All the King's Men

All the King's Men (1949) starring Broderick Crawford, Joanne Dru, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge. An honest politician named Willie Stark (Crawford) loses a couple of elections early in his career, then comes to the realization that the way to win is to cheat. He becomes a populist (modeled on Huey Long) who will make a deal with anyone to get elected, and who is willing to play to the "hicks" and the "yokels" to stay in office. This movie won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Crawford) and Best Actress (McCambridge). I thought it was good, but not that good. It certainly made for a diverting evening's film viewing. (Subtitles in English are included.) Grade: B