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| Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) is inaugurated as governor. |
Release Date: Nov. 8, 1949. Running Time: 110 minutes. Screenplay: Robert Rossen. Based on the novel by: Robert Penn Warren. Producer: Robert Rossen. Director: Robert Rossen.
THE PLOT:
Journalist Jack Burden (John Ireland) is about to go on vacation when his editor gives him an assignment. In rural Kanoma County, Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) is running for treasurer, directly against the interests of the corrupt local political machine. To Burden's surprise, he's genuinely impressed by the humble, down-to-earth man that he meets. "I'm gonna run," Willie declares. "They're not gonna kick me around like I was dirt... I'm gonna run even if I don't get a single vote!"
Inevitably, Willie loses, and Jack and everyone else is sure that spells the end of his political career. Until an unpopular candidate for governor needs "a dummy" to split the rural vote to ensure his re-election. Willie plays right into their hands, running a tedious "facts and figures" campaign. Then he discovers his true role of "sacrificial goat," and he gets angry, launching a startlingly impassioned populist race that wins the loyalty of his fellow "hicks."
Willie loses narrowly, but he takes it well, observing that now he's learned "how to win." Four years later, he does exactly that, becoming governor. He makes good on his promises, improving infrastructure and building schools and hospitals. But it becomes increasingly clear that the cost of this progress is graft and corruption. As scandals mount, Willie Stark finds himself in a fight for his political life, while Jack Burden finds himself wondering what side he's really on...
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| Willie basks in the pride of his family. They won't stay proud for long... |
BRODERICK CRAWFORD AS WILLIE STARK:
Broderick Crawford won a well-deserved Oscar as Willie Stark, who is pretty openly based on Louisiana governor Huey Long. What most impresses me about Crawford's performance is how authentic he feels. He doesn't overplay Willie's descent. In most interactions, he remains affable enough; he just holds his smile a fraction of a second to make a pleasantry into a threat.
He physically transforms throughout the story, which is mostly achieved through posture and costuming. The early, soft-spoken Willie who is on (at best) equal footing with Jack wears a simple suit, usually buttoned up, with Crawford holding an upright posture that de-emphasizes his girth. When Jack meets him four years later and becomes his "boy," Governor Willie Stark has become a domineering presence. His suit jacket hangs open and his posture becomes casual, even lazy, deliberately showcasing his stomach. "I'm going to soak the fat boys," he promises - while his presence shows that, by the end, he's become one of "the fat boys," only distinguishable from early film boss Tiny Duffie (Ralph Dumke) in having become far more successful at the same tricks.
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| In the audience: Jack and his sweetheart, Anne (Joanne Dru), listen to Willie's inaugural address. |
OTHER CHARACTERS:
Jack Burden: Jack is a man who's drifting through life with no real direction of his own. He comes from wealth, but he also despises his stepfather and so works in order to pretend that he could live off his own salary. He loves Anne (Joanne Dru), the niece of the respectable Judge Stanton (Raymond Greenleaf); but she no sooner says she'll go away with him than he decides she shouldn't. He finds meaning in Willie's success, and his loyalty is such that he cannot leave, not even when he realizes how corrupt the man has become - not even when Willie begins sleeping with Anne. When Jack learns that last, he confronts Anne, but ends up sighing with resignation that they both "work for Willie Stark."
Anne Stanton: Anne, Jack's longtime sweetheart, has lived a life of absolute privilege. While Jack realized long ago that Burden's landing "isn't real, it doesn't exist," and at least had the fortitude to go into the outside world, Anne has spent her entire life either on the island or at equally privileged schools. When Willie comes to the island to try to earn her uncle's support, she is spellbound by this rough yet eloquent figure.
Tom Stark: Long before he became a (very) bad movie director, John Derek was an actor, and a good one. Tom, Willie's adopted son, is practically a stand-in for the people around The Great Man. When Jack first meets Willie, Tom is a dutiful son. He respects and adores his father when he's running against the corrupt local machine. He beams with pride when his father completes his law degree; and had Willie remained a lawyer, chances are they would have remained a family. As Willie becomes corrupt, the former teetotaler becomes a functional alcoholic; Tom also turns to drink, but he's a lot less functional, a situation that ends with tragic consequences.
Sadie Burke: Mercedes McCambridge won a Supporting Actress Oscar for her first significant film role, and she steals virtually every scene she's in. A cynical, hard-drinking political creature, Sadie is originally assigned by the state political machine to babysit Willie during his unsuccessful bid for governor. She wakes him up to how he's been used, denouncing him for being "a poor sap" and "a wooden-headed decoy." She's as impressed by Jack when he pivots to populism, and goes to work for him properly. Eventually, even she realizes that her loyalty to Willie is not reciprocated; when she reminds Willie that he's going to need her and Jack, Willie cynically responds: "Are you sure?"
Judge Stanton: The one man of influence who has genuine integrity, Judge Stanton has been the closest thing to a father that Jack has known. He also wields tremendous influence throughout the state, leading Willie to court his support. Stanton goes along with the corruption to a point, likely enough of a realist to accept that some shady dealings are needed to get things done. When Willie allows one of his men to get away with outright criminal behavior, however, the judge draws the line, and eventually becomes the biggest threat to Willie's power.
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| Jack and Sadie (Mercedes McCambridge) are stunned when Willie gives an impassioned speech to a crowd of "hicks." |
THOUGHTS:
"The things you said made sense, to me and a lot of other people... Well, the words are still good, but you're not. And I don't believe you ever were!"
-a former supporter confronts Willie Stark.
All the King's Men is a tightly-paced, gripping political drama that remains startlingly relevant. Though Robert Penn Warren based his politician on Louisiana governor Huey Long, you can watch this film and see plenty of its events echoed in news stories from decades after it was written.
Director Robert Rossen films his story in a way that enhances a sense of reality. Performances are naturalistic, with even the meatiest lines feeling less like "movie quotes" and more like people having a conversation. Dramatic moments play out without background music - a rarity in 1949. At every turn, the movie strives to make the viewers feel less like filmgoers and more like witnesses to events unfolding in front of them.
There are still a few "big" moments that see Rossen using overt cinematic techniques. When Willie is inaugurated, Rossen shoots him from below, and also frames him beneath a giant banner of his own face, dwarfing the real Willie beneath his own image. In effect, the crowd is cheering the banner - the idea of Willie - rather than the man himself. The framing also deliberately recalls Fascist rallies of the then-recent past.
Later, when the state senate is deliberating Willie's impeachment, a senator complains about the deliberate pressure being exerted by the crowd outside. At this point, Willie casually stands and walks to the window. From outside, the crowd sees his shadow (again, the idea of Willie rather than the actual man) and erupts into raucous applause.
These moments are done with restraint, however, careful not to break the "documentary-like" illusion created by the rest of the film. And precisely because most of the rest plays out with minimal cinematic adornment, these rare visual moments are made all the more powerful.
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| "Nail 'em up!" Willie draws crowds with his angry populism. |
WILLIE STARK: A MATTER OF INTERPRETATION:
The script leaves many questions open to interpretation. Jack is certain that the Willie he first meets is an honest man, and he would likely still claim at the end that the good man he first met was corrupted by power. However, even in the early scenes with a soft-spoken, seemingly humble Willie, there are indications that he's drawn to power for its own sake.
When Willie discusses his reasons for mounting his hopeless bid for County Treasurer, he doesn't emphasize the corruption of local political boss Tiny Duffy; instead, he phrases his reasons in personal terms: "They're not gonna kick me around like I was dirt." In the same conversation, his wife (Anne Seymour) says that it doesn't matter if he wins - and Willie, who at this point is usually eager to agree with her, pretends not to even hear. Finally, what turns Willie from trying to communicate facts to instead invoking angry populism is not damage done to the state or to the people - It's a blow to his ego, when he realizes that he's been made into a "sap."
Once he becomes governor, the once powerless man revels in power. It's his preferred currency, with him openly scoffing at the idea that he can be bought for money. "I don't need money. People give me things... because they believe in me." What Willie craves is influence. Jack's job shifts from publicity to digging up dirt on potential rivals. When Judge Stanton resigns, even though he indicates no plan to act against Willie, Jack is instructed to find something on him. The judge is a figure potentially more powerful and certainly more respectable than Willie - and so he has to find a way to bring the man down to his level.
IS THE STATE BETTER OFF WITH HIM ANYWAY?
By the time he becomes governor, Willie Stark is utterly corrupt and a largely loathsome human being. Even so, he does something few politicians of any stripe manage: He delivers on his promises. During the aftermath of his election, he is "building, always building" - hospitals, schools, roads, all of which are badly needed. Effectively, he takes his state from the 19th century into the 20th, largely against the wishes of the elite.
When his political opponents try to take him down, they accurately note his corruption; however, his critics also engage in classicism, sneering at the improvements made to poor rural communities. The announcer on a film reel flatly states that "you can't go to school and work in the fields at the same time," as if schooling is something that should be reserved for those in the city or those of privilege. The same narrator dismissively claims that the previous rural roads were "adequate" - that dirt roads were "good enough for those people" isn't exactly said, but it might as well be.
Up to the point that Willie seems ready to upend democratic processes to retain power, a strong argument could be made that the state is better off with him in power than without him. All of which backs up another of Jack's observations, that his boss may be "playing up to the crowd, letting them trample on tradition... (but) tradition needed trampling on."
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| Willie and his enforcers. |
REMAKES AND RETELLINGS:
Kraft Television Theatre: All the King's Men (1958): Sidney Lumet directed a live television play, starring Neville Brand as Willie Stark, and featuring Nancy Marchand, Frank Conroy, Richard Kiley and Maureen Stapleton. This version appears to still be in existence, but I do not believe it has ever been released commercially - something of a surprise, given the names involved and its overall positive reception.
All the King's Men (2006): Screenwriter/director Steven Zaillian casts Sean Penn as Willie Stark, alongside an all-star ensemble that includes Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, and Anthony Hopkins. It's a valiant effort... but it doesn't come off. Though Penn has a greater acting range than Broderick Crawford, he lacks the sense of authenticity that Crawford brought to the part. Where Crawford inhabited the role, Penn - with his Southern accent and wildly gesticulating hand gestures - is too clearly acting it. Zaillian also drenches scenes in background music, further undercutting any sense of reality. I wouldn't go so far as to call it bad... but it's "Hollywood" in the very way that the 1949 version wasn't, and is inferior to the older version in almost every respect.
OVERALL:
All the King's Men is a complex work, centered around a character who may be a good man turned bad, or who may have always thirsted for power. It remains extremely relevant, from political questions touched on (free health care "not as a charity but as a right" is one of Willie's slogans) to the nature of political power in itself.
And if all that sounds a bit weighty, let me add that it's also extremely entertaining. Director Robert Rossen's emphasis on authenticity, with naturalistic performances and fairly little background music, has paid dividends in how well the film has aged. The story is well structured, the pace is fast, and the drama is thoroughly gripping.
I would rank this as one of the best films of the 1940s, and among the best political movies ever made.
Overall Rating: 10/10.
Best Motion Picture - 1948: Hamlet
Best Motion Picture - 1950: All About Eve
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