The Candidate (1972)

The Candidate

A political satire starring Robert Redford. Bill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment. (IMDb)

Watches

Rolex Submariner 1680

Worn by Robert Redford as Bill McKay. Redford's personal Red Submariner makes its screen debut, the first entry in what Hodinkee calls his "Red Sub Trilogy" with the same watch reappearing in All the President's Men and The Electric Horseman. Hodinkee identifies the reference directly; Montres de Luxe independently corroborates the model. (Hodinkee; Montres de Luxe) Hodinkee, crediting props to Doug von Koss, notes the original single-enclosure clasp and "what looks to be a riveted bracelet", gives the 1680's run as 1969 to 1975, and offers, as its own best guess from photo research, that Redford bought the watch to mark Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; it times the watch at 00:42:44 as McKay rises from a sofa with his hands to his face, and at 01:33:43 in the television-studio laughing fit, where he sits at a desk with the word Rolex on it, a coincidence the column notes since Rolex does not do product placement. (Hodinkee)

© Warner Bros.