View from behind people sitting in a movie theater

Film showing: Putney Swope (1969)

Join the CWRU Film Society Saturday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. for showings of Putney Swope (1969). Written and directed by the late Robert Downey Sr., this seminal comedy satirizes the advertising world, the portrayal of race in Hollywood films, the white power structure, and the nature of corporate corruption.

Showings will be held in Strosacker Auditorium and are open to the Case Western Reserve University community as well as the general public. Admission is $4, and concessions are available for purchase. Register for tickets in advance on CWRU Film Society’s CampusGroups page. Masking is mandatory for all attendees.

Synopsis

Assuming he is incapable of winning, all of the members of a prestigious Madison Avenue advertising firm accidentally vote to appoint the company’s only Black executive, Putney Swope, as chairman of the board. His unexpected win behind him, Swope changes the company’s name to “Truth and Soul, Inc.,” fires nearly all of its elderly white employees, and focuses solely on creating subversive, outlandish and shocking campaigns. As the company is catapulted to new heights of success, Swope finds that he has drawn the ire of the U.S. president, who seeks to declare him and his renegade staff a threat to national security.