
In the city of Bolton, party politics are in the control of two men, Jim Durfee and Gordon Freeman, who intend to keep it that way by running a "figurehead" for mayor. They decide upon Sheridan Dows, known as "Sherry," a young society dilettante, who surprises the political bosses by taking his responsibilities seriously.


The first miracle is that the picture survives at all: a 35-nitrate negative thought lost in the 1965 Fox vault fire, rediscovered in a Latvian church crypt, chemically washed in beer, then resurrected by archivists who look like they haven’t slept since the Cold War. The second miracle is what the film decides to do ...

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Comparing the cinematic DNA and archive impact of two defining moments in cult history.

Robert Ellis

Robert Ellis
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" The first miracle is that the picture survives at all: a 35-nitrate negative thought lost in the 1965 Fox vault fire, rediscovered in a Latvian church crypt, chemically washed in beer, then resurrected by archivists who look like they haven’t slept since the Cold War. The second miracle is what the film decides to do with its second chance—rather than preen as a museum curiosity, it lunges off the screen like a drunken orator, collar askew, demanding we admit how little American political theat..."

Frances Parks
R. Cecil Smith, John Lynch
United States


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