“I’m sure the first time I saw the White House was in the back of a movie theater.”
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It’s tradition (not to mention a really great perk) that every President sees movies in the plush movie theater while he’s residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Reports of the films each president watches tend to find their way into the press and usually feature movies with the of the day. Barack Obama watched La La Land, George W. Bush watched Seabiscuit, Bill Clinton watched The Age of Innocence; you get the idea. Jimmy Carter was no exception. The first movie he ever saw as commander-in-chief was All the President’s Men, a telling choice as he was elected as the man who could move the country away from some of the dark times spotlighted in that film.
But Carter wasn’t just a movie lover who liked to put on the latest new release; he was a bona fide cinephile who balanced then-current titles with those of yesteryear. With a wide range of film tastes from different genres and decades, Carter was a man who truly loved the power of cinema, both as an art form and a reflection on society. In honor of the 39th President’s farewell, it felt appropriate that we here at Cinapse should honor him with a tribute to some of the classic films he watched while running the country.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)- Tubi
The great Mike Nichols directed the film version of the celebrated Edward Albee play starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as a longtime married couple with a penchant for drinking and verbally tearing each other apart. Nothing could have been the antithesis to the marriage shared by President Carter and First Lady Rosalynn than this wickedly dark dramedy featuring a transformed Taylor and Burton. The pair are a tour-de-force as George and Martha, trading verbal swings as if they were in a tennis match while their guests (George Segal and Sandy Dennis) look on in disbelief. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? “is” a brilliant watch, especially the closer it inches to the reasons for George and Martha’s relationship. To this day, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? remains a high point for its skilled director and equally superb cast.
Roman Holiday (1953)- MGM+
It’s hard to imagine a better star-making turn than the one Audrey Hepburn had in Roman Holliday. In her first major role, the young actress plays a princess who decides to leave the confines of her royal life and go on an adventure through Rome with an American reporter (Gregory Peck). Roman Holliday is a sumptuous movie experience if there ever was one and has been paid tribute to in many other films, most notably Notting Hill. The William Wyler-directed film is funny at times and incredibly romantic in others with the two leads (especially the Oscar-winning Hepburn) sharing some fantastic chemistry. It’s hard not to see some parallels between Hepburn’s character and Carter, himself notorious for foregoing forms of protocol he didn’t like and eventually paying for it in the press.
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)- Peacock, Pluto TV, PLEX, Prime
Carter’s memorable career as a naval officer had to have inspired him to check out The Best Years of Our Lives. Released the very year the future President entered the Navy, the film follows three WWII servicemen, each of whom has been affected by the war, as they return home to the lives they left behind. Again directed by William Wyler, The Best Years of Our Lives remains one of the most stark films ever made about the aftereffects of war. While most homefront-set films during this era focused on upbeat patriotism, this one opted to look at the result of combat on the men who were there; physical, mental, and otherwise. It was a bold move for a studio film, especially one covered in melodrama wrapping. But it was the movie that needed to be made.
The Apartment (1960)- Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel
I love that the movie I watch every New Year’s Day was also chosen by President Carter to screen at the White House. Billy Wilder’s New York-set story about an insurance clerk (Jack Lemmon) who falls for an elevator operator (Shirley MacLaine), while letting married executives use his apartment building for their trysts, was an instant classic and remains one of the greatest American films ever made. The movie was daring for its day, using adultery as a plot point in quite a flagrant manner. But the film is also witty, charming, wise, and boasts great lines such as MacLaine saying: “When you’re in love with a married man, you shouldn’t wear mascara.” It’s hard not to see a little bit of the incredibly moral Carter in Lemmon’s C.C. Baxter, a genuinely good guy who comes to decide he’s not going to play the game that the institution he’s in expects him to.
To Catch a Thief (1955)- MGM+, Paramount+
The most romantic movie Hitchcock ever made was just one of a few titles from the master of suspense that was screened at the Carter White House. 1955’s To Catch a Thief is about a retired cat burglar (Cary Grant) living on the French Riviera who recruits an American heiress (Grace Kelly) to help find out who is trying to frame him. It might be safe to assume that, besides the romance of the film, it was the dreamy exotic locale that appealed to the Caters. Famously born and raised in Plains, Ga, it wouldn’t be until Jimmy’s naval career took them to places like Hawaii that the couple began to see the world before his father’s death brought them back home. To Catch a Thief‘s lush European backdrop is part of the reason the movie is such an escapist adventure with its two stars (at their most photogenic) exchanging some pretty crackling dialogue in one of Hitchcock’s most playful cinematic outings.
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)- Prime, Philo, AMC+
Reported to be President Carter’s favorite movie, this late 60s caper has earned the right to be called iconic. Steve McQueen stars as a wealthy executive/bank robber, while Faye Dunaway is the insurance investigator determined to bring him down. As a caper movie, The Thomas Crown Affair delivers with an ingenious central heist that’s always a thrill to watch as are the various twists that happen in its aftermath. Meanwhile, the romance of the film remains as scintillating as ever thanks to the sexy cat-and-mouse game the two main characters engage in, reaching peak hotness with that chess scene. The dazzling parade of costumes Dunaway wears, an Oscar-winning theme song, and an ending that the 1999 remake had nothing on, make this one of the coolest films of the decade.
When the President was hospitalized in 2019 due to bleeding in his brain, I came across a tweet that read: “Once Jimmy Carter dies, it’ll be a whole week before he gets back to building houses.” The humor of the tweet achieved its aim, but it was also an on-point tribute to the man himself and how his mission in life extended beyond the moniker of #39. Carter was a visionary, an empath, a believer, and one of those rare souls who seemed to be authentically himself 100% of the time.
I was born a year after he left office so it wasn’t until I was older that I began to learn and appreciate the man who wanted so much for our country, and the world. Of all the aspects to admire about President Carter, it was his level of gumption and steadfast determination that inspired me in my adult years and the belief that nothing could happen to me that I would not be able to handle. For the example he set throughout a well-lived lifetime, I am forever grateful. Thank you, Mr. President.
