Executive Suite Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Executive Suite Blu-ray Movie Review

Holden all the cards.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 17, 2025

I hate corporate culture... but that's fine, because Robert Wise's underrated Executive Suite does too. This lean and efficient "business ethics" drama follows a turbulent weekend for the furniture company Tredway after an unexpected tragedy forces an immediate change in leadership. Naturally, a handful of likely candidates jockey for position, each one for different reasons, with a majority of board votes required to grab that brass ring. Highlighted by a terrific ensemble cast, excellent production design, and efficient direction, Executive Suite boldly cuts right to the chase in its opening moments and lets its story unfold gradually as the tension slowly builds to a fever pitch.

Opening with an unforegettable first-person sequence that feels like one take, Executive Suite literally puts us in the shoes of Tredway Corporation president Avery Bullard (Raoul Freeman, whose face is only seen once from a distance) as he departs a New York investment office late Friday afternoon for a last-minute 6:00 executive meeting back in PA. After sending a telegram and stepping outside to hail a taxi, Bullard drops dead from a stroke and his wallet is stolen. A crowd gathers as paramedics arrive to eventually pronounce him dead, but the only people able to identify Bullard are those at the meeting he just left: financier Julius Steigel (Edgar Stehl) and Tredway board member Nyle Caswell (Louis Calhern), who witness the event from an office high above. Caswell, ever the capitalist vulture, immediately short-sells 3,700 shares of Tredwell stock, anticipating a nosedive when the market opens on Monday morning.

So begins the chess game of Executive Suite, as Bullard's fate remains unknown to everyone but Steigel and Caswell for the first third of the movie. He never shows up to that emergency 6:00 meeting, of course, where attendees like controller Loren Shaw (Fredric March), treasurer Frederick Alderson (Walter Pidgeon), VP of sales Walter Dudley (Paul Douglas), VP of manufacturing Jesse Grimm (Dean Jagger), and research & development head Don Walling (William Holden), all recruited by Bullard's faithful secretary Erica Martin (Nina Foch), can only guess what the meeting would have been about. Perhaps an executive VP would finally be chosen? Maybe something to do with the founder's stoic daughter Julia Tredway (Barbara Stanwyck), heir to her dad's company? Either way, the attendees eventually scatter home for the weekend, where each of them finally learns the truth about Bullard in their own time.

As Executive Suite unfolds, each potential candidate makes their pitch for Bullard's vacant job. Profits-over-people Shaw is the first to assume control even through he hasn't been appointed by a majority vote yet, while level-headed Walling and soon-to-be retired Alderson team up to ensure the company doesn't go in that direction. Domestic avenues are explored along the way, such as the role of Walling's dutiful wife Mary (June Allyson) and their precocious son Mike (Tim Considine), whose Little League game eventually doubles as an allegory for the situation. All the while, Caswell stews over the very real possibility that his insider trading will come back to haunt him, his trophy wife (Lucille Knoch, whose character isn't even given a first name) seemingly couldn't care less either way, and Julia Treadway struggles to cope with her future role in the company that dear old Dad built rather than raise a family. These all might seem like melodramatic time-fillers, but Executive Suite's balance of stuffy office exchanges, domestic life, and personal drama adds weight to the inevitable courtroom-like board meeting where Treadway's new president will be voted in.

Executive Suite holds interest because it's easy to care about the majority of its characters, as all but maybe one or two are painted with fairly specific strokes rather than broad ones. Wise -- whose directing career ran the gamut from Curse of the Cat People to The Set-Up, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Sound of Music, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture -- keeps things taut from start to finish, from that unforgettable opener to one of the most engaging boardroom meetings you'll even sit it on. While its ultimately optimistic tone feels questionable and of-the-moment, we still want to believe it and that's what makes Executive Suite such an enduring crowd pleaser. It still plays well more than 70 years after its theatrical release, and especially so thanks to Warner Archive's reliably great restoration efforts.

Executive Suite Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Warner Archive's outstanding new restoration of Executive Suite is all business. Truth be told their 2013 DVD was no slouch for its time, but this new 1080p transfer was sourced from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative and looks like a million bucks. Maybe more. The boutique label's commitment to authenticity is evident from start to finish, as the 1.75:1 framed picture retains a visible amount of organic film grain and excellent fine detail, textures, and deep blacks. There's one brief scene less than 20 minutes in at the county morgue where clarity takes a small hit; this may either be due to a lesser source material during this small section or a facet of the original photography. Maybe a slight optical zoom? Other than that (as well as a bit of shimmering on tweed suits and other highly detailed fabrics, which are probably just too much for 1080p), this is quite simply one of the finest visual presentation from the era I've seen to date, much of it due to Executive Suite's excellent production design and cinematography which includes great time-capsule footage of NY, ornate office interiors, and plenty of stunning mid-century home furnishings.

Executive Suite Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio also pulls its weight but isn't a showy affair since, aside from stray sound effects and occasional background ambiance like city streets, office activity, and the Little League game, the film's sonics are basically limited to dialogue exchanges that sound great. Executive Suite is unusual in that it doesn't have any music, which is kind of amusing because in hindsight it's easy to falsely remember that several on-the- nose cues kick in at specific moments even though they actually don't. So while there's not much to this mix, that doesn't prevent it from earning perfect marks since it really couldn't sound any better than it does here.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

Executive Suite Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed artwork and a few (mostly carryover) extras.

• Audio Commentary - This surprise legacy track features none other than polarizing filmmaker Oliver Stone, who not-so-surprisingly serves up a scene-specific audio commentary that you'll either love or hate. It's loaded with sociopolitical jabs at corporate America, of course, yet also balanced out with praise for the characters, story, and even some of the sentiment. I enjoyed this one, but again it's a matter of opinion.

• Do Someone A Favor! (9:02) - This 1954 Pete Smith Specialty short follows hapless Good Samaritan George Dibson (Dave O'Brien, Reefer Madness) as his good deeds continuously cause trouble.

• Hic-Cup Pup (6:23) - Replacing a solid Tex Avery short on the DVD, this great 1952 Tom and Jerry cartoon features Tyke, son of Spike, who's awakened one too many times by our favorite duo. It's yet another variation on the Oscar-winning 1945 Quiet Please, and doesn't reach the same heights but is still fun anyway.

• Original Theatrical Trailer (3:11) - This vintage promotional piece can also be seen here.

Executive Suite Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Let's wrap this meeting up: Robert Wise's Executive Suite features a fine ensemble cast, an engaging story, excellent direction, and great production design. It's well worth (re)discovering and Warner Archive's Blu-ray adds support with a top-tier A/V restoration that's among the best I've seen this year on the format. Highly Recommended.