All the King's Men (1949)

Boy, I’ve never seen so many newspaper headlines flying at my face cued to dramatic music in all my life… that being said, I quite enjoyed this movie. I had only heard of All the King’s Men because of the 2006 all-star remake (which I still have yet to see) that was rapidly panned and forgotten. Willie Stark is a very interesting character with an almost Egyptian obsession of being remembered after he’s gone- He’s the kind of man that will build football stadiums, roads, skyscrapers, you name it as long as his name is emblazoned on it. Broderick Crawford’s Oscar-winning performance transitions effortlessly from idealistic country boy to imperialistic boss, and all it took was one montage scene in which he’s mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore. John Ireland skillfully portrays Jack Burden, a sort of James Stewart-esque character fighting for what he thinks is right, until it becomes clearer that he was never on the right side. Burden is just another in a long list (including basically every woman in Stark’s life and his own son) of those Stark is willing to step on to get what he wants, demonstrating that absolute power corrupts absolutely no matter who you are. It’s hard to deny the perennial relevance of such a tale when the film mirrors the story of Jimmy Hoffa or basically any mob figure or dictator that ever lived. Despite a rather odd final shot, All the King’s Men is a fascinating political thriller that comes highly recommended.  

I found it interesting that this movie came up so soon after this year's Presidential election.  This only added to the fact that I didn't love it.  I didn't hate it but I must admit, I'm a bit sick of politics after hearing all of the ad campaigns.  And this movie adequately illustrates the problems with politics.  I did find it interesting how part of Stark's crew struggled with their moral compass and loyalty to the candidate that they believed in.  Even after Stark burns bridges and throws his friends and family under the bus, his posse reluctantly stands by.  Stark lets his issues with alcohol influence his campaign for governor and later takes root within his family when his son gets in a car accident because of drunk driving .  I struggled with the ending because it just ended so abruptly. In my opinion, it left a lot to be desired.  I was dividing my attention with Pinterest, which didn't help... overall, it happened.  I don't really have a ton to comment on.  Short post today, friends.  


Director Rossen filmed in an unusual manner. Nobody in the cast had a script. Rossen let them read it once and took it away from them. According to Broderick Crawford, "We really had to stay on our toes." 

Jack Burden: What's so special about him?

Madison, the Editor: They say he's an honest man. 

Hamlet (1948)

In this telling of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Laurence Olivier plays the title character, who is brooding over the death of his father and the fact that his mom married his uncle and... well... it's Hamlet.  Read it already! 

Since my elementary school had me be a part of a ridiculously abridged version of Macbeth in 5^th grade, I have been a Shakespeare enthusiast. I took an excellent Shakespeare class in college for fun that wound up being one of my best scholastic experiences. Despite all of this, I had never seen this very-famous Olivier version of Hamlet in its entirety and I expected a slow pace and tendency towards melodrama. We were immediately surprised by the high quality of the sets, costumes and Welles-ian camerawork which really pulled you into the story with its fluid transitions. Katie and I laughed off the mention of a special effects crew in the beginning credits and then were swiftly silenced at the ominous scene in which Hamlet first confronts the ghost of his father, which was easily the best version of this scene I have ever watched. This was only one of many excellent visual touches that seemed to be inspired by the equally-excellent Beauty and the Beast directed by Jean Cocteau from a few years earlier. The film maintained a solid pace while still retaining enough of the original text and compares favorably to other versions by the likes of Branagh and Zefferelli. While Branagh’s version was a more complete one with a larger all-star cast and Zefferelli’s had some truly excellent performances (Mel Gibson balances the melancholy and the feigned madness of Hamlet so wonderfully, and I dare you to find me a better Ophelia than Helena Bonham Carter), Olivier’s version was probably directly responsible for the other versions and had a finesse, beauty and power rarely found in any other interpretation.

The professor of my aforementioned college Shakespeare class was Dr. Gordon Lell. He worked at Concordia College for over 40 years and died less than 2 years after I completed the class. He had this way of getting you instantly involved and excited about the content and he cared about his students. He only knew me for one semester and he attended my sophomore recital. He was one of the finest professors I ever had; I owe much of my enthusiasm for Shakespeare to him and I will remember him always. 

I, too, was a Shakespeare enthusiast that only was encouraged by my theatre background.  My favorite is Midsummer Night's Dream and as far as tragedies are concerned, Hamlet is pretty high.  I've read it several times and I enjoy Acts 1,2,3 & 5.  I find myself at the end of Act 3 thinking "What the -bleep- are you whining about!? Everyone else is OVER IT!"  And then I collect myself and enjoy the rest of the play.  Olivier's version really does a good job of editing and keeping a very constant pace.   You have probably noticed the large gap in posts.  Sometimes it's hard to commit yourself to Hamlet after a long day of work... like I don't want to hear your whining, Olivier!  But boy, were we wrong.  Aside from Olivier's chicken legs, it was a very visually stunning film.  Jean Simmons, not the guy from KISS, you know with the tongue..  but the lead actress in "Guys and Dolls," did an excellent job as crazy Ophelia!  Her sane Ophelia performance was kind of "meh" but part of that was because they cut a lot of her lines.  It was kind of strange that they didn't spend a ton of time building sexual tension between Hamlet and Ophelia but you could really feel it between Hamlet and Gertrude (Hamlet's mama), which may have been an artistic choice or he was sleeping with somebody off camera, with Olivier, it's hard to say.  Overall, I really enjoyed this movie.  I was pleasantly surprised but no matter how good the movie is or how great the costumes are, codpieces are still kind of awkward. (I'm talking to you, Laertes!) 

This is the first non-American film to win the Oscar for Best Picture. With this film, Laurence Olivier became the first person ever to direct themselves to a best actor or actress Oscar. Roberto Benigni in Life Is Beautiful is the only other actor to achieve this feat.

Horatio: Good night, sweet prince; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. (even though in the play, it's technically a Fortinbras line)