Themes: Rise and Fall Stories, Rise To Power, Political Corruption
Main Cast: Broderick Crawford, John Derek, Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge
Release Year: 1949
Country: US
Run Time: 109 minutes
Plot
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Robert Penn Warren, All the King's Men is a roman à clef inspired by the career of Louisiana governor Huey Long. Broderick Crawford won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Willie Stark, a backwoods Southern lawyer who wins the hearts of his constituents by bucking the corrupt state government. Journalist Jack Burden (John Ireland) is impressed by Willie's seeming sincerity, and aids Stark on the road to political power. Once he's reached the governor's mansion, however, Willie proves himself to be as dishonest and despotic as the crooks whom he's replaced. He also cheats shamelessly on his wife with both his campaign manager (Mercedes McCambridge, another Oscar winner) and with Anne Stanton (Joanne Dru), the sister of idealistic doctor Adam Stanton (Sheppard Strudwick). Fiercely protective of his power, Willie organizes a fascistic police force and arranges for "accidents" to befall those who oppose him; even so, he retains the love of the voters by lowering the poverty level, improving the school system, and financing building projects. Even when Willie all but orchestrates the suicide of Anne's uncle, a highly respected judge (Raymond Greenleaf), those closest to him are unable to escape his power and the charismatic hold he has over people. Stockton, CA, stands in for the unnamed state capitol where most of the film's action occurs. In addition to its Oscars for Crawford and McCambridge, All the King's Men won the Best Picture prize. Warren's novel would later be adapted into a stage play, a TV special, and even an opera. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
As a powerful indictment of modern politics, All the King's Men represents a landmark in the maturation of United States cinema. It is dominated by the dynamic performance of Broderick Crawford as Willie Stark, a thinly disguised version of real-life populist demagogue Huey Long. In an era that was still churning out feel-good political dramas like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, audiences were shocked by the confrontational realism of a film that said not only that the American political system was corrupt but also that, absent the intervention of violence, it would remain corrupt. It has many cinematic descendants, most notably the similarly named All the President's Men about a real-life corrupt politician, and the observable fact of history that at least in this case, that the checks and balances did work to remove the corrupt official in ways that they did not for Huey Long. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
All The King's Men is the story of the rise of politician Willie Stark from a rural county seat to the governor's mansion. Along the way, he loses his innocence, and becomes just as corrupt as the politicians he once fought against. The main story is a thinly disguised version of the rise and assassination of real-life 1930s Louisiana Governor, Huey Long. Also included is the romance between one of his "right hand women" and the up-and-coming journalist who brings Stark to prominence.
Rossen originally offered the starring role to John Wayne, who found the proposed film script unpatriotic and indignantly refused the part. Crawford, who eventually took the role, won the 1949 Academy Award for Best Actor, beating out Wayne, who had been nominated for his role in Sands of Iwo Jima.
The film was shot at various locations, out in California, using local residents, something that was fairly unknown for Hollywood at the time.[1]
In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. To date, it is the last Best Picture winner to be based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
References
^Higham, Charles; Greenberg, Joel (1968). Hollywood in the Fourties. London: A. Zwemmer Limited. p. 79. ISBNNot Given.
