All the King’s Men (1949)
96%RT Audience Score: 94%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Broderick Crawford is spellbinding as politician Willie Stark in director Robert Rossen’s adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel about the corrosive effects of power on the human soul.
Yo, let me tell you about this movie I just watched. It’s called “All the King’s Men” and it’s about this dude named Willie Stark who’s a politician. But let me tell you, Broderick Crawford who plays Willie is straight-up mesmerizing. He’s got this power-hungry vibe that’s both captivating and terrifying at the same time.
The movie is based on a book by Robert Penn Warren and it’s all about how power can totally mess with your head. And let me tell you, it’s a wild ride. The director, Robert Rossen, really knows how to bring out the best in his actors and the story is just so damn compelling.
If you’re into politics or just love a good drama, you gotta check out “All the King’s Men”. It’s a classic for a reason and Broderick Crawford’s performance alone is worth the watch. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures,
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Northern California, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
Year of Release
1949
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 49m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 8, 1949 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 5, 2001
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Broderick Crawford, Joanne Dru, Mercedes McCambridge, John Ireland, John Derek, Shepperd Strudwick, directed by Robert Rossen, written by Robert Rossen, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Marjory Adams, Helen Bower, Mae Tinee, Mildred Martin, P.S Harrison, Elsa Branden, Frank Morriss, starring in Mildred Pierce, The Organizer, The Cranes Are Flying, Ballad of a Soldier, Great Expectations, producer Robert Rossen, MPAA rating, corrupt southern governor, power, human soul, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Columbia Pictures
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Joanne Dru – Anne Stanton
Mercedes McCambridge – Sadie Burke
John Ireland – Jack Burden
John Derek – Tom Stark
Shepperd Strudwick – Adam Stanton
Director(s)
Robert Rossen
Writer(s)
Robert Rossen
Producer(s)
Robert Rossen
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (71) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (69) | Rotten (2)
Here is a picture that took courage to make. It stands up in entertainment value, but it is primarily a vital, powerful and terrifying picture of what dirty politics can do to both individual and state.
November 30, 2021
Marjory Adams
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Crawford ought to have an Oscar for his performance as Willie Stark. He charges like a bull and charms like a serpent.
November 30, 2021
Helen Bower
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
A thinly disguised sketch of one of our late politicians, the film has sweep and force and acid truth, and a wonderful performance by Broderick Crawford in the best role he’s had since Of Mice and Men.
November 30, 2021
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Crawford is the ideal choice for the part of Willie. Almost uncannily, he succeeds in getting beneath the superficial aspects of the character, making him neither wholly evil nor too sympathetic, but a tragic contradiction.
November 24, 2021
Mildred Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
It brilliantly tackles a contemporary and important American problem. But I am afraid that it never follows through its subject-matter… Having bitten into a hot potato, All the King’s Men has not had the courage to swallow it.
November 24, 2021
Milton Shulman
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Casting, from Crawford down to walk-ons, is exceptional. The people look like people and, surprisingly, they talk like people. So much so that Columbia has on its hands a sobering film, one that will make politicians squirm, voters ashamed.
November 23, 2021
Elston Brooks
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
Stretching the definition of “noir” a bit, it’s a barbed indictment of deep political corruption in the Deep South.
March 28, 2022
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
Written, produced and directed by Robert Rossen, the picture is filled with surging vitality, tough-eyed comment and shrewd observations about the seamier aspects of practical politics.
November 30, 2021
Louis Sheaffer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
The film features a number of fine, sensitive performances, outstanding of which is the one turned in by Broderick Crawford, as the power-happy Governor whose career is ended by assassination.
November 30, 2021
P.S. Harrison
Harrison’s Reports
[Broderick Crawford] rises to full stature as an actor, reaching such a terrific height that one must wonder if he can match it in his next pictures.
November 30, 2021
Lillian Blackstone
Tampa Bay Times
This powerful political drama gives Broderick Crawford his juiciest role to date.
November 30, 2021 | Rating: 2/3
Elsa Branden
Photoplay
All the King’s Men takes a blow torch to the corrosion which can cover the political scene in the United States and it burns deeply into your consciousness as well. Its approach is as vigorous and contemporary as a newsreel.
November 30, 2021
Frank Morriss
Winnipeg Free Press…
Plot
Jack Burden is a newspaper reporter who first hears of Willie Stark when his editor sends him to Kanoma County to cover the man. What’s special about this nobody running for county treasurer? He’s supposedly an honest man. Burden discovers this to be true when he sees Stark delivering a speech and having his son pass out handbills, while the local politicians do their best to intimidate him. Willie Stark is honest and brave. He’s also a know-nothing hick whose schoolteacher wife has given him what little education he has. Stark loses the race for treasurer, but later makes his way through law school, becoming an idealistic attorney who fights for what is good. Someone in the governor’s employ remembers Stark when the governor needs a patsy to run against him and split the vote of his rival. The fat cats underestimate Stark; but Jack Burden, Stark’s biggest supporter, overestimates the man’s idealism. To get where he wants to go, Willie Stark is willing to crack a few eggs – which include his tough-talking assistant, Sadie Burke; Jack’s poised and elegant fiancée, Anne Stanton; and even Jack Burden himself.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Broderick Crawford’s performance as Willie Stark is described as “spellbinding” by Fresh Kernels.
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