All the King's Men
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All the King's Men
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, RoviReview
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, RoviCast
- Broderick Crawford - Willie Stark
- John Derek - Tom Stark
- Joanne Dru - Anne Stanton
- John Ireland - Jack Burden
- Mercedes McCambridge - Sadie Burke
Credit
Sturges Carne - Art Director, Jean Louis - Costume Designer, Sam Nelson - First Assistant Director, Robert Rossen - Director, Al Clark - Editor, Robert Parrish - Editor, Louis Gruenberg - Composer (Music Score), Clay Campbell - Makeup, Burnett Guffey - Cinematographer, Robert Rossen - Producer, Robert Penn Warren - Screenwriter, Robert Rossen - Screenwriter, Robert Penn Warren - Book Author| All the King's Horses (1935 Film), All the Kind Strangers (1974 Film) | |
| All the King's Men (1999 Film), All the King's Men (2006 Film) |
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All the King's Men
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All the King's Men (1949 film)
This article is about the 1949 film. For other uses, see All the King's Men (disambiguation).
| All the King's Men | |
|---|---|
.jpg) original film poster |
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| Directed by | Robert Rossen |
| Produced by | Robert Rossen |
| Written by | Robert Rossen Robert Penn Warren (novel) |
| Starring | Broderick Crawford John Ireland Joanne Dru John Derek Mercedes McCambridge |
| Music by | Louis Gruenberg |
| Cinematography | Burnett Guffey |
| Editing by | Robert Parrish Al Clark |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 8, 1949 |
| Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.4 million (US)[1] |
All the King's Men is a 1949 drama film based on the Robert Penn Warren novel of the same name. It was directed by Robert Rossen and starred Broderick Crawford in the role of Willie Stark.
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Contents
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Plot
All The King's Men is the story of the rise of politician Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) from a rural county seat to the governor's mansion. He first teaches himself law and becomes a lawyer, championing the local people and gaining popularity. He then decides to go into politics. Along the way he loses his innocence, and becomes 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 a series of complex relationships between a journalist friend who slowly sours to his ways, the journalist's girlfriend (who has an affair with Stark), her brother (a top surgeon), her uncle (a top judge who is appointed AG but eventually resigns).
When his son becomes paralyzed following a drunk driving accident which kills a female passenger, Stark's world starts to unravel and he discovers that not everyone can be bought off.
The story has a complex series of relationships. All is seen through the vexes of the journalist, Jack Burden, who admires Stark and even when disillussioned still sticks by him. Stark's campaign assistant, Sadie (Mercedes McCambridge) is clearly in love with Stark and wants him to leave his wife, Lucy. Meanwhile Stark philanders and gets involved with many women, most notably Jack's own girlfriend, Anne Stanton.
When Stark's reputation is brought into disrepute by Judge Stanton (Anne's uncle) he seeks to blacken his name. When he eventually succeeds the judge commits suicide. Anne seems to forgive him, but her brother, a doctor and the surgeon who helped saved his son's life after the car crash, cannot. The doctor eventually assassinates Stark after he wins an impeachment investigation. The doctor in turn is shot down by Sugar Boy, Stark's fawning assistant.
Cast
- Broderick Crawford — Willie Stark
- John Ireland — Jack Burden
- Joanne Dru — Anne Stanton
- John Derek — Tom Stark
- Mercedes McCambridge — Sadie Burke
- Shepperd Strudwick — Adam Stanton
- Ralph Dumke — Tiny Duffy
- Anne Seymour — Mrs. Lucy Stark
- Katherine Warren — Mrs. Burden (as Katharine Warren)
- Raymond Greenleaf — Judge Monte Stanton
- Walter Burke — Sugar Boy
- Will Wright — Dolph Pillsbury
- Grandon Rhodes — Floyd McEvoy
Production
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 in California using local residents, something that was fairly unknown for Hollywood at the time.[2]
Awards
Academy Awards – 1949
All the King's Men was the 36th film to get more than six Academy Awards nominations.[3]
It won three Academy Awards.
| Award | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Best Motion Picture | Won | Robert Rossen Productions–Columbia (Robert Rossen, Producer) |
| Best Director | Nominated | Robert Rossen Winner was Joseph L. Mankiewicz - A Letter to Three Wives |
| Best Actor | Won | Broderick Crawford |
| Best Writing, Screenplay | Nominated | Robert Rossen Winner was Joseph L. Mankiewicz - A Letter to Three Wives |
| Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | John Ireland Winner was Dean Jagger - Twelve O'Clock High |
| Best Supporting Actress | Won | Mercedes McCambridge |
| Best Film Editing | Nominated | Robert Parrish and Al Clark Winner was Harry W. Gerstad - Champion |
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.
American Film Institute
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - Nominated[4]
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
- Willie Stark - Nominated Villain[5]
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - Nominated[6]
See also
 |
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: All the King's Men (1949 film) |
- Politics in fiction
- All the King's Men, a 2006 film also based on Warren's book
References
- ^ 'Variety Film Grosses for 1950', Film Data for 1950 accessed 8 May 2012
- ^ Higham, Charles; Greenberg, Joel (1968). Hollywood in the Forties. London: A. Zwemmer Limited. p. 79. ISBN 0-302-00477-7.
- ^ 1931 Cimarron (7)
1935 The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (8) and Mutiny on the Bounty (8)
1936 Anthony Adverse (7), Dodsworth (7), The Great Ziegfeld (7) and The Life of Emile Zola (10)
1937 A Star Is Born (7)
1938 You Can't Take It With You (7)
1939 Gone with the Wind (13), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (11), Stagecoach (7) and Wuthering Heights (8)
1940 The Grapes of Wrath and Rebecca (10)
1941 Citizen Kane (9), Here Comes Mr. Jordan (7), How Green Was My Valley (10) and Sergeant York (11)
1942 Mrs. Miniver (12), The Pride of the Yankees (11) and Yankee Doodle Dandy (8)
1943 Casablanca (8), For Whom the Bell Tolls (9) and The Song of Bernadette (12)
1944 Going My Way (10), Since You Went Away (9) and Wilson (10)
1945 The Bells of St. Mary's (8), The Lost Weekend (7)
1946 The Best Years of Our Lives (8) and The Yearling (7)
1947 Gentleman's Agreement (8)
1948 Hamlet (7), Joan of Arc (8), Johnny Belinda (12) - ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees
- ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains Nominees
- ^ AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) Ballot
External links
- All the King's Men at the Internet Movie Database
- All the King's Men at the TCM Movie Database
- All the King's Men at AllRovi
- All the King's Men at Rotten Tomatoes
- All The King's Men on NBC University Theater: January 16, 1949
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Mentioned in
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(American writer and critic)
Willie Stark
(2008 Film)
All the King's Men
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