State of the Union
Directed by Frank Capra
Written by Anthony Vieller and Myles Connolly from a play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
1948/USA
Liberty Films
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Jim Conover: …the most beautiful plank in your husband’s platform.
Mary Matthews: That’s a heck of a thing to call a woman![/box]
Capra made a very similar story in Mr. Deeds Went to Town and that’s the film to see. Nevertheless, this one has Tracy and Hepburn in their prime and a great performance by a young Angela Lansbury.
Grant Matthews (Spencer Tracy) has a made a fortune in the aviation business. He is a straight talker and a Republican loyalist. Lately, he has separated from his loving wife Mary (Katharine Hepburn) and two children and is carrying on with Kay Thorndyke (Angela Lansbury). Kay is the daughter of a master Republican kingmaker and has inherited his newspaper. She thinks Grant would make a great President. She sells his candidacy to campaign strategist Jim Conover (Adolphe Menjou). Conover advises that if Grant is to be nominated he must hide his affair with Kay and hit the campaign trail with his wife and kids. Grant is intrigued with the idea of being President but not totally convinced he wants the job. He does agree to go on a speaking tour with Mary to test the waters.
Mary is ecstatic when Grant calls for her, thinking he wants to end the separation. Although she soon finds out the real reason for their reunion, Mary holds on because she believes in Grant and because the spark between them is not totally dead. But the free-wheeling Grant is not allowed to speak the truth as he sees it and Mary becomes disgusted with the maneuvering behind the scenes in the campaign. With Van Johnson as a speechwriter.
This is an amazingly topical movie, even naming the political parties and the real Republican contenders for the 1948 Presidential nomination. Back then, nominations were really decided at the Convention and not a foregone conclusion determined in the primaries as now. There’s a lot of trading of Cabinet appointments for political support going on.
So it’s an interesting window into 1948 politics and certainly Tracy and Hepburn sparkle. The dialogue is quite stagey though and the film just does not have the energy or quirky supporting cast of Capra’s earlier works. It’s quite a comedown after It’s a Wonderful Life. My favorite part was Angela Lansbury’s performance. She is cold as ice even at age 23 and presages her fantastic portrayal of Mother in The Manchurian Candidate.
Trailer
