All the King's Men (1949)

All The King's Men (1949)

In director/writer Robert Rossen's Best Picture-winning political drama - it was a melodramatic story presenting the corruption of power by an ambitious demagogue; it was adapted and based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling 1946 novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren, and filmed from a script by producer/screenwriter/director Robert Rossen. Of the film's seven Academy Awards nominations, it won three major honors: Crawford won the Best Actor statuette, Rossen (as producer) won the Best Picture Oscar, and Best Supporting Actress went to Mercedes McCambridge (in her screen debut).

One of the film's posters proclaimed:

"He thought he had the world by the tail...till it exploded in his face...with a bullet attached..."

This great political film was a breakthrough for Broderick Crawford from his B picture status - his performance was very compelling and impressive as he was transformed from a backwoods, honest and naive lawyer into a dirty, unscrupulous and sleazy politician. The noirish drama fictionalized the account of the rise and fall of a backwoods rebel, although it was inspired by the rule (and abuse of power) of Louisiana's colorful state governor (1928-32) and Democratic U.S. Senator (1932-35), notorious Huey Pierce Long - "The Kingfish.

• under the film's title credits, crowds of fanatical political supporters from the countryside congregated in the capital city to support their candidate, displaying placards and banners that read: "WILLIE'S LAW IS OUR LAW, and WIN WITH WILLIE"; the underlying scene was excerpted from the final sequence in the film
• in the opening scene set in a newspaper office, one of the main characters was introduced: young Chronicle newspaperman, Jack Burden (John Ireland), who was sent by his news editor Madison (Houseley Stevenson) to small Kanoma City (in Kanoma County) in an unnamed state - "a typical hot, dusty, backwoods county seat," to investigate an up-and-coming politician named Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford), who was running for County Treasurer
• Burden found the poor, honest, and idealistic Stark, who claimed he was for reform, justice, the underprivileged, and the underdog as he railed against the local County Commissioners; Burden watched as Stark's brief speech about political machine corruption was interrupted, and he was charged with unlawful assembly, but then quickly released by fat city boss Mr. Tiny Duffy (Ralph Dumke) in a hot pool room
• Burden drove out with Stark to his rural farmhouse, where he met Willie's long-suffering schoolteacher-wife (of nine years) Lucy (Anne Seymour) (who functioned more like Willie's mother), his elderly father (H. C. Miller), and their sullen fifteen year-old, orphaned and adopted step-son Tom (John Derek); Stark continued to vow he would never stop campaigning: "I'm gonna run. They're not gonna kick me around like I was dirt"; when their step-son Tom returned late, he explained that he had been beaten up passing out his step-father's handbills; when a rock crashed through their front window, Stark was motivated even more to run: "I'm gonna run even if I don't get a single vote"

• Burden typed his sympathetic news article (titled: "WILLIE STARK - AN HONEST MAN") about his impressions of Stark: the last line read: "an honest man with courage"; Burden was rewarded with a well-deserved two or three-week vacation in his childhood home community of Burden's Landing (named for his ancestors), about 130 miles from Kanoma City, and separated from the mainland by a body of water (requiring ferry service); it was obvious he had grown up with a life of privilege; he was greeted by his Southern society mother (Katherine Warren), and cold stepfather Floyd McEvoy (Grandon Rhodes)

• others in Jack's old neighborhood included Judge Montgomery (Monty) Stanton (Raymond Greenleaf), Burden's girlfriend - Stanton's poised and elegant socialite niece Anne Stanton (Joanne Dru) [mis-spelled as Ann in a newspaper article], and Stanton's nephew (brother to Ann) - noted physician Dr. Adam Stanton (Shepperd Strudwick) who was also a close childhood friend of Jack's
• during a formal dinner with the Stantons and Burdens, discussion flared over the direction of Jack's troubled career choice; he had spent one year in law school and now was a newspaper reporter; as Jack and Anne stood under an imposing portrait of her father (the late former, well-respected Governor) in the darkness, Jack was unclear regarding marriage to Anne because of his own indecisiveness, his ambivalence about his family and income, and his aim to prove himself; he admitted he wasn't sure of anything, including himself; he asked her to wait for him "Anne, wait for me. Please wait for me") until he found himself or became somebody, and she agreed
• after Jack cut his vacation short and returned to his job, he learned that Willie Stark had lost the County Treasurer election up against the state's "dishonest" political machine; Burden muttered: "I guess that's the end of Willie Stark"
• after the loss, Willie studied law at home under the patient tutelage of his educated wife Lucy to become an idealistic hick lawyer; in a montage - Willie proudly hung up his framed Bachelor of Law diploma from Kenport Law School, accepted indigent cases in his new law practice, and worked long hours behind his storefront window (decorated with bold letters WILLIE STARK, ATTORNEY AT LAW)
• Willie's luck turned when his prophetic campaign warnings concerning graft were proven right in Kanoma County; the poorly-constructed Kanoma City Grammar School building's fire escape broke loose from a brick wall support during a routine fire drill, collapsed, and killed several children. After the funeral service, Willie was remembered as "an honest man" by some of the town's victimized citizens - "If we'd only listened to you, Willie"; he was regarded as "A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS"; Stark gained statewide attention when he successfully prosecuted the unscrupulous grafters and won the lawsuit
• Burden was again assigned by his news editor boss Madison to "stay with him" and follow Stark's progress as a spoiler candidate to take "the hick vote" away from the political machine; Stark entered the 3-way race for state Governor, encouraged by state bosses (Three candidates were placed on the ballot: the machine candidate Joe Harrison (Earle S. Dewey), McMurphy, and Willie Stark)
• Stark's staff included Burden and Sadie Burke (Mercedes McCambridge) - a cool, conniving and calculating political aide (functioning as a covert mole from the rival candidate Harrison) who traveled with Willie on the campaign trail
• over time, Burden feared that the gullible Willie was being framed by the political machine for their own purposes - and his fears were confirmed by Sadie; instead of Willie's wooden and leaden style and his reliance on facts and statistics, Burden advised Willie to stir up the indifferent voters, with different speech content: ("Make 'em cry, make 'em laugh, make 'em mad, even mad at you. Stir them up and they'll love it and come back for more, but, for heaven's sakes, don't try to improve their minds")
• Sadie and Burden (and even Willie) sensed he was going to lose the race, when Sadie callously described how he had been framed: "You've been framed, you poor sap...Oh you decoy, you wooden-head decoy, and you let 'em. You know what you are? Well, you're the goat. You are the sacrificial goat. You are a sap because you let 'em..."; after realizing he was used, Willie promptly proceeded to get drunk from a bottle of bourbon and then passed out

• the next day at the Upton Fairgrounds for a campaign barbecue and speech during his race for governor, the semi-drunk Stark staggered onto the stage, and shortly later threw away his prepared speech; he gave a no-notes rousing presentation - the most memorable and impassioned performance in the film; Stark's bull-headed oratorical talent, loosened by the booze, effectively and truly spoke to the people, composed mostly of farmers, workers, hicks, and red-necks: ("...Now listen to me, ya hicks. Yeah, you're hicks too, and they fooled you a thousand times just like they fooled me. But this time, I'm gonna fool somebody. I'm gonna stay in this race. I'm on my own and I'm out for blood. Now listen to me, you hicks! Listen to me, and lift up your eyes and look at God's blessed and unfly-blown truth. And this is the truth! You're a hick, and nobody ever helped a hick but a hick himself! Alright, listen to me! Listen to me! I'm the hick they were gonna use to split the hick vote. Well, I'm standin' right here now on my hind legs. Even a dog can learn to do that. Are you standin' on your hind legs? Have you learned to do that much yet? Here it is! Here it is, ya hicks! Nail up anybody who stands in your way! Nail up Joe Harrison! Nail up McMurphy! And if they don't deliver, give me the hammer and I'll do it myself!"); the speech ended with a montage of a closeup of his ranting face delivering powerful and thundering words, superimposed over flames, at many future rallies

• Stark's campaign caught fire and spread his fame and support throughout the state; fearful of his growing power, city bosses ordered strong-armed retaliation and bribery against the leader of the "hicks" - Stark's signs and posters were torn down. When Burden's editor Madison felt the pressure: ("I work here. I take orders") and that Stark was "getting too big for his britches," he demanded that the Chronicle now support Stark's opponent Harrison, the politico's man: ("The hicks are getting too smart. We're now supporting Harrison"). The principled reporter - Burden - promptly quit his job
• although Stark lost the election to Harrison in a close race, Stark swept rural areas with strong grassroots support; he was confident that he would win the gubernatorial race the next time around: ("You see, Jack, I learned something...How to win!")
• four years later, Willie conducted a second campaign for Governor; meanwhile, Jack "drifted from job to job" and grew "further and further away from Anne and the life at Burden's Landing"; by contrast, Burden realized that "Willie wasn't drifting. He knew where he was going"; a newspaper cartoon portrayed Willie using a sledgehammer to swing at the corrupt "machine"; according to Burden, "He had lost the election, but he had won the state - and he knew it, and the people knew it. They were all hopping on his bandwagon, even Tiny Duffy. Yup, Willie came back like he said he would..."
• Burden slowly suspected that Willie was 'winning' the race because there were rumors that Willie was making shady 'big money' deals with "the machine"; the ex-reporter was disillusioned and troubled as he observed Stark's corruptible rise to power ("It looks like everybody works for you"); however, he also joined Stark's entourage and team as his chief aide, hatchet man and speech writer; Stark further surrounded himself with his previous opponents, including Tiny Duffy, and hired shrewd Sadie Burke as his secretary and campaign manager; Stark explained: "People give me things...Because they believe in me"

• during a fund-raising event at Burden's Landing to seek support from Judge Stanton and other guests, a reception was held in the Stanton estate; when asked a question by the skeptical and liberal-minded Dr. Stanton about his alleged "strange deals," Willie admitted he had taken money from many sources (including the machine), but stated there were "no strings attached"; he also stated his belief that any worthwhile social program required some degree of corruption, deal-making and dirty power politics; he then boldly stated that the end justified the means; Stark ended with a demanding plea for their support: ("And with your support, I not only will win but I will do all of the things that I promised"); in exchange for the Judge's support, Stark craftily promised that the Judge would be made his Attorney General
• Stark was elected governor - a "smashing victory throughout state"; in his victory speech, he vowed to keep his populist campaign promises - to build schools, highways, and hospitals ("It is the right of the people that they will not be deprived of hope"); after listening to the speech with Anne and Jack, Dr. Stanton remarked that Stark's many utopian promises to the people were simply bribes ("That's his bribe")
• Jack responded to the word bribe in the next voice-over with another long montage that illustrated a series of Stark's corrupt scandals, including instances of graft and aggressive, strong-arm bullying: ("I demand that this bill be passed. Nobody's going to tell me how to run this state"); through Burden, Willie kept accounts and records of dirty, shady deals and indiscretions in a "little black book" ("a record of sin and corruption"); however, Willie also improved the schools and roads, built power dams and retained the love of the people through massive construction projects, and he also snubbed tradition (he held a square dance in the Governor's mansion); Jack summed up his thoughts: "The crowds loved it, and Willie loved it, and so did I"

• but during the entire time, Willie Stark was playing around (and was often in compromising poses in photos) and unfaithful to his non-present wife Lucy. He was also carrying on an adulterous affair with his strategist-mistress Sadie (off-screen due to the Production Code), and appeared to have taken his friend Jack's fiancee, an infatuated and adoring Anne, as his other very secret mistress (Stark claimed they were working on a "charity project" together)
• when one of Stark's cronies, state auditor Dolph Pillsbury (Will Wright), was caught with his hand in the pork-barrel, Stark fired Pillsbury with a fake excuse (of ill health), and then maneuvered to escape charges of corruption and threats of impeachment

• Stark also refused to let his AG, Judge Stanton, prosecute the case - and the Judge promptly resigned; Stark had the last word with an accusatory statement: "You don't want to get your hands dirty"; the Judge replied: "I'm through with politics"; the headlines in the newspaper were damning: "ATTORNEY GENERAL RESIGNS! Stanton Accuses Stark of Quashing Pillsbury Graft - Resignation Statement Charges Stark Administration Corrupt"
• with increased pressure, Stark's new plan was to threaten to blackmail the Judge behind the impeachment proceedings, Judge Stanton, by digging up skeletons in his past - due to his belief that everyone had something to hide: ("There's something on everybody. Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption"), but Jack disagreed: "There's nothing on the Judge...It's a waste of time"
• when Jack returned home to Burden's Landing, he heard that Dr. Adam Stanton had decided to turn down Stark's offer to head the new medical center, partly because of his uncle's resignation and his belief that "Stark is evil...Stark is not for me"; as time passed, Jack became ambivalent about Stark's methods, although Anne (Stark's lover) remained a faithful and solid backer of the corrupt politician
• after research in the County Recorder's office, Jack unexpectedly discovered dirt in Judge Stanton's past in the "MORTGAGES DEFAULTED" file drawer - the Judge had been involved in an unsavory blackmail scandal many years earlier; while hiding away for four days to ponder his next move, Jack was visited by Sadie who jealously and defiantly stood before a mirror and compared herself to Anne's picture that she held in her hand; she also told Jack about Willie's disastrous intentions: "He ditched Lucy, he ditched me, and he'll ditch you...He'll ditch everybody in the whole world because that's what Willie wants"; Jack tried to disavow Sadie's observations that Stark was grooming the very pretty Anne to eventually become the Governor's wife; he had already become disillusioned by Stark's demagoguery and his sly turn toward greed and arrogance
• in a tragic sub-plot, the governor's son Tom (who had turned to drinking due to issues with his father) was reprimanded by his football coach (Phil Tully) for not abiding by training rules; then, Tom had a severe DUI car wreck, injuring himself and lethally wounding his girlfriend Helene Hale (Helene Stanley); the irate girl's father Mr. Richard Hale (Richard Hale) claimed that the police had falsified the records; the truth about a cover-up was confirmed in the Governor's mansion, where Tom admitted to Mr. Hale, his father and others that he was driving drunk; Mr. Hale refused to accept Stark's bribe to keep quiet, and mentioned how Stark had become thoroughly corrupted after attaining office; when left to himself, Stark drunkenly bumped into his piano, crashed a bouquet of flowers, and collapsed on his winding staircase; Burden helped him, but was also disgusted: "I'd like Anne to see you now. I'd like Anne to see you now, you drunken sot!"

• the news headlines reported the girl's death from the crash, and the mysterious disappearance of Mr. Hale after he refused to be bribed by Stark: "GIRL CRASH VICTIM DIES. Father Mysteriously Disappears After Baring Bribe Offer by Governor Stark. Investigation Demanded; Public Feeling Runs High!"; Stark was questioned by reporters, but disavowed Hale's claims, and accused Hale of a frame-up
• then, Stark attended his son Tom's State University football game, and to prove that Tom was still fit to play football after Stark was heckled and booed by the fans, he pressured his unhealed boy (with a concussion) in the locker room to enter the game's lineup; after Tom was tackled hard during a running play, he was unconscious and required hospitalization; Stark blamed himself for Tom's injury. He ordered a specialist, Dr. Brenham, to perform a life-sustaining operation, but the doctor wouldn't arrive until the following morning. In any case, he was told that Tom would probably be paralyzed for life; Stark offered Stanton a bribe: "Look, doc, anything you want in the world, you just ask for it and you got it," but Stanton reminded Stark: "There are some things, Governor Stark, that even you can't buy"; Stark's wife Lucy urged Dr. Stanton to operate immediately; Stark then asked Jack if Dr. Stanton knew of his affair with Anne. Jack answered: "He doesn't know a thing... not a thing."
• after Anne learned about Tom's prognosis from Jack, she confessed her intimate affair with Willie to him, and that she would probably marry Stark someday. Likewise, he told Anne about his damning findings of past wrong-doings on her uncle, Judge Stanton; during construction of a new 15-story hospital and laboratory, Dr. Adam Stanton had already been persuaded to head up the new hospital, probably due to coaxing from his sister Anne to accept the position; Burden callously and cynically commented on Willie's pervasive demagoguery: (voice-over) "Now he had us all, me, Anne, and Adam. Now we all worked for him"
• Stark initated his re-election campaign for Governor; a newsreel presented his accomplishments, including the building of various monuments and public works (a toll-free bridge, Stark College to provide an education to "every man, woman, and child - rich or poor," Stark Museum, and the Willie Stark Library) - all dedicated to the people; however, the narrator concluded: "For those who say that Willie Stark is a man of destiny, there are others who claim that he is a man of evil, a man who cares neither for the people or the state, but only for his own personal power and ambition...Willie Stark - Messiah or Dictator?" - Stark was planning to eventually move on to the White House after a second gubernatorial campaign
• with a large entourage, Stark visited his hometown city in Kanoma County, to spend an day with his estranged family; the awkward visit was designed to portray family harmony on the front porch: (Tom in a wheelchair, Willie's aging father, and embittered wife); to Willie's consternation, his aspirations were short-circuited when a special radio bulletin announced the discovery of the body of Richard Hale: ("A medical examination revealed he was beaten to death...The ugly charge of 'official murder' has been hurled at the administration by a coalition of Stark's opponents, led by Judge Stanton, lately an outspoken critic of the administration...Thus an almost forgotten incident provided the spark that might set off the explosion needed to rock Willie Stark out of power. The latest report is that impeachment proceedings may be instituted...")
• after the devastating news, Stark realized the need for his wife's and son's familial support to create positive publicity against claims of murder - he demanded that Lucy and Tom immediately return to the capital city with him; Tom contemptuously denounced his stepfather's duplicity, as Stark rhetorically asked: "How many half-witted apes do you think I'm going to have to pay to square this one? What do you think this is going to cost me?"
• a House resolution of impeachment - for incompetence, corruption, favoritism in office and "other high crimes," was passed against the Governor of the state; the next stage in impeachment proceedings was a trial in the Senate, where four decisive votes were controlled by Judge Stanton; Burden refused to cooperate and reveal his research into Judge Stanton's background: ("I'm going to give him a break. If he can prove it isn't true, I won't spill it")
• to counteract multiple charges, Willie used barnstorming tactics and barking speeches (seen in a montage) to turn out the yokels and seek the hick-vote, to sway the impeachment votes of Senators who followed Judge Stanton's opinion; Burden's voice-over described Willie's tactics: "Willie pulled every trick he ever knew - and added a few more...And always the trail led to one place, to Burden's Landing and the Judge"
• at Burden's Landing, Jack privately spoke to the Judge, attempting to politely persuade him to release the votes of his Senators in the impeachment trial, but the Judge declined: ("I've made my choice. I have nothing more to lose"); Willie and Sugar Boy (Walter Burke) obtrusively barged in to personally confront Judge Stanton with Burden's incriminating evidence (relayed to Stark by Anne in a foolish betrayal of her uncle): "You know, Judge, dirt's a funny thing. Some of it rubs off on everybody. How did you get the job, Judge? Blackmail?"; the Judge was reminded that over twenty-five years earlier, he had acquired the job of consul for the Fortune Electric Company - through blackmail; Burden urged the Judge to release his opposition votes, to save his reputation, but he refused until morning
• in the meantime, as they were leaving, Anne and Dr. Stanton arrived; Burden privately asked Anne: "Did you give him --- ," but his question was interrupted by a single gunshot - the Judge's answer to the Governor; in the nearby study (off-screen), the disgraced Judge Stanton had committed suicide; the whole group was stunned; afterwards, Dr. Stanton realized that it was Anne and not Jack that had betrayed the Stantons, and exposed the damning evidence to Willie, on account of her intimate affair with the governor
• as hordes of supportive hicks streamed into the capital during the impeachment proceedings, there had been a major falling out between Anne and Willie, and also between Anne and her "old-fashioned" brother Adam; in Jack's hotel room, a regretful, sobbing Anne told Jack that Willie was returning to his wife Lucy; she begged Jack to help locate her disgruntled and outraged brother, whose dreams of heading up a new hospital were now impossible
• in the final memorable scene set at the state capital building, by nightfall, Stark had just finished beating an impeachment rap, and he emerged to deliver a boisterous victory speech to the idolatrous crowd:

  "They tried to ruin me but they are ruined. They tried to ruin me, because they did not like what I have done. Do you like what I have done? (The mob cheered wildly.) Remember, it is not I who have won, but you. Your will is my strength, and your need is my justice, and I shall live in your right and your will. And if any man tries to stop me from fulfilling that right and that will, I'll break him. I'll break him with my bare hands, for I have the strength of many."

• as he walked away, he was gunned down with two shots at close-range by an assassin - the embittered and vengeful young Dr. Stanton

• in the immediate aftermath, Adam was gunned down by Stark's accompanying bodyguard Sugar Boy, who emptied his gun; after Anne and Jack both knelt over Adam's body in shock, Jack grabbed her by the arms and challenged her to give "meaning" to Adam's death by telling the people the truth about Willie Stark; the two planned to remain in the capital city to finish the job that Adam had started - to literally and figuratively destroy the treacherous legend and life of Willie Stark
• mortally wounded and dying on the steps, the dismayed Stark delivered his final words to newspaperman Jack, Sugar Boy, political aide Sadie Burke and city boss Tiny Duffy - in close-up:

  "Could have been whole world - Willie Stark. The whole world - Willie Stark. Why does he do it to me - Willie Stark? Why?"