# First evil multinational corporation to appear in a movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934 "2011-02-02T19:47:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/1 "2011-02-02T19:47:00Z")
It’s become a cliche by now, but in what movie did an EMNC first appear? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/2 "2011-02-02T20:01:38Z")
Does Spectre count? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/3 "2011-02-02T20:44:34Z")
In \*\*Our Man Flint \*\* the villain turned out to be The Telephone Company. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/4 "2011-02-02T20:49:10Z")
Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” from 1927? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/5 "2011-02-02T20:56:05Z")
Oooh, no no no! I wanna change my answer. How about [_A Corner in Wheat_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Corner_in_Wheat) by D.W. Griffith made in 1909? I’ve seen it too! ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/6 "2011-02-02T21:31:00Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > In \*\*Our Man Flint \*\* the villain turned out to be … I believe you’re thinking of **The President’s Analyst**. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/7 "2011-02-02T22:36:40Z")
The first multinational corporation I can think of that was explicitly referred to as such was CCA, the megacorp behind UBS, the network in _Network_. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/8 "2011-02-02T23:04:45Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > The first multinational corporation I can think of that was explicitly referred to as such was CCA, the megacorp behind UBS, the network in _Network_. I think that _Roller-ball_ and _Silent Movie_ were released earlier than _Network_ and had mega-corps as the villains. _Mega Corp studio Engulf & Devour_ in Mel Brooks’ _Silent Movie_. 🙂 I would think that any early movie dealing with the American revolution that mentioned the Mother of the Modern Multinationals, the _ **East India Company** _, would qualify. So far, and if we can get confirmation, **Two Many Cats** has the earliest movie with am evil corporation, but was the corporation multinational? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/9 "2011-02-02T23:07:33Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > In \*\*Our Man Flint \*\* the villain turned out to be > > The Telephone Company. > [@Bytegeist](#): > > I believe you’re thinking of **The President’s Analyst**. James Coburn in In Like Flint and The President’s Analyst both 1967 spy spoofs. Our Man Flint was 1966. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/10 "2011-02-03T00:21:55Z")
Were there any multinational corporations in real life before the mid-20th Century? ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/11 "2011-02-03T00:43:01Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Were there any multinational corporations in real life before the mid-20th Century? East India Company springs to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/12 "2011-02-03T01:23:53Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > I believe you’re thinking of **The President’s Analyst**. :smack: same star. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/13 "2011-02-03T01:39:15Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > East India Company springs to mind. Are we defining “multinational corporation” by multinational operations or multinational ownership? Not that it matters for dramatic purposes. As we have seen, the EI(T)C does very well for a movie villain. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/14 "2011-02-03T03:42:40Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > So far, and if we can get confirmation, **Two Many Cats** has the earliest movie with am evil corporation, but was the corporation multinational? Well, Wikipedia does say the villain was trying to corner the world market in wheat. I suppose you have to have international connections to do that. It’s based on the book _The Pit_, which was a muckraker type of novel about the stock exchange. I saw the movie, but I can’t say for certain that the corporation being multinational was ever mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/15 "2011-02-03T14:25:55Z")
Come to think of it, the East India Co. is the EMNC in the last two _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movies. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/16 "2011-02-03T14:31:12Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Were there any multinational corporations in real life before the mid-20th Century? The IMMC, which owned the White Star Line, which in turn owned the _Titanic_, was established in 1902 by a consortium of American and British shipping execs. It had profit-sharing agreements with German shipping lines, too. Despite not having enough lifeboats aboard its best-known liner, it wasn’t terribly evil. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International\_Mercantile\_Marine\_Co](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mercantile_Marine_Co). ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/17 "2011-02-03T16:03:48Z")
Standard Oil. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/18 "2011-02-03T17:03:11Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > Standard Oil. True. I see it was marketing oil in China in the 1890s; hadn’t known that before: [Standard Oil Company - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_oil#Standard_Oil_In_China) ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-evil-multinational-corporation-to-appear-in-a-movie/569934/19 "2011-02-03T17:28:17Z")
While I don’t know which evil corporation was first in the movies, or which one is the most evil, I am certain that the one with the best name is “The Very Big Corporation of America” from Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame’s short film, “The Crimson Permanent Assurance.” 😃