The Wonderful World of TCM: The Boss (1956)

This was part of a corruption in politics night Turner Classic Movies presented back before the election, and while Thrilling Days of Yesteryear covered this movie then when Ivan caught up with it on Fancast, I, uh, just got around to seeing it last week (Maybe I'll finally cast my ballot next week).

The film is an entertaining account of a World War I vet who rises to the top of a political machine...but at what cost? Well, the cost of countless boxes of Just For Men, for starters, as star John Payne gets grayer and grayer as his saga unfolds.

Payne is quite good, and as his in-name-only wife, Gloria McGehee leaves a strong impression. There is all sorts of good corruption to chew on in the Dalton-Trumbo-penned screenplay. But I want to focus on the man who plays Payne's war buddy/confidante/organization attorney and right-hand man, William Bishop.

I know very little about Bishop, and part of the reason why is that he died way too young at only 41, just several years after "The Boss." The nephew of Helen Hayes, he doesn't have a long resume in films, but he co-stars in one of my favorite sitcoms of the 1950s, "It's a Great Life."

In "Life," Bishop and Michael O'Shea are two vets (not World War I this time) who find lodging at a boarding house run by TV's Aunt Bee, Francis Bavier. Bishop and O'Shea find all sorts of hijinks and misadventures with Bavier's no-account brother, played by James Dunn. Each episode features some kind of wacky sitcom misunderstanding. It's goofy, it's often predictable, and it's a riot.

On the show, Bishop is pegged as the Handsome Guy, but he might as well be the Normal Guy. He's no saint, but his low-key style contrasts with the mugging of O'Shea and Dunn. Of course, almost everybody would look subdued compared to those two. O'Shea and Dunn are so far over the top, they go all the way around to become under it.

Bishop is fine in the short-lived series (I've only ever seen it on American Life Network) but easily overshadowed in those circumstances. That's why it's such a treat to see him in a movie role, and a good one, too. He doesn't get a ton of juicy scenes or anything--it's definitely Payne's movie--but his is a pivotal role, and it's far more than just Handsome Guy.

I know very little about William Bishop. He's in a few other things I've seen, like "The Killer That Stalked New York," and a bunch of 1950s TV shows, but it's hard to find much about him. According to IMDB, he died of cancer in 1959. Given the unfortunate obscurity of his career, I'm surprised when he pops up in anything, and his presence definitely boosts "The Boss" for me. One of the joys of TCM--and watching old movies in general--is experiencing pleasant casting surprises like this.