Wednesday, March 13, 2024
All the King's Men
- Commentary: Under construction.
I am one of those who went to high school during the time when the book upon which this movie was based was commonly read in class. In my case, it was a "comp lit" class. Yes, the movie had long since been released by the time our class was assigned to read the book, but since I was in a written literature class, bringing in a copy of the movie was never mentioned. At any rate, considering that I attended high school on Guam, it's likely there was not a copy of the movie to be had in our area.
At the time I read the book, my father expressed an interest in it and read the book, too. I was a fast reader and, anyway, I had been assigned it for class, so I put him off until I'd read it. When he and I got around to talking about the book, which was discouraging to my politically naive mind, I discovered that the book depressed him even more than it had me. I wasn't really surprised by this. My father had a temperament that found life absurd and bleak. He was not unfamiliar with politicians like Willie Stark (and, aside from being a southerner and having lived in Louisiana, also had a clear memory of Huey Long), their ambitions and their tactics, so the book hit him hard. Still, we had some pertinent discussions about the book, the man and the issues. Although I also inherited (or learned) a talent for wallowing in the dregs of life, my propensity for this was not nearly as pronounced as my father's was. None the less, Willie Stark's (Huey Long's) story has stayed with me, in detail, and I have not trusted any politician since reading the book.
I'm really looking forward to watching this movie. I'm sure Broderick Crawford was the right actor to play this character. This being an election year, for the first time in my life as a voter I am contemplating whether I'm even going to vote, this year. It's possible that I won't. Some of that decision will likely ride on how this movie hits me. Watching the movie may even prompt me to read the book, again.
I will likely report back, again, later.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role 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
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1949
Directed by Robert Rossen.
Labels: political6
