01
The Last Hurrah
Why this pick
A richly observed political character study centered on an old-school mayoral campaign, balancing public charisma, machine politics, and the melancholy cost of power.
A FILM WORTH A CLOSER LOOKTHE FEATURE PRESENTATION
MOVIE1949 1h 49m USA
IF THIS ONE STAYED WITH YOU
Movies like
All the King's Men
Drama
CINEHUNCH / THE NEXT FRAME
Keep the feeling.
SIMILAR PICKS / A PERSONAL CONNECTION
If you loved All the King's Men, try these.
01
02
The Candidate
Why this pick
Like Rossen’s film, it follows idealism being reshaped by the machinery of electoral ambition, with a cool, incisive view of image-making and compromise.
03
The Great McGinty
Why this pick
A sharp, unexpectedly bitter rise-and-fall tale of a decent nobody absorbed into a corrupt political machine; its comic edge makes the disillusionment land differently.
04
A Face in the Crowd
Why this pick
This fierce, noir-tinged portrait of a homespun populist turned media-powered demagogue shares All the King’s Men’s alarm at charisma curdling into domination.
05
The Front Runner
Why this pick
A restrained political drama about a presidential campaign under pressure, focused less on triumph than on how private flaws, press scrutiny, and ambition consume public life.
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01 / THE STORY
A little about the film.
The story of the rise of politician Willie Stark from a rural county seat to the governor's mansion is depicted in the film. He goes into politics, railing against the corruptly run county government, but loses his race for county treasurer, in the face of unfair obstacles placed by the local machine. Stark teaches himself law, and as a lawyer, continues to fight the local establishment, championing the local people and gaining popularity. He eventually rises to become a candidate for governor, narrowly losing his first race, then winning on his second attempt. Along the way he loses his innocence and becomes as corrupt as the politicians he once fought against. As he rises, Stark philanders and gets involved with many women, taking his PR man/journalist Jack Burden's own girlfriend, Anne Stanton, as his mistress.
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02 / FACES IN THE FRAME
The people who bring it to life.
Broderick Crawford
Willie Stark
John Ireland
Jack Burden
John Derek
Tom Stark
Mercedes McCambridge
Sadie Burke
Shepperd Strudwick
Adam Stanton
Anne Seymour
Mrs. Lucy Stark
Katherine Warren
Mrs. Burden
Walter Burke
Sugar Boy