Rod Serling, a master of speculative scriptwriting, penned the screenplay of The Man. Set a few days into the future, the story contrives to kill off the President, the vice president, and virtually everyone in line of succession in a bizarre accident. This turn of events elevates African-American senator
James Earl Jones directly into the Oval Office. Based on a novel by
Irving Wallace, The Man was originally intended as TV movie, but released theatrically because most sponsors were afraid of its supposed controversial content. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide