Robert Redford wears a Rolex Submariner

Bill McKay agrees to run for the U.S. Senate because he expects to lose. Michael Ritchie's The Candidate (1972) follows Robert Redford's character from idealistic legal-aid lawyer to polished political product, the change happening one speech at a time as his handlers file down the edges.

The Rolex Submariner ref. 1680 on McKay's wrist was Redford's own watch. The 1680 was the first Submariner with a date, and in its early form it carried the red "Submariner" text on the dial; by the early 1970s the model had crossed from dive tool to status piece. Because it was Redford's own and not the production's, it carries no message about McKay at all. In The Candidate it gets no close-up and no line of dialogue, a private detail on a man being turned into a public product.