THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610180064
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: 98 lines
BEFORE CASTING your vote, consider this entirely subjective list of political movie rentals, or memories.
Warning: few of them will reinforce your faith in the political system. Most Hollywood political movies portray politicians as inept villains. The system, though, has been working for more than 200 years and is likely to survive even the present election.
Best Movie Ever Made on Politics: ``All the King's Men,'' (1949). Broderick Crawford won an Academy Award for best actor playing Willie Stark, a populist counterpart to Louisiana Gov. Huey Long, who bullied himself into the governor's mansion. He stays in power via building hospitals and roads - with a public that never noticed it's being bought. Mercedes McCambridge won the best supporting actress Oscar as his ruthless hatchet woman, and the film also won for best picture. It's dated but still the best. Based on Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which is also worth another look.
Best ``Feel Good'' Political Movie: ``Mr. Smith Goes to Washington'' (1939). One man CAN make a difference. James Stewart plays Jefferson Smith, a naive senator who fights political corruption. His filibuster speech remains one of the most emotional showcases in movie history. When it premiered in Washington, a third of the politicians walked out.
Best Film About the Misused Power of the Media: ``A Face in the Crowd'' (1957). Andy Griffith, in his best performance, plays Lonesome Rhodes, an Arkansas hillbilly who learns to use television to win the masses and sell political candidates. In one scene, he comments, ``Swallowing too much raw politics can put a crease in your head a whole lot deeper than that homemade kickapoo joy juice we used to concoct back in Arkansas.''
Best Film About the Power of the Media: ``All the President's Men'' (1976). Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein on the scent of Watergate. For many, it brought the first real understanding of the conspiracy. It plays like a suspenseful thriller, even though you know the outcome.
Most Frightening Conspiracy: ``Seven Days in May'' (1964). Burt Lancaster leads a military takeover from the president (Frederic March) with Ava Gardner as a mysterious pawn in the scheme. Edmond O'Brien won an Oscar nomination. It is made to seem almost possible.
Most Far-Fetched Conspiracies: The many theories of ``J.F.K.'' in which director Oliver Stone, apparently not prone to pick one conspiracy, chooses them all, blaming everyone from Cuba to Russia to LBJ to the CIA. Still, it is intriguing watching, with an ensemble of fine performances. Stone's ``Nixon'' (1996), on the other hand, is more balanced, and even more worthwhile.
While we're shopping, let's consider:
``Advise and Consent'' (1962). The Senate is called upon to confirm a controversial nominee for secretary of state (Henry Fonda), and the power manipulations are awesome. Charles Laughton steals scenes as a Southern senator. Otto Preminger directed this adaptation of the Allen Drury novel. Gene Tierney is in the impressive ensemble cast.
``Dave'' (1993). A comedy that works. Kevin Kline plays an actor who is hired to impersonate the president and stays after the prez has a heart attack. He turns the country around, as well as the marriage to the first lady played by Sigourney Weaver.
``The Candidate'' (1972). Robert Redford is a political hopeful who learns the game and, in the end, loses his soul to win the election. Interesting but lacks real emotional involvement.
``A Perfect Candidate'' (1996). An all-too-telling documentary about the notorious Virginia governor's race between Oliver North and Chuck Robb. And to think that folks all around the world can now look at it in video. Voters, we've got a lot to live down.
``The Best Man'' (1964). Dated but still an engrossing fiction about the wheelings and dealings at a party convention as Henry Fonda goes up against Cliff Robertson to fight for the party's nomination. Lee Tracy, in an Oscar-nominated supporting role, steals the film. One of the more entertaining movies about politics.
``State of the Union'' (1948). Spencer Tracy plays an honest businessman who is encouraged to run for president on the Republican ticket, even though his wife (Katharine Hepburn) has reservations. Angela Lansbury is a scheming other woman who also happens to be the political force behind his campaign. The Hepburn-Tracy teaming is delightful, as always. Van Johnson and Adolphe Menjou are in support.
``The Great McGinty'' (1940). Preston Sturges' directorial debut won him the first-ever Oscar for original screenplay. It has Brian Donlevy as a bum hired to stuff ballot boxes who, under the tutelage of a corrupt political boss, winds up as governor.
``Kisses for My President'' (1964). Just for fun, bewildered Fred MacMurray is the husband of the first woman president (Polly Bergen) and has to perform many of the tasks usually set for the first lady.
``The Last Hurrah'' (1958). John Ford directs Spencer Tracy as an Irish-Catholic mayor who is running for office one last time. A fine performance from Tracy.
Bob Dole's Favorite Movie: ``Chariots of Fire''
Bill Clinton's Favorite Movie: ``High Noon'' ILLUSTRATION: File photo
Jimmy Stewart in the 1939 classic, ``Mister Smith Goes to
Washington.''
FILE PHOTO
In ``State of the Union,'' Spencer Tracy plays a man running for
president, despite his wife's (Katharine Hepburn) reservations.
KEYWORDS: MOVIES POLITICS by CNB