Executive Suite is a drama from 1954 with a marvelous cast and a legendary director in Robert Wise. This film was the first non-sci-fi or horror film from Robert Wise that I had the pleasure of watching. I had already been a fan of The Day the Earth Stood Still, Body Snatcher and The Haunting, but I hadn’t been properly introduced to some of his classics until later. I probably first saw Executive Suite from the Barbara Stanwyck DVD box set from 2010 and have owned this movie in a few DVD incarnations and now on Blu-ray.

From Warner’s press release: “The president of Tredway Corp. has unexpectedly died. Long live the new president. But who will the exec be? There’s no official line of succession…and so the shady deals and insider backstabbing begin. Boardroom and boudoir politics play out in this star-packed tail of corporate machinations directed by the great Robert Wise (The Sound of Music, The Set-Up). A bottom-line opportunist (Fredric March), and an idealistic manufacturing VP (William Holden) emerge as leading candidates for the top post. But while power-suited men maneuver, a woman (Barbara Stanwyck) may have the most clout. She’s the founder’s daughter and the company’s major stockholder…and may be the velvet power behind the Tredway throne.”

Executive Suite is a highly enjoyable, entertaining melodrama, with the all-star cast, basically loaded with screen icons and screen legends that gives us outstanding top-notch performances. The cast includes Barbara Stanwyck (Night Nurse, My Reputation), Fredric March (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Desperate Hours), William Holden (The Wild Bunch, Sabrina), Walter Pidgeon (Forbidden Planet, Advise & Consent), Shelly Winters (Night of the Hunter, Odds Against Tomorrow, He Ran All the Way), Paul Douglas(Clash by Night, A Letter to Three Wives), Dean Jagger(X, the Unknown, When Strangers Marry), June Allyson (The Glenn Miller Story), Nina Foch (My Name is Julia Ross, Escape in the Fog) and Louis Calhern (The Man with a Cloak, The Asphalt Jungle).

What else can be said about Robert Wise? He was a brilliant director, and I am a big fan of his work!

Many collectors may be aware that this film had been reported of one of many DVDs that literally stopped playing. It was re-released via DVDr via the Warner Archive Collection. Now, to my and others pleasant surprise, Executive Suite arrives on Blu-ray from Warner Archive with a “New 2025 1080p HD Master from 4K Scan of the Original Camera Negative”. Yes, the image is the usual magic that Warner always does, the blacks look nice and dark, whites are crisp and clear, and the greyscale is balanced as one would expect. In a nutshell, it is a beautiful black and white image. This is easily an upgrade from any DVD or DVDr that Warner has offered for this film in the past. No print damages of any kind were detected, and no use of DNR was applied. Film grain is present throughout. Even better than that, to sweeten the pot, Executive Suite is now presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio. You can now view the movie the way it was meant to be seen, looking the best that it ever has.

For the audio, the English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono is nothing short of fantastic. Dialogue is crisp and clean that is easy to follow.  The film has virtually no music and is all about the dialogue, save for a loud bell noise that occurs at the beginning, the end and one major moment in the movie. Phones ringing, doors slamming and other background noises come in fine without any disruption to the actors’ speaking to one another. There are no issues with age-old anomalies such as hiss, crackle, pops, or flutter to be found. English SDH subtitles are offered.

Bonus features include a commentary track by Oliver Stone which is ported over from the DVD.

Also part of the supplemental package is a classic Tom and Jerry cartoon entitled “Hic-Cup Pip” , a Pete Smith Specialty “Do Someone a Favor”, and the original theatrical trailer.

I truly feel this is the best release for Executive Suite, ever. The amazingly clear audio and video, plus a few supplements make this release another highly recommended one!

Executive Suite

Director – Robert Wise

Cast- William Holden, June Allyson, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March

Country of Origin-USA

Distributor – Warner Archive/ Warner Home Video

Number of Discs –1

Reviewed by – David Steigman

Date- 6/23/2025