Henry Fonda for President

Few people on earth have as deep a knowledge of film history as Alexander Horwath, former director of the Filmmuseum Vienna, who made his feature film debut with Henry Fonda for President. It is a rich, sprawling essay that takes the figure of the legendary actor (star of classics such as Young Lincoln, The Grapes of Wrath and Twelve Angry Men), the prototypical "good American", to journey through 20th century America and its vicissitudes: from the civil rights struggle to the height of the Cold War. An enriching and entertaining film, as Hollywood movies once were long ago. (JHE)