He Might Have Been A Pretty Good Guy . . . If Too Much Power . . . And Women . . . Hadn't Gone To his Head !
A man of humble beginnings and honest intentions rises to power by nefarious means. Along for the wild ride are an earnest reporter, a heretofore classy society girl, and a too-clever-for-her-own-good political flack.
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Character
Classical in form, grave, earnest and prestige.
- classical in formformally daring
- gravecomic
- earnestironic
- unpretentiousprestige
- warmbleak
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“Is Willie Stark the real protagonist?”
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“Is the book better?”
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“Is All the King's Men better than The Hustler?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Jun 20267/10
There's something of the "Animal Farm" to this powerful critique of the democratic process. Sick fed up with vested interests and corruption, "Stark" (Broderick Crawford) decides to fight the good fight against the establishment. Allied with only the steadfast "Sadie" (Mercedes McCambridge) and with half of the interest of journalist "Burden" (John Ireland) he sweeps the rural constituencies but the urban ones keep the powers that be in situ. Skip on four years and we revisit the campaign - but this time, "Stark" is playing a far more shrewd game. Still dependent on the quick-thinking "Sadie" and being followed by the now even more cynical "Burden", he seems to be able to fight on far more even terms. Clearly, he has used the intervening years to ensure that he can splash the cash and get himself elected. Once in the governor's mansion, though, his determination to improve the lot of his voters starts to see his lines of good versus evil begin to blur. Are his methods becoming exactly the same as his predecessors? Things begin to come to an head with his reputable Attorney General "Stanton" (Raymond Greenleaf) quits and the boss asks "Burden" to go a-digging throught the files to f
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Jun 20199/10
Honesty, integrity, corruption and murder! Willie Stark is an upstanding pillar of the community, when he is coaxed into standing in the local election he gets a thirst for politics. As he progresses through the political ranks he loses sight of the very things that he first stood for, with him, and all those associated with him getting muddier by the day. Adapted by Robert Rossen (director and screenplay) from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Robert Penn Warren, All The King's Men is the story about the rise and fall of a rotten politician. Almost certainly based on Louisiana Governor, Huey Pierce Long, it's a towering piece of work that is as politically cynical as it is ego centrically human. Not merely just another film about "when good guys go bad", this picture serves notice to the many things that drives politics on, for better or worse. The role of the press is under scrutiny for example, and just how come simple things such as rallies can be staged by some conniving aide sitting at the back? All roads in this gritty piece are paved with suspicious looking stones, the very foundations of which have been murkily formed. It's a testament to Rossen and his excellent cast th
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Cast
- John IrelandJack Burden
- Broderick CrawfordWillie Stark
- Joanne DruAnne Stanton
- John DerekTom Stark
- Mercedes McCambridgeSadie Burke
- Shepperd StrudwickAdam Stanton
- Ralph DumkeTiny Duffy
- Anne SeymourMrs. Lucy Stark
- Katherine WarrenMrs. Burden
- Raymond GreenleafJudge Monte Stanton
Crew
- Robert RossenDirector
- Robert RossenScreenplay
- Robert Penn WarrenNovel
- Burnett GuffeyDirector of Photography
- Louis GruenbergOriginal Music Composer
- Al ClarkEditor
- Robert RossenProducer
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
The Bridge on the River Kwai 195782% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest, grave.
Agora 200981% alikeBoth grave, classical in form, earnest.
Suffragette 201581% alikeBoth earnest, classical in form, grave.
Julius Caesar 195381% alikeBoth classical in form, earnest, grave.
Munich 200581% alikeBoth grave, earnest, classical in form.
The Last King of Scotland 200680% alikeBoth classical in form.
Patton 197080% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
Casino 199580% alikeBoth classical in form, grave, earnest.
The Americans 201383% alikeTelevision · Both classical in form, grave, earnest.
The Sympathizer 202481% alikeTelevision · Both grave, classical in form.
Often watched with
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