The Best Man
“Does The Best Man Always Get To The White House?”
Franklin J. SchaffnerCast
Henry Fonda 
Cliff Robertson 
Edie Adams 
Margaret Leighton Shelley Berman 
Lee Tracy 
Ann Sothern 
Gene Raymond
Credits
Written by: 
Gore Vidal
Plot
At a party convention that will choose a presidential candidate, two rivals fight for the nomination: William Russell, a thoughtful former Secretary of State with a hidden weakness, and Joe Cantwell, a ruthless young senator. Each camp digs for scandal on the other while the dying ex-president whose endorsement they both want watches from his sickbed. Adapted by Gore Vidal from his own play.
Sinekatalog’s take
A sharp, talky political drama whose cynicism about campaigns still feels fresh. Fonda and Robertson are superb as two men who each want power for different reasons.Sinekatalog’s own editorial review – not a user or critic quote.
Ratings
IMDb: 7.6 / 10 (4,329 votes)
IMDb rating and vote count from the IMDb ratings dataset (October 2026). Scores change over time.