Gabriel Over the White House (1933)

Love it or hate it -- and there are plenty who will fall into both camps -- Gabriel Over the White House is an unbelievable viewing experience, with the word "unbelievable" very carefully chosen. This is one of those films that you watch with your mouth constantly falling open in wonder at what you're seeing on the screen. Not visually, mind you, for there's not much in Gabriel that is of particular visual inventiveness; it's the audacity of the filmmakers in creating a picture like this that makes one watch in fascination. That audacity counts for a lot, for much of the screenplay of Gabriel is clunky and mechanical. The plot, as one might gather, is simply incredible, and it's presented in a kind of simplistic connect-the-dots manner (which, though it doesn't give the film any points for subtlety, does add to its undeniable power.) A person's reaction to Gabriel will ultimately depend on whether s/he can buy its premise that a dictatorship that destroys everything America is founded on is A-ok, so long as the dictator is a "good" one. But even those who have some trouble with this dubious premise should be swept along by Walter Huston's stunning, mesmerizing performance. His work here is among his finest, and it's to his credit that he makes the crackpot theories expounded herein come across as almost acceptable. Gregory LaCava's direction is spirited and he gives the impression of believing in the material -- which is essential in this case. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide