1949: All the King’s Men
This classic follows Jack Burden, a somewhat tortured young journalist who can’t keep a job or commit to marrying his long-time girlfriend, Anne Stanton. Through an assignment at his newspaper, Burden is introduced to Willie Stark, a budding rural politician and lawyer who battles the establishment in his home town. Through his local fight on the platform of an honest man, Stark gains the rabid support of the blue collar and country-folk. Jack Burden is drawn to this honest political man and quits his newspaper job to be Stark’s right-hand campaign man as Stark begins his rise to power.
As the film progresses, we see Stark’s character deteriorate as his ambitions increase from rural county seat to state Governor. He begins drinking, his hair and clothing become more dishelveled, and his behavior gets sloppy. He makes deals with anyone, even those who contradict his initial values, to build up the education, transportation, and civil infrastructure around the state. He justifies the nasty deals with all the good he has accomplished. He devolves into pure narcissism.
Time passes and personal relationships get messy as Stark strays from his wife, Lucy and into the arms of Burden’s own girlfriend, Anne. And Stark’s campaign manager, Sadie is also in love with him and would do anything to support his political gains. Stark’s son, Tommy, takes up drinking to drown out his frustrations with his father, which ultimately has dire consequences for himself and Stark.
Ultimately, Stark becomes as corrupt as the establishment he once fought against. The world revolves around him, and Stark believes anyone can be bought off, and when they refuse, Stark employs other means. Yet, he controls the media and continues to project the honest-man image to his base who follow him with sheep-like naivete and mob-like intensity.
Burden eventually begins to see that the Emperor has no clothes, but even still he cannot walk away. Stark asks Burden to betray the Stantons, and when Burden finds potential dirt on Anne’s uncle, he hides it out of family loyalty. However, Stark gets the info from another source.
Burden witnesses this family betrayal, Stark’s attempt at blackmail, a resulting suicide, and a brother who won’t be bought off in avenging his sister’s honor.
A dead girl, her father, and Stark’s political and personal affairs, eventually bring about an impeachment hearing. Justice and honor are served, though this is not a redemption story. The ending is extremely abrupt and leaves some loose ends, but it is not entirely unsurprising.
This film is not-so-loosely based on the rise of Louisiana’s Governor, Huey Long, and elements of this film find relevance in today’s national political scene in America. It’s a chilling but necessary commentary on politics in general.
Starring:
Broderick Crawford (Willie Stark)
John Ireland (Jack Burden)
Joanne Dru (Anne Stanton)
Big Ideas:
Do the ends justify the means?
What is loyalty?
Can a politician remain an honest man or do politics lead to corruption by definition?
