and promised a more sympathetic president.[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT)
Preminger pursued novelty casting. He tried unsuccessfully to cast Martin Luther King as an African American senator from Georgia; King declined, saying the role would do little to advance his cause.[10](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-200NOTABLEDAYS/pdf/GPO-200NOTABLEDAYS-10.pdf) • [7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT) [James Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-stewart) declined a part, saying he had already played a senator in *Mr. Smith Goes to Washington*. [Charles Laughton](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-laughton) researched his role as a southern senator with the help of Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater.[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT)
## Reception and controversy
On March 20, 1962, 60 senators attended a preview screening at Washington's Trans-Lux Theater. The film became a box office success, but senators offered mixed reviews. "We're much more complicated than that," [Eugene McCarthy](https://www.edgepedia.org/eugene-mccarthy) complained; [Hubert Humphrey](https://www.edgepedia.org/hubert-humphrey) replied that anyone wanting a totally accurate reflection of the Senate could ask for a newsreel.[2](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm)
The film also drew protests. The American Legion, endorsed by columnist Hedda Hopper, unsuccessfully tried to prevent the State Department from exporting it, and the California Federation of Women's Clubs objected to its portrayal of a federal government rife with "corruption, dishonesty, and lack of integrity." Congressman Carroll Kearns of Pennsylvania suggested that future films about the capital be reviewed by a joint Congressional committee. The Legion of Decency cautioned that the picture required analysis to protect viewers against wrong interpretations. Preminger responded by announcing a pamphlet of "European reactions" to show that only in the United States could such a forthright film be made.[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT) In 1966 he refused to make the edits CBS needed to broadcast it in a two-hour television slot, keeping it off that network.[7](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT)
## Legacy
The BFI credits the film with setting the template for later political thrillers, from *All the President's Men* to *House of Cards*, and highlights Sam Leavitt's black-and-white Scope photography, which isolates characters against the monumental Washington backdrop.[4](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=advise-and-consent) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 79% Tomatometer from 14 reviews and an 88% audience score.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/advise_and_consent) Critics have noted both its craft and its limits: the treatment of homosexuality is frequently judged offensive by modern standards, and film historian Drew Casper has called the sequence involving Anderson's secret past homophobic, while praising the film's documentary detail and Preminger's direction.[11](https://www.dvdjournal.com/quickreviews/a/adviseandconsent.q.shtml) Preminger's stated intent, according to Casper, was to demonstrate that the president is not an all-powerful figure in Washington and that the separation of powers is what makes the American system function.[12](https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1614advi.html)
## References
1. [Advise & Consent (1962), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE--CONSENT?cxt=filmography)
2. [Hollywood on the Hill: The Filming of "Advise and Consent," U.S. Senate Historical Office (2021)](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/senate-stories/hollywood-on-the-hill.htm)
3. [Advise and Consent: Lily Spandorf exhibit, U.S. Senate Office of the Curator](https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/art/special/Spandorf/spandorf_intro.htm)
4. [Advise & Consent, BFI Film on Film Festival 2025](https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?BOparam%3A%3AWScontent%3A%3AloadArticle%3A%3Apermalink=advise-and-consent)
5. [What We Can Learn from 'Advise and Consent,' Stanford Magazine](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/what-we-can-learn-from-advise-and-consent/)
6. [Advise and Consent, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/advise_and_consent)
7. [Advise & Consent (1962), AFI Catalog, history and reception](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/22466-ADVISE-CONSENT)
8. [Idea of the Senate: Allen Drury, U.S. Senate](https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/idea-of-the-senate/1963Drury.htm)
9. [Advise and Consent, Broadway production, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/advise-and-consent-2272)
10. [200 Notable Days: Senate Stories, 1787–2002, Government Publishing Office](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-200NOTABLEDAYS/pdf/GPO-200NOTABLEDAYS-10.pdf)
11. [Advise and Consent, The DVD Journal](https://www.dvdjournal.com/quickreviews/a/adviseandconsent.q.shtml)
12. [DVD Savant Review: Advise and Consent, DVD Talk](https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1614advi.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 1960s › Released 1960 to 1965*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license