Politics & Movies
This week I decided to feature a movie about politics most people don’t know much about, the Academy Award winner for Best Picture in 1949, All the Kings Men. The film is playing this Sunday, June 19th at 5pm PST, 8pm EST on TCM.
“Why have they used every dirty method known to make sure I’m not elected County Treasurer? Well, I’ll tell ya why — because they’re afraid of the truth, and the truth is this. They’re trying to steal your money. Yeah, I said steal. The County Commissioners rejected the low bid on the schoolhouse. Why? Well, they’ll tell ya the reason is the job will be done better. The County Commissioners would have you believe that they’re interested in public welfare. They’re interested in welfare, sure, but it’s their own.” Candidate Willie Stark, All the Kings Men, 1949
The speech above is given during Willie Stark’s run for the office of County Treasurer. He loses. A few years later Stark is put up for the office of Governor, but he is a pawn, being “used” to split the vote so the power brokers can get their man into office. When Stark discover this, he gets angry, but realizes he knows how to win, and decides to play the game.
Loosely based on the life of Huey P. Long, former Governor of Louisiana and that state’s U.S. senator in the mid-1930s, All the King’s Men is the story of the rise a politician, Willie Stark, from a rural county seat to the governor’s mansion who along the way, loses his initial innocence, and becomes as corrupt as the politicians he once fought against. An interesting fact is that using the name Huey P. Long was forbidden on the set.
Ironically, a lot of the current democratic agenda is espoused by Willie Stark as he campaigns for office. He proposes building new roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals. It is interesting to note he brands everything with the Stark name. Under the umbrella of “doing good” is the power he so badly wants or possible needs to offset his insecurities.
When a documentary is made about Stark, the tagline “Messiah or Dictator” displeases him, but the director refuses to delete it saying it’s the story he wants to tell. The look on Stark’s face says, “I’ll get control before it is seen by the public.” There’s a threat of impeachment over the mysterious death of a vocal opponent, violence is used when necessary, and the ability to rile up his supporters is a weapon Stark uses whenever necessary.
After watching the film, I found it uncanny how much Willie Stark and former President Trump were alike in the ways they thought and conducted themselves. I’m not saying Donald Trump is Willie Stark, but it sure seems like Trump might have seen this film, studied it, and made it part of the blueprint of his politics. You can decide for yourself.
Getting back to the casting of this great, but lesser known film. Director Robert Rossen originally offered the starring role to John Wayne, who found the proposed film script unpatriotic and indignantly refused the part. Harry Cohn, the president of Columbia Pictures wanted Spencer Tracy for the leading role. But Rossen disagreed, saying that the audience might like Tracy too much.
Finally, Broderick Crawford was cast, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. Ironically, Broderick Crawford beat out John Wayne for the Best Actor Oscar, who had been nominated for his role in Sands of Iwo Jima.
I leave you with this final thought. Maybe All The Kings Men should be mandatory viewing by all members of the Senate and the House of Representatives. I’m not saying it would change anything, but it just might make a few of them think a bit… which couldn’t hurt.
The classic movie trivia in this story is from the book, “Starring WHO?” Iconic Movie Roles… and Who Turned Them Down! The book, co-written by myself and Michael Berlin, covers nine decades and over three hundred films and is available on Amazon.
