All the King's Men (1949)

Winner of the Oscar for Best Picture of 1949, All the King's Men charts the rise to power of Willie Stark, a working class guy who manages to struggle his way from being a "nobody" to a position of great authority and influence: governor. It's loosely based upon the career of Huey Long, who served as governor and later senator of Louisiana, but the key word here would be "loosely." In fact, it's not even clear where the movie is set; it could truly be anywhere in the United States. The novel from which the story is drawn was written by Robert Penn Warren, and it's still a classic study of the ways that even those who have good intentions can be corrupted by political machinery.

This version of the film stars Broderick Crawford. He makes the most of the part, particularly in the scenes where he is giving public speeches to the people who will eventually elect him. He berates them as "hicks" who have too often let slick government officials take advantage of them. It's pretty stirring stuff despite the gruffness with which Willie attacks these common people. You can see why his populist approach makes him so appealing to them. He's one of them, a "little guy" who's been the victim too often of corruption, and he speaks their language. Even when he himself is later caught engaging in corrupt activities (and he is caught several times), he always turns to "the people" and manages to get them on his side through his skills at public persuasion.

One of the intriguing aspects of the story is how Stark first gets the political bug. He's actually denied something he wants by a county official. So incensed is he by this refusal that he decides to run for public office. His thirst for power seems to grow with each office that he's able to win, and his concern for his family and the people who elected him becomes weaker and more distant. It's as if the need for power consumes what is left of his soul. The film presents quite a picture of how intoxicating politics and power can be. You can see just how caught up Willie becomes in the quest for more and more control.

I've not seen the recent remake with Sean Penn in the lead role. I'm certain that it attempts to make a statement about the influential role of politics in our time. I don't think you need to update the story at all. The original version does an admirable job of showing the consequences of power, and its rawness still manages to resonate even today.