This being Thursday, it's time for another edition of Thursday Movie Picks, the blogathon run by Wandering Through the Shelves. This time, the theme is politics:
Er, not quite like that. But in any case, I was able to come up with three old movies on the theme of politics:
Parnell (1937). Clark Gable plays Charles Parnell, the Irish politician who attempted to gain Home Rule for Ireland in the 1880s (remember, it was part of the United Kingdom at the time). However, he gets derailed by an affair with a fellow MP's wife (Myrna Loy), as well as some horrendous sideburns. A lot of people consider this Gable's worst movie, but I didn't really think it was that bad.
The Great Man Votes (1939). Drunk John Barrymore plays an alcoholic father who lives in an industrial district in town, where it turns out that he is now the only registered voter. Because the district has historically been considered a bellwether, the political machine is trying to get him to cast his vote for them, thus carrying the whole district.
Ada (1961). Susan Hayward plays Ada, a woman with a past who gets married to Dean Martin while he's running for governor. Of course, he's just the figurehead with a political machine manipulating him. When he figures this out he tries to take control himself, which nearly gets him killed in a car bombing. Ada takes over as acting Governor, which causes all sorts of controversy, especially when her past is discovered. This is one of those eminently entertaining, if not quite good, potboilers that Susan Hayward made so many of the the 1950s and 60s.
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3 comments:
I LOVE Ada!!!! It might not be one of her signature films but it's a great vehicle to show off Susan Hayward's strengths and she takes the chance by the throat and rides it to the finish.
Great Man Votes is good latter day Barrymore but I'm one of those who thinks Parnell is Gable's absolute worst. He seems so uncomfortable in the role.
Mine are all tied together by the corruption somewhere in their stories.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)-Upon the death of one of his state’s senators the idealistic young Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) is appointed by the cynical governor to the U.S. Senate because of his naivety. Once there he is taken under the wing of his idol, the esteemed senior Senator Joseph Paine (Claude Rains). However Paine isn't as noble nor as honest as his reputation would indicate, and he becomes involved in a scheme to discredit the youthful rube, who wants to build a boys' campsite where a more lucrative project could go. Determined to stand up against Paine and his corrupt peers, Smith takes his case to the Senate floor for a showpiece filibuster. One of director Frank Capra’s most successful films is loaded with familiar faces in every role and a memorable performance by Jimmy Stewart.
All the King’s Men (1949)-The rise and fall of everyman politician Willie Stark (Broderick Crawford) is chronicled. Initially getting into politics hoping to help the working man once in he becomes so corrupt that he no longer knows the difference between right and wrong. A very thinly veiled retelling of the life of the infamously ruthless Louisiana governor and senator Huey Long. Winner of the 1949 Best Picture Oscar as well as Best Actor for Crawford and Best Supporting Actress for Mercedes McCambridge also garnered nominations for director, screenplay, supporting actor and editing.
Advise & Consent (1962)-Controversial candidate Robert Leffingwell (Henry Fonda) is nominated as U.S. Secretary of State setting the stage for a Senate investigation of Leffingwell's qualifications and igniting a firestorm of backroom machinations. Senator Brig Anderson (Don Murray), the head of the committee, soon finds the proceedings descending into heated arguments with various politicians trying to further their own agendas by any means necessary ultimately leading to tragedy. Blessed with an insanely talented ensemble including Charles Laughton, Gene Tierney, Walter Pidgeon and Peter Lawford among many others plus a surprise appearance by Betty White as a Kansas senator!
Ada sounds really good. I'll have to look that one up!
I am 0 for 3 and have wanted to see Parnell for so long because I heard it is bad and I can’t imagine Gable in this role. I have not even heard of Ada and now really want to see it. I have to try and find it.
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