All the Kings Men

[ken123]

All the Kings Men is a film that I feel doesn't deserve the praise that it received when it was originally released, to me it is just average.

[jdb1]

All the Kings Men is a film that I feel doesn't deserve the praise that it received when it was originally released, to me it is just average.

I agree with you Ken. I didn't like it as much this time as I did the first time I saw it. Crawford's unrelenting pugnacity got on my nerves after a while (I could hear Dr. Evil saying "Take it down a notch, Crawford.")

I do think Mercedes McCambridge was terrific, though, and I enjoyed seeing Walter Burke as Sugarboy. The Brooklyn-born Burke was a constant presence in 1950s-1960s TV.

By the way, Ken, IMO the book is better than was this movie.

[mrsl]

I heartily agree with both of you, but I wonder if Crawfords performance, for me, wasn't colored by having seen several movies with him already that day, re-proving my statement the other day about too much of a good thing, etc.

Did either of you see Sean Penn's re-make? I didn't. But I do like Sean Penn a lot, especially in drama, and wondered if his portrayal was any better, or less grating than Crawford?

Anne

[ken123]

Did either of you see Sean Penn's re-make? I didn't. But I do like Sean Penn a lot, especially in drama, and wondered if his portrayal was any better, or less grating than Crawford?

Anne[/quote]

I have not seen the Sean Penn re - make. I am not a big fan of his. I don',t dislike him either, maybe it is just his choice of film that I don't like.

[ken123]

By the way, Ken, IMO the book is better than was this movie.[/quote]

I am sorry to admit Judith that I have never read the book. Now only if INA was of age to play an adult part in the film I would probably think higher of it, and I am not kidding. That Gal, if I can use such an old fashioned word would had screen ( & sex ) appeal.

[jdb1]

By the way, Ken, IMO the book is better than was this movie.

I am sorry to admit Judith that I have never read the book. Now only if INA was of age to play an adult part in the film I would probably think higher of it, and I am not kidding. That Gal, if I can use such an old fashioned word would had screen ( & sex ) appeal.[/quote]

Ah, me -- I was commenting just the other day to a friend that Ina, as lovely as she was, was lost in a sea of startlets in her time. There are very many ingenue parts I've seen recently for which I've said to myself "Ina would have been much better in that role."

If you recall, Ken, the late 50s and early 60s were the days of the last gasps of the big studios, and there were multitudes of pretty young women in countless not very good movies. Ina was one of them. Very few pushed through to higher stardom -- most are just curiosities, talked of by we classic fans, and forgotten by everyone else (Myrna Fahey, anyone?) Ina had the distinction of actually being able to act, a trait not too many of the others shared.

I did see a portion of Sean Penn's "All The King's Men" last week, and I failed to recognize it as having much to do with the previous film, or the book. Penn looked so wrong for the part (notwithstanding his generally excellent acting skills) -- too young, too well-spoken, and too urban. Certainly Broderick Crawford was better casting in the rough around the edges category called for in this story.

[GaryCooper]

Most folks have no idea how much Huey P. Long Jr. shook the establishment to its knees.

G.C.

[ElCid]

I read All The King's Men in college as a class assignment. Very long, but very enjoyable and educational. But then my parents were from Louisiana and lived there during the Huey Long years. For those who might not know, the book by Robert Penn Warren is based on Gov. Huey Long of Louisiana.
Naturally it has been "Hollywoodized," but the movie is also enjoyable and educational. I do have the DVD, but seldom watch it - too serious.

I think it probably deserves the acclaim it has received, as much as any movie can. There will always be differences of opinions.

And I also read T. Harry Williams biography of Huey Long.

[ElCid]

Most folks have no idea how much Huey P. Long Jr. shook the establishment to its knees.

G.C.

He was probably the politician most feared by Franklin D. Roosevelt as the one most likely to succeed in leading the US into a dictatorship. He was also the one FDR thought most likely to defeat him.