Columbia
November 8, 1949
Drama
DVD
C+
Robert Rossen directed and wrote the screenplay based on the Robert Penn Warren novel, which in turn was inspired by Louisiana governor Huey Long. (Rossen would also write and direct the much duller Alexander the Great a few years later.) While I think the production is too melodramatic, best exemplified by the way Dru turns her head to the side when she gets yelled at, I do like that it's given a "timeless yet timely" quality, not directly mentioning the Depression or any wars, just focusing on how a demagogue can rise to power. There aren't really any sympathetic characters, even the "victims," so I can't go above a C+.
The movie was remade in 2006 and apparently took place in the early '50s.
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