Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
'Rat Race' Film Festival
the Corporate Wars, Wall Street, the G.O.P. Economic Meltdown . . .
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brief essay
selected films
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“The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.”
— Lily Tomlin
“Capitalism is the creation of jobs and products and services.”
— philosopher G.E. Nordell
“I believe totally in a Capitalist System, I only wish that someone would try it.”
— architect Frank Lloyd Wright [1867-1959]
“With an evening coat and a white tie, even a stockbroker can gain a reputation for being civilized.”
— Oscar Wilde [1854-1900]
Non-fiction books on the subject abound, such as "Leadership Secrets of Attila The Hun" [1989 bestseller].
The movie industry has not avoided this genre: classics include Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times" [1936], "The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit" [1956], and "Putney Swope" [1969],
with many office-based TV sitcoms over the years as well as the "Office Space" franchise [1991 TV & 1999 movie], "The Office" TV series [2001-2013], and the recent "Mad Men" hit
TV series [2007-2015].
Included here are dozens more comedies & dramas that you may have missed.
see also the Labor Movement Film Festival at Spirit of America Bookstore
Selected Films
{ in chronological order }
jump to NEW movies, coming soon
 | "Movies To Manage By: Lessons In Leadership From Great Films" [1999] by John K. Clemens, with Melora Wolff McGraw-Hill 8¼x5½ pb [10/2000] for $10.17 Contemporary Books 8½x5½ hardcover [9/99] out of print/used |
 | "Reel Lessons In Leadership" [2006] by Ralph R. DiSibio "A unique study of leadership as portrayed in some of Hollywood's memorable movies"; chapters/subjects include "Apollo 13", "The Contender", "Erin Brockovich", "Gandhi", "Glory", "The Godfather", "High Noon", "Lawrence of Arabia", "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", "Patton", "Seabiscuit", and "12 Angry Men" Paladin Group 9x6 pb [4/2006] for $10.85 Paladin Group hardcover [4/2006] for $17.21 |
 | "The Big Picture: Essential Business Lessons From The Movies" [2010] by Kevin Coupe & Michael Sansolo Raphel Marketing 9x6 pb [1/2010] for $14.95 chapters/subjects include "A League of Their Own", "All About Eve", "All The President's Men", "Amadeus", "American Gangster", "Babe", "Big", James Bond films, "The Bridge On The River Kwai", "Bull Durham", "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid", "The Caine Mutiny", "Casablanca", "Citizen Kane", "Gandhi", "The Godfather", "The Guns of Navarone", "Guys & Dolls", "High Noon", "Hoosiers", "In The Heat of The Night", "Jaws", "Mister Roberts", "Network", "Pirates of The Caribbean", "The Producers", "Pumping Iron", "The Right Stuff", "Rocky", "Schindler's List", "Selena", "Star Trek V & VI", "Stranger Than Fiction", "That Thing You Do!", "Tootsie", "Tucker: The Man and His Dream", "When Harry Met Sally", "Working Girl", "Young Frankenstein", and many others |
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"Behind Office Doors" [1931] /B000286S3I/
Directed by Melville W. Brown, starring Mary Astor, Robert Ames
"Female" [Nov 1933] /tt0024008/
Directed by Michael Curtiz (with William Dieterle & William A. Wellman);
starring Ruth Chatterton, George Brent, Lois Wilson, Johnny Mack Brown
"Just My Luck" [indep Dec 1935]
 | A chemist at a tire factory gets fired, but he is certain that his formula for 'indestructible' rubber is a winner. Protecting his invention is hard work, what with ruthless competitors, industrial espionage, a series of 'accidents', gangsters, and a mob of rioting strikers. Produced, co-written & directed by Ray Heinz; starring Charles Ray, Anne Grey, Edward J. Nugent, Quentin Smith, 'Snub' Pollard, Lee Prather, Matthew Betz, Robert Graves, John Roche, Lillian Elliott, Paul Weigel, Henry Roquemore & Fred 'Snowflake' Toones
Alpha Video b&w DVD [11/2011] for $5.95 full credits at IMDb |
"Modern Times" [United Artists Feb 1936]
 | Late almost-silent film (no dialogue, sound effects & music); first sequence has Charlie go nots working on a factory assembly line; second has Charlie abused by an 'efficient' feeding machine; then he gets mistaken for a communist leader at a parade and is arrested; he meets The Girl in the paddy wagon, starts a jail riot and escapes, then tries to survive on the streets. Produced, written, directed & original music by and starring Charles Chaplin; co-starring Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford, Chester Conklin, Al Ernest Garcia & Murdock MacQuarrie; listed at the National Film Registry (1989);
full credits from IMDb
Criterion Collection b&w Blu-ray [11/2010] for $26.69 Criterion Collection b&w DVD [11/2010] 2 disks for $21.99 Creative Design Limited Edition b&w DVD [7/2003] 2 disks - out of prodn/used |
"Head Office" [U.K. Nov 1936] /tt0027723/
"The Fountainhead" feature film [1949]
 | Idealistic young architect Howard Roark has a tough time because he will not compromise with the mediocre architecture of the establishment. When his 'big chance' skyscraper is redesigned without his knowledge, he dynamites the construction site and is put on trial. Directed by King Vidor [1894-1982]; script by Ayn Rand [1905-82], based on her novel; starring Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, Raymond Massey, Kent Smith, Robert Douglas & Henry Hull
Warner b&w DVD [11/2006] for $17.49 Warner b&w VHS [1/90] out of prodn/used 27"x40" poster from Amazon for $19.99 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
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"The Fountainhead" novel [1943] by Ayn Rand [1905-82] Signet pb [8/96] for $8.99 Plume 60th Anniv 9¼x6½ hardcover [12/2002] for $27.97 Blackstone UNABR audio CD [6/2003] for $44.95 |
"Executive Suite" [M.G.M. May 1954]
 | When the president of Tredway Corp. dies suddenly without naming a clear successor, the candidates to replace him are the five senior vice presidents. Directed by Robert Wise; script by Ernest Lehman, from the novel by Cameron Hawley; starring William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, Walter Pidgeon, Shelley Winters, Paul Douglas, Louis Calhern, Dean Jagger, Nina Foch & Tim Considine; nominated for 4 Oscars, D.G.A. & W.G.A. Awards
Warner Home Video b&w DVD [10/2007] for $17.99 M.G.M./Warner b&w VHS [9/98] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
"Woman's World" [1954] /tt0047680/
"Patterns" [United Artists 1956]
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Serling's forceful study of ruthless greed & abuse of power in corporate America. Directed by Fielder Cook; written by Rod Serling; starring Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, Beatrice Straight & Andrew Duggan ROAN b&w DVD [4/2005] out of prodn/used V.C.I./United b&w VHS [7/98] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit"
feature film [Fox April 1956]
 | Adapted & directed by Nunnally Johnson, from the 1955 novel; music by Bernard Hermann; starring Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Fredric March, Marisa Pavan, Lee J. Cobb, Ann Harding, Keenan Wynn, Gene Lockhart, Gigi Perreau & Portland Mason
Fox widescreen color DVD [8/2005] for $10.99 Fox color VHS [10/97] for $18.98 Bernard Hermann soundtrack CD [9/99] for $17.98 full credits at IMDb |
 | classic novel [1955] by Sloan Wilson [1920-2003] A World War II veteran takes a temporary job at a New York City television network for the increase in pay, but he is soon miserable. Four Walls Eight Windows 8¼x5½ pb [9/2002] for $11.58 Buccaneer Books hardcover [12/91] out of print/used "The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit II" [1984 sequel] Arbor House hardcover [3/84] out of print/used |
"From The Terrace" [1960] /title/tt0053841/
based on John O'Hara's 1958 novel; starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward & Myrna Loy
"Cash McCall" [1960] /tt0052680/ pbCashMcCall.jpg
directed by Joseph Pevney from a screenplay by Lenore J. Coffee & Marion Hargrove,
based on the novel by Cameron Hawley; starring James Garner, Natalie Wood
Garson Kanin's "The Rat Race" [1960] /tt0054230/
"Death of A Salesman" [C.B.S. TV movie May 1966]
based on the stageplay by Arthur Miller [1915-2005]
"Putney Swope" [Herald/Cinema V July 1969]
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 | Outrageous is the only word for this jaw-dropper of a satire on the advertising world. The main movie is black-and-white, with color commercials that you will not believe. The bite is still fierce even after 40 years.
Written & directed by Robert Downey Sr.; starring Arnold Johnson Rhino Video b&w/color DVD [5/2001] for $17.96 Rhino Video b&w/color VHS [2/95] for $14.95 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Network" [M.G.M. Nov 1976]
 | An aging network news anchor is fired, and his on-air tirade – "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" – causes a sensation among his viewers, so he is rehired and given his own show.Directed by Sidney Lumet; written by Paddy Chayefsky; starring Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Robert Duvall & Ned Beatty; won Oscars for Best Script, Best Actor [Finch], Best Actress [FD], Best Supporting Actress [BS], nominated for Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Actor [WH], Best Supporting Actor [NB], Best Cinematography, Best Editing; won BAFTA for Best Actor [Finch], nominated for 8 more; won W.G.A. Award for Best Original Script
Warner widescreen color DVD [2/2006] 2 disks for $23.99 M.G.M. color VHS [5/96] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb novelization by Sam Hedrin Penguin movie tie-in mass pb [11/76] out of print/used |
Arthur Hailey's "The Moneychangers
[Paramount / NBC-TV Dec 1976]
  | The president of a Midwestern bank announces that he has cancer and tells the board to choose a successor; the prime contenders are a good man whose wife is confined in an asylum (so he's having an affair with an outside lawyer) and a ruthless Episcopalian who wants the job at any cost.
Directed by Boris Sagal; based on the novel {below}; starring Kirk Douglas, Christopher Plummer, Anne Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Timothy Bottoms, Joan Collins, Susan Flannery, Robert Loggia, Marisa Pavan, Jean Peters, Hayden Rorke, James Shigeta, Patrick O'Neal, Lorne Greene, Helen Hayes, Woodrow Parfrey, Miiko Taka & Barry Coe; five Emmy noms, CP won for Best Acting
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb "The Moneychangers" [New York Times bestseller 1975] by Arthur Hailey
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The 1980 movie called "Rat Race" { IMDb credits } is a French sex comedy
with original title "Je Vais Craquer!!! {I'll Crack!}".
"Agency" [Canada 1980] /tt0081989/
starring Robert Mitchum, Lee Majors, Valerie Perrine & Alexandra Stewart
"Time Bandits" [1981] /tt0081633/
"Local Hero" [1983] /tt0085859/
starring Burt Lancaster & Peter Riegert
"Head Office" [1985 comedy] /tt0091183/
"Brazil" [1985] /tt0088846/
"Death of A Salesman" [C.B.S. TV movie Sept 1985] based on the 1949 stageplay by Arthur Miller [1915-2005]
"Gung Ho" [Paramount March 1986]
 | The automobile factory in a small town has been closed for a while; when a Japanese car company buys out the American car company, one middle manager convinces the new owners to reopen the plant. But wages are much smaller and the culture clash seems impossible to overcome, and failure to produce 15,000 cars in a month will get the plant closed forever. Co-produced & directed by Ron Howard; written by Edwin Blum, Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel; starring Michael Keaton, Gedde Watanabe, George Wendt, Mimi Rogers, John Turturro, Sô Yamamura, Sab Shimono, Rick Overton & Clint Howard
Paramount Home Video widescreen color DVD [7/2002] out of prodn/many used Paramount Home Video color VHS [undated] for $4.95 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Gung Ho" TV series [Paramount/ABC-TV 1986-87]
 | Short-lived (9 episodes) half-hour network television series based on the 'acclaimed' feature film; aired from Dec 1986 to Feb 1987; laid-back American 'employee liaison' executive continues working out the abundant kinks in the relationship between American workers and the Japanese owners Starring Scott Bakula, Gedde Watanabe, Patti Yasutake, Stephen Lee, Clint Howard, Rodney Kageyama, Scott Atari, Heidi Banks & Sab Shimono
DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • series entry at Wikipedia |
"The Secret of My Succe$s" [1987] /tt0093936/
Dir Herbert Ross starring Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater
"Wall Street" [Fox Dec 1987]
 | Bud Fox, a young and very ambitious stock trader, courts the powerful stock speculator Gordon Gekko, who takes the boy under his wing. Bud becomes immersed in the fast life, the big time, but soon is asked to take actions that even he finds offensive. Co-written & directed by Oliver Stone; co-written by Stanley Weiser; starring Michael Douglas {won Oscar & David di Donatello Best Actor awards}, Charlie Sheen, Hal Holbrook, Martin Sheen, Terence Stamp, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, James Spader, Saul Rubinek & Sylvia Miles;
Fox widescreen color Blu-ray [2/2008] for $13.99 Fox widescreen color DVD [9/2007] 2 disks for $9.49 Fox color VHS [1/96] out of prodn/many, many used Varese Sarabande soundtrack CD [10/93] out of prodn/used {with "Talk Radio" [1988]} full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Money Never Sleeps: The Making of Wall Street" [Fox/Lagniappe video 2000]
Produced, written & directed by Charles Kiselyak; credits at IMDb
"Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps"
[Fox Sept 2010]
 | A young Wall Street trader teams up with disgraced former Wall Street corporate raider Gordon Gekko on a two-tiered mission: To alert the financial community to the coming financial doom, and to bring to justice the person responsible for the suicide of the young trader's mentor. Co-produced by Edward R. Pressman, Oliver Stone & Michael Douglas; directed by Oliver Stone; starring Shia LaBeouf, Michael Douglas, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, Charlie Sheen, Josh Brolin, Frank Langella & Sylvia Miles, cameo by Nouriel Roubini
Fox widescreen color Blu-ray [12/2010] for $22.99 Fox widescreen color DVD [12/2010] 2 disks for $15.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia 'G.O.P. Meltdown' Page at Spirit of America Bookstore |
"Working Girl" [1988]
"Office Space" animated shorts [indep 1991]
Milton works for an evil corporation, his cubicle has been moved into the basement, and his boss makes his life miserable.
Produced, written, directed & animated by Mike Judge; the four original Milton animated shorts were first shown on the
"Night After Night" late night TV program and on "Saturday Night Live" in 1991 • video/DVD/Blu-ray not available • credits at IMDb
"Office Space" feature film [Fox Feb 1999]
 | "Work sucks" Office worker Peter hates his job, his girlfriend is cheating on him, and the company hired consultants to downsize the staff. He visits a therapist who hypnotizes him to have a better attitude, then dies. The consultants like his new attitude and decide to keep Peter, but fire his two friends. Michael & Samir plant a virus in the company computer intended to create mischief by siphoning off fractions of cents from each transaction, but they make a mistake with the decimal point and the program quickly embezzles a pile of real dollars to their bank accounts ...
Co-produced, written & directed by Mike Judge; starring Ron Livingston, Jennifer Aniston, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, Diedrich Bader, Gary Cole, Stephen Root, Greg Pitts, Richard Riehle, Alexandra Wentworth, Joe Bays, John C. McGinley, Paul Willson, Kinna McInroe, Michael McShane & Linda Wakeman
Fox widescreen color Blu-ray Special Edition with Flair! [2/2009] for $16.92 Fox widescreen color DVD Special Edition with Flair! [11/2005] for $5.99 Fox color DVD Special Edition with Flair! [11/2005] for $9.25 Fox color DVD Special Edition with Flair! [11/2005] for $17.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia • watch 11/2013 official trailer [2:25] online at YouTube |
Swingline Limited Edition Rio Red Business Stapler [#1 bestseller at Amazon]
Swingline Series 747 stapler [4/2002] for $13.99 from Amazon
"Glengarry Glen Ross" [1992]
"Barbarians At The Gate" TV movie [Rastar/HBO 1993]
starring James Garner /tt0106356/
"The Triumph of The Nerds" TV miniseries [Oregon PBS June 1996]
 | "An irreverent history of the PC industry" 165-minute 3-part TV docu-series; segments are "Impressing Their Friends", "Riding The Bear" & *Great Artists Steal" Written, directed & hosted by Robert X. 'Bob' Cringely; featuring Douglas Adams, Paul G. Allen, Steve Ballmer, Esther Dyson, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, Adele Goldberg, Steve Jobs, Arthur Rock, John Sculley & Steve Wozniak
Ambrose Video color DVD [7/2002] for $21.18 Ambrose Video color VHS [7/96] 3 tapes for $120.00 {sic} full credits at IMDb • P.B.S. official movie site |
 | "Accidental Empires: How The Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get A Date" [1992 national bestseller] by Robert X. 'Bob' Cringely HarperBusiness 8x5¼ pb [9/96] for $11.04 Addison Wesley 9½x6¼ hardcover [1992] out of print/used |
"The Prisoner of Zenda, Inc." TV movie [Hallmark/Showtime Sept 1996]
 | Filmed in Vancouver, BC, Canada; when the president of computer company Zenda, Inc. dies, power passes to his teenage son; the infuriated uncle kidnaps his nephew and takes over running the company; but loyal employees find a lookalike boy and regain control; one problem is that the real boy loves to play baseball and the replacement is a computer geek . . . Directed by Stefan Scaini; written by Richard Clark & Rodman Gregg (just barely based on plot elements of the 1894 novel); starring Jonathan Jackson, Richard Lee Jackson, William Shatner, Jay Brazeau, Don S. Davis, Katharine Isabelle, John Tench
Platinum Disc color DVD [3/2005] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
"Chairman of The Board" [1998] starring Scott 'Carrot Top' Thompson /tt0118836/
"Rogue Trader" [June 1999]
"Pirates of Silicon Valley" [Haft/T.N.T. June 1999]
 | Semi-humorous TV docudrama about the origins of Microsoft, Inc. and of Apple, Inc. Written & directed by Martyn Burke, based on a book by Paul Freiberger & Michael Swaine; starring Noah Wyle {as Steve Jobs}, Anthony Michael Hall {as Bill Gates}, Joey Slotnick {as Steve Wozniak}, John Di Maggio {as Steve Ballmer} & Josh Hopkins {as Paul Allen}; won ACE Award, nominated for DGA Award, PGA Award, and 7 Emmy Awards Turner Home Ent. color DVD [8/2005] for $15.99 Turner Home Ent. color VHS [5/2000] for $14.44 full credits at IMDb • official movie site "Fire In The Valley: The Making of The Personal Computer" [1984] by Paul Freiberger & Michael Swaine McGraw-Hill 2nd edition 9x7¼ pb [11/2000] out of print/many used McGraw-Hill 9¾x7½ hardcover with CD-ROM [12/99] out of print/used |
"The Insider" [Touchstone Nov 1999]
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Co-written & directed by Michael Mann; co-written by Eric Roth; starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora, Philip Baker Hall & Lindsay Crouse; Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Crowe), Best Script (Adapted), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound; nominated for ACE, ASC, BAFTA, DGA & WGA awards
Disney Honme Video widescreen DVD [6/2004] for $11.98 Touchstone widescreen VHS [4/2001] out of stock/used Touchstone widescreen VHS [4/2002] out of stock/used Sony soundtrack CD [10/99] for $17.98 full credits from IMDb • official movie website Jeffrey Wigand, whistleblower: official website Time Magazine 10 Questions Interview [Feb 2005] |
"Boiler Room" [2000]
jump to Page 2: 2001-2010 • jump to Page 3: 2011 to present
"Animal Corp."
A book/movie that should be made: a rewrite of George Orwell's barnyard
fable "Animal Farm" [1945] re-set in the modern indoor corporate milieu.
L i n k s
Organizational Behavior books catalog at Amazon
search 'business + drama' movies on DVD at Amazon
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