The editing is very 1950s in a bad way in a few places (disorienting cuts), but it's mainly just okay and a bit antiquated in that regard. I found that the drama lands, though, and they have two great leads in Sinatra and Laurence Harvey, the latter of whom possesses that extinct and uniquely urbane American Mid-Atlantic accent that you could just listen to all day. And Lansbury is effortless.

I was worried that, having been born decades after it was made, that I wouldn't understand the satire. That wasn't entirely a problem, though the dryness of the delivery and primitive presentation of so many B&W films of this era did make me a little uncertain how to take the top of scenes at the beginning of the film, though they were clear once they hit their dramatic mini-climaxes. Actually, I had the same problem with _Doctor Strangelove_ when I watched it years ago... and it really did not land for me. But then, I am about half a century removed from actual Nazis and the death of Black & White (though I had no problem with _Casablanca_ when I was ten-ish). This I found more or less straightforward in its satire. Still, it's astounding how much clearer films are with modern film-making techniques, both technological/technical and directorially.

I did foresee the outcome of the last twist coming, though I wasn't certain of it. It still had the intended effect, though, suspense and all. I admit that I'm still entirely confused regarding Janet Leigh's character. I actually don't know if she even really existed due to how bizarre all of their dialogue was. I may have to watch those scenes again, because I am certain that, despite understanding everything else regarding the mindfuckery and geopolitics plot points, that I can only suspect what was going on there and that I absolutely missed something, because I was left waiting for a slipper to materialize and drop... and yet nothing ever came of it. Did they do sequel-baiting back then?

In the end, it's the kind of thing that can only be judged fully decades after its release, in how meaningful it is, since it has so much forward-looking potential relevance. I imagine it might have seemed pretty crazily far-fetched at the time. No, not the Pavlovian Soviet brainwashing— I mean that 'The Communist Axis' would place a vice presidential candidate in position to take the White House. And yet now we've had a Muscovite one 'win' twice as the Presidential candidate. They got it completely right about him being a moronic puppet, though.

I have come to the revelation the past few years that stupidity is just another variety of evil. The best supporting evidence I can think of as of this week is that the terms 'idiocracy' and 'kakistocracy' can be used entirely interchangeably in most cases. Go ahead. Try it.