All the King's Men vs A Lion is in the Streets

[ken123]

" All the King's Men " is now playing on TCM, and of course it is a ficionalized profile of Huey Long. " A Lion in the Steets " is another fictionalized bio of the life and times of the late Senator and Governor, starring Jimmy Cagney, and directed by Raoul Walsh. Both films, to me, are disappointments.

[Mr. Arkadin]

There's never been a film that could live up to Robert Penn Warren's book PERIOD.

I will say though that although the film was a trainwreck, Brodrick Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge were believeable as Stark and Sadie and played their roles well.

[moira finnie]

I'd read the Robert Penn Warren book decades ago, but probably didn't understand much of it then. I watched most of the film and was very impressed with Broderick Crawford and especially Mercedes McCambridge. Has Ms. McCambridge ever played a character who wasn't driven by rage?

I saw A Lion is in the Streets years ago and, not surprisingly relished Cagney's performance, but found the film overall was not as strong as All the King's Men.