PUTNEY SWOPE

Sunday, November 13
The 33rd Annual Olympia Film Festival presents
PUTNEY SWOPE
2:30pm

After several years working along the margins of the underground film scene, director Robert Downey Sr. broke through to wider recognition with the arthouse hit Putney Swope, a wildly irreverent satire of race and advertising in America. Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson) is the token African-American executive at an otherwise all-white advertising agency when the chairman of the board unexpectedly drops dead. Through a fluke in the chain of command, Swope becomes the new head of the firm, and decides its time to do things his way. Hilarious and iconoclastic, The Coen Brothers, Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle and Paul Thomas Anderson are all big fans. Louis CK said, “Putney Swope was my first big inspiration.” Don’t miss this rare screening of Robert Downey’s funniest and most beloved film.
Director: Robert Downey Sr. / 1969 / US / 84 min