A New Film Examines the Godfather of Modern Conservatism

Possessed of twinkling eyes, quick wit, and a wide, crooked smile, Buckley became the erudite symbol of his cause, especially once he launched his PBS debate series, “Firing Line,” in 1966. “He rendered palatable a set of authoritarian ideas that cultured people didn’t want to see themselves entertaining,” the historian and author Rick Perlstein, who appears in the film and has chronicled the conservative movement in books including “Before the Storm” and “Nixonland,” said in a video interview.

Some of the best recent works on Buckley have focused on his famous public debates. “The Fire Is Upon Us” (2019), by Nicholas Buccola (who also appears in the film), looks at Buckley’s 1965 debate with James Baldwin at the Cambridge Union Society in England, which is featured in “The Incomparable Mr. Buckley.” The topic: “The American Dream Is at the Expense of the American Negro.” Baldwin won the vote in a landslide, though Buckley would maintain that he won the debate.

Then there is “Best of Enemies: Buckley vs. Vidal,” a 2015 documentary about the televised debates between Buckley and Gore Vidal, who were chosen by ABC to discuss their respective parties’ 1968 political conventions.

These debates, also covered in the new film, turned rancorous. Vidal, liberal, openly gay and as mischievous and quick on his feet as his opponent, arrived ready to poke the bear. As discussion turned to the showdown between protesters and the Chicago police at the Democratic National Convention, Vidal called Buckley a “crypto-Nazi” and mocked his war record. Buckley, clearly rattled, responded by calling Vidal a “queer” and threatening to sock him.

The moment remains raw, real, riveting television, with none of the bonhomie on display when Buckley squared off on “Firing Line” with, say, Norman Mailer, a staunch liberal who considered Buckley a friend. It’s the rare public moment in which Buckley’s polished surface cracked.

“You saw the street brawler side of Buckley there,” Goodman said. “He didn’t do it on his TV show very much, but when you push the right buttons you see it.”