The Power and the Prize (1956)

(On Cable TV, January 2022) It takes a very, very long time for The Power and the Prize to find its way, as this blend of boardroom drama and straightforward romance has to wait until its third act before the tension really rises to the occasion. Robert Taylor stars as an upwardly-mobile executive, engaged to the boss’ daughter and widely expected to succeed him at the helm of a large company. Except that his plans for the future are derailed when he’s asked to fly over to London for a bit of corporate skullduggery and instead falls in love with a woman with a troubled past. After an hour of patient plot assembly, it all finally reaches a climax, as the love affair threatens his career and the twin strands of the plot finally cohere. It doesn’t leave such a bad impression (going back to the classic “Love and integrity conquers everything” does help, as does a typically likable performance from Burl Ives) but it does take a while to get there. The dynamics of 1950s corporate America are more timeless than we’d expect (even if thoroughly Hollywoodized) and there’s an intriguing cloud of then-recent WW2 history hanging over some of the main characters that was not often portrayed in films of the time. The Power and the Prize doesn’t impress during its first hour, but it does redeem itself in time to become good enough by the end. Not bad—but it could have been better. (Unrelated, but: If you’re looking for a wildly unrelated triple bill, schedule The Power, The Prize and The Power and the Prize.)