All The King’s Men (1949) – A small town “honest man” politician is destroyed by the perils of power and popularity. His rise and fall will destroy the lives of those who are closest to him and believe in him the most. Based on the Pullitzer Prize winning novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren.
Directed by Robert Rossen Starring: Broderick Crawford, Mercedes McCambridge
Based loosely on the life of Louisiana political boss Huey “Kingfish” Long, the movie weaves through the pitfalls of populist hero politicians. Looking back at my list, it seems like a lot of political movies have popped up recently and that is not intentional. At the same time, it may be an appropriate time to remember when we have gone through this process before. Like Long, Broderick Crawford’s Willie Stark will come to a violent end. The debate continues in Louisiana about how much Long was hero and how much dictator.
This role won Crawford an Oscar for Best Actor, plus the movie picked up Best Motion Picture, and Best Supporting Actress for McCambridge, who played the cynical political operative who falls for her boss. The movie is sharp and cynical, with a strong sexual undertone that gives it credentials to be noir (another streak I seem to be on at the moment). The movie’s history tells an interesting story as well. Director Rossen liked a spontaneous feel, so the cast wasn’t given a script. They saw the pages about to be shot, then had them taken away to make up the scene as they could. A lot of the exteriors were shot in Stockton, CA, where locals were given basic direction and then let loose. What resulted was a massive amount of film that didn’t all come together in the editing suite. With 250 minutes of movie cobbled together it was clear cutting needed fixed. Robert Parrish was brought in and told to pick out what he thought was the center of each scene. Then he was to cut it 100 feet before that moment and 100 feet after, no matter what was going on. The result was 109 minutes of Oscar worthy film.
John Wayne rejected the Willie Starks role, letting his personal politics get in the way. He thought the movie was terrible because of criticism of government and the people in it. Instead he chose to do the classic war movie “Sands of Iwo Jima”, which ultimately put him head to head with Crawford for the Oscar.
Why I Liked It : Once again a political move that’s almost 70 years old holds the mirror up to our present day. The motivations of the characters (and their behavior) look familiar. Crawford is outstanding as the man who can convince himself, and all around him, that the ends justify the means.
Why You Will Like It: A great cast of actors mostly unknown to audiences under the age of 50. They swirl around Crawford’s Stark like moths to a flame. With much the same result.
Rating – **** Recommended
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