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All the King's Men



ALL THE KING'S MEN (1949)

Director: Robert Rossen
Writers: Robert Penn Warren (novel), Robert Rossen (screenplay)
Cast: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru
Genre: Drama


"The rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal."


What a photo! I love it!...It's raw, intense and focused. It's a great publicity photo...and Mercedes McCambridge was a powerhouse in this movie. I mean she was one tough hard boiled lady! and in 1949 you just didn't get characters like that. And that's what I liked about All the King's Men, dynamic, forceful characters that seemed real.

Broderick Crawford made a damn good, corrupt-political boss, Huey Long. I've seen a documentary on the real Huey Long and he really did operate like a crime boss, using every trick he could to keep his political machine going. It's pretty sickening actually that he did what he did for so long.

Broderick Crawford was a great choice for this. I can't image another actor at the time better suited to playing Huey long. John Ireland was a good choice too, I liked him and most all of the supporting cast.

Though I didn't care for Joanne Dru who plays Anne. I thought she was miscast IMO. She was too much of a sweet, supporting type to two-time on her boyfriend with Willie Stark. That didn't work for me. But overall it was a well done movie and one I'm glad to have watched as it was on my 'too watch list' and it's a Best Picture Winner that I hadn't seen.