10 Movies to watch when you're missing Mad Men, Part 2

The next two movies on my list of Mad Men-like fare are: 8) Executive Suite (1954) and 7)The Hucksters (1947). In Executive Suite, the President of a large furniture corporation dies suddenly in the street. His underlings vie for who will be the next President. Backstabbing, blackmailing and general skullduggery ensue. The all-star cast includes Barbara Stanwyck, as the daughter of the firm's founder, who'd been in a difficult relationship with the newly deceased, Fredric March as the firm's comptroller, who seems to be strong-arming his way to the top, and William Holden, who stars as a handsome and idealistic young designer who isn't even sure he wants to be President.

The Hucksters stars Clark Gable and the parallels with Mad Men are quite evident. Gable plays an ad man newly returned from the war, and looking for a job to get him back in the game. Among his responsibilities at the job he acquires are appeasing an obnoxious client (played by Sydney Greenstreet), and reining in an equally obnoxious comic for whom he gets a TV show. He also, throughout the film, vacillates between a beautiful, brassy brunette (played by Ava Gardner) and an elegant, icy blonde (played by Deborah Kerr). Enjoy!