Just finished watching Michael Collins, which I thought was a very good movie about a leader
What other movies provide inspiring/powerful portrayals of how someone rose up to become a leader and achieve his goals?
When it comes to watching the development of leadership, it's hard to beat Henry Fonda as
Young Mr. Lincoln, directed by John Ford in 1939; as the stubborn juror in
12 Angry Men (1957) and as a migrant farmer turned labor activist in
Grapes of Wraith (1940).
Fonda was already a leader by rank and example at the start of
Mister Roberts, but you see him develop a worthy replacement in Jack Lemmon.
Gregory Peck already has the rank of general but he has to win over a poorly performing bomber squadron through his leadership and develop more leaders in that group in
12 O'Clock High.
Jimmy Stewart doesn't even know he's a community leader until an angel forces him to review his life in
It's a Wonderful Life.
Gary Cooper develops from a worthless hillbilly into a national hero in
Sergeant York.
Tyrone Power demonstrated two very different kinds of leadership in
The Long Gray Line (1955) and
Nightmare Alley (1947).
You also see two very different forms of leadership between James Cagney and Pat O'Brien in
Angels With Dirty Faces (1938), with Cagney proving how tough it can be to be a leader sometimes.
Van Heflin and Alan Ladd develop leadership in
Shane. There's another movie starring Ladd and Sydney Portier playing infantry sergeants in Korea that is all about leadership, but I can't recall the title.