The Campagne Safari

Running time: N/A

If power is the strongest aphrodisiac then The Champagne Safari is the finest portrait of sexual-prowess going. One of our century's most entertaining and intriguing figures, Charles Bedaux lived the Horatio Alger story and became a towering figure of political and commercial influence. Using footage of a bizarre Bedaux-led safari as the metaphor of our hero's psyche, the film unveils an unbelievable life story: Son of a lower-middle class family in France, Bedaux gave pimping a whirl before taking the emigrant's journey to the United States. Landing in Manhattan, Charles worked on one of the most grueling and dangerous public industrial projects of the day: helping dig tunnels for the NYC Subway system. Like many a blue-collar worker, his labors left him with a feeling that things could be run a whole lot better. Bedaux set forth to develop a system that would improve the efficiency of labor: the results were a revolutionary human efficiency system rooted in the infamous 'B unit' of productivity measure. Simply put, Bedaux figured out a way to mobilize workers through empowered site foreman and specialization. Bedaux shopped his theory around, found many a taker, and became rich and famous as a man who helped corporate tycoons make cash by improving efficiency. Even more fascinating than the way he made his fortune, is what he did with it: Charles became one of the world's most desirable celebrities. Most every political and entertainment leader wanted to be a part of Bedaux's inner circle, and this inner circle lead him into one of the most notorious scandals in modern history.--Al Owens