A review of the 1949 film “All The King’s Men”

This classic film – which was remade in 2006 – is based on a novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Penn Warren published in 1946. It tells the story of the rise to power of charismatic and populist Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) who storms his way to becoming Governor of a Southern US state in the Depression era.

Along the way, a host of characters, including narrator and political journalist Jack Burden (John Ireland) and campaign assistant Sadie Burke (Mercedes McCambridge), bend to his will, even when knowing just how venal and corrupt he is. The movie won three Academy Awards – one for Best Picture and others for Crawford and McCambridge – but nothing for writer, producer and director Robert Rossen. 

At the time of the film’s release, viewers would have seen in the morality tale a reflection of the career of Louisiana governor Huey Long. Today, so much of the dialogue and so many plot points seem eerily prescient as the playbook of President Donald Trump.

Towards the end of the film, Stark is impeached by the state’s House of Representatives and, as the Senate decides whether to uphold the charge, it is surrounded by baying, ultra-loyal Stark supporters. It is entirely a coincidence – it just happened to be on television – that I caught this movie the week that Trump fanatics stormed the Capitol and Trump was impeached (for the second time) by the House.

Jack Burden explains how it’s done: “Appeal to their emotions. Make them laugh; make them cry; make them mad, even if they get mad at you. But for heaven’s sake, don’t try to improve their minds.” And Sadie Burke states of her boss: “He’ll ditch everybody in the whole world, because that’s what Willie wants. Nobody in the world but him!”

Remind you of anybody?


 




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