The Power and the Prize

Cliff Barton (Robert Taylor) risks his career over love and business in this Oscar® -nominated* adaptation of Howard Swiggett’s best-selling novel.

Engaged to the niece of George Salt (Burl Ives), his ruthless boss and mentor, vice chairman Barton is sent to London, where he’s been ordered to trick a firm into a merger and take control of their company. Asked by Mrs. Salt (Mary Astor) to check out a local charity project, Barton meets its director, Austrian refugee Miriam Linka (Elisabeth Mueller), and the two soon fall in love.

So when he returns home without a deal and abruptly breaks his engagement, an enraged Salt sets out to use rumors of Linka’s past to force Barton’s resignation. The first b&w film shot in CinemaScope®, The Power and the Prize also marked the Hollywood debut of Swiss actress Mueller. Despite rave reviews, she would make only a few more films before devoting herself to the theater.

* Costume Design (Black–and-White), 1956