How bizarre 1969 spy thriller The Chairman pitted Gregory Peck against Mao over ping-pong
The Cold War thriller starring Gregory Peck features a surreal encounter with Chairman Mao and a prescient warning about climate change
Instead of the enemy within, the film rattled with anxieties about communist China’s scientific capabilities. It was hardly the sexiest of subjects for a spy thriller – which was reflected in its poor box office showing – but it provided a fascinating insight into real-life East-West relations.
Originally developed for Frank Sinatra by writer Jay Richard Kennedy, it was ultimately scripted by Ben Maddow and directed by J. Lee Thompson. The latter had worked with Peck on the rather more gung-ho World War II film The Guns of Navarone (1961).
The plot concerns a new enzyme, developed by Professor Soong Li (Chinese-American actor Keye Luke), that enables crops to grow in any climate. American scientist Dr John Hathaway (Peck), his former colleague, is tasked with following Soong to China to bring back the formula.
However, Hathaway’s military handlers, led by Lieutenant General Shelby (Arthur Hill), have implanted a recording device in his skull with a secret explosive element that will detonate if he fails. As Shelby puts it: “Think any sane man would walk into China with a loaded bomb screwed into his head?”