Putney Swope movie poster

"Putney Swope, the 1969 indie film by satiric playwright, screenwriter and movie director Robert Downey Sr. (yes, the father of film star Robert Downey Jr.), is a clash of social commentary and unbridled comedy. In 2016 it was selected by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress citing that it is 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant'. What an understatement! Swope is a scathing, taboo-busting, hysterical farce about the foibles of the American advertising industry particularly referring to the racial prejudices of the times (and since). The plot turns on the concept that a predominantly white-shoe (emphasis on white) Madison Avenue ad agency's chairman suddenly drops dead and is splayed out on the boardroom table and Putney Swope, the company's token Black ad exec (played by Arnold Johnson, who was later featured on "Sanford & Son," "Family Matters" and the movie Shaft), is unintentionally elected as the new chairman. A cultural revolution ensues." —Steve Heller, Print, July 12, 2020 https://www.printmag.com/post/the-daily-heller-putney-swope-revolutionary-mad-man