State of the Union
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Movie Reviews of State of the Union
Movie Review: criminally underrated Capra film
Summary: 5 Stars
"State of the Union" may be my favorite Capra film, which is saying a lot - I adore Capra. Why is this film not out on DVD?!?
This film is less sentimental than most Capra films; it retains Capra's liberal idealism, but tempers it with a realpolitik sensibility. Tracy and Hepburn are fantastic as usual and, while it has a more dramatic direction than most of their films together, some parts of "State of the Union" are laugh out loud funny.
Movie Review: The Tracy and Hepburn team do a Capracorn film
Summary: 4 Stars
Hollywood always seems to produce better Presidents and candidates for President than the real world, which is certainly the case with this 1948 Frank Capra film. Spencer Tracy plays Grant Matthews, who is persuaded by his mistress, powerful publishing heiress Kay Thorndyke, played to the hilt by Angela Lansbury, to seek the Republican nomination. Katharine Hepburn plays Mary Matthews, who joins her estranged husband to present a public portrait of a happy family. With the aid of the conniving political boss Jim Conover, played by Adolphe Menjou, Matthews begins the long road to the White House.
Based on the Pulitzer-prize winning play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, you can still get a sense of the original three-act structure of the story. Act I in a Washington, D.C. bedroom in the house of political operative Jim Conover is where Matthews is convinced to try running for President and his wife is persuaded that this is as much a chance to save her marriage as it is to advance her husband's campaign. Act II in a hotel room in Detroit is where Matthews begins sacrificing principles for political expediency in his quest to gain the White House. Act III takes place in the Matthews home on the night of a national radio address, when everything finally comes to a head. From this perspective you have to credit scenarists Anthony Veiller and Myles Connolly with have done an excellent job of adapting the play to the screen. There are a lot of little jokes at the expense of the politicians in both parties in 1948, which will probably be lost on contemporary audiences; in fact, while on Broadway the political jokes were updated weekly. Certainly the particular brand of "Republicanism" offered by candidate Matthews, with his belief in the ultimate formation of a United States of Earth, sounds much more like what we would consider left-wing politics today.
As with most Capra films the acting is a delight from top to bottom. Tracy has several of those earnest speeches about America that make you shake your head when you look at Bore and Gush, while Hepburn tries to deal with both her husband's political amibitons and the other woman in his life. Lansbury's cold and calculating performance foreshadows the monstrous creature she plays in "The Manchurian Candidate." Van Johnson as Spike McManus is pretty much the weatherwave of the story and there is a marvelous moment when Johnson makes a sarcastic quip and Tracy turns and says, "I haven't quite made up my mind about you yet." Howard Smith, Margaret Hamilton and Lewis Stone all have marvelous bit parts as well. Capra was always more concerned with the people who played his characters more than art direction or shot composition. "State of the Union" is rarely considered one of Capra's best works simply because he had less of an impact than usual because it was based on such a successful play, but it is certainly in keeping with the ideological perspective of more celebrated Capracorn films such as "Meet John Doe" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
Final notes: "State of the Union" was originally slated for Capra favorite Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert. Tracy was signed instead of Cooper and when Colbert pulled out at the last moment Tracy suggested Hepburn, who had been rehearsing with him, as the obvious replacement. There are a few suspicious souls who believe that Ronald Reagan lifted his infamous "I'm paying for this microphone' line in the 1980 primaries from Tracy's final outburst in "State of the Union." Make up your own mind on that one.
Movie Review: Great stars, decent movie
Summary: 4 Stars
A movie is almost guaranteed success with names like Frank Capra, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Angela Lansbury involved. This classic film digs into the world of dirty politics, broken marriages and idealism. Granted, State of the Union won't be remembered as one of the best Capra films or Tracy/Hepburn pairing, but it's still a gratifying classic film.
We meet Kay Thorndyke (Angela Lansbury) when she comes to see her dying father. Her father admitted he wanted a boy, but he got more with daughter Kay, a manipulative and cold, calculating woman. Lansbury played the role perfectly making it easy for the audience to despise her in spite of knowing the sweet characters she came to be known for in later years. Lansbury later deliciously played another frighteningly ruthless character in the political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate.
Kay takes over her father's newspaper business, determined to help someone become the President of the United States so she can gain control that comes with the job. She picks her lover, Grant Matthews (Spencer Tracy), a businessman who builds and flies airplanes, a reluctant candidate with high ideals which she uses to convince him to run.
Kay hires the equally shrewd and corrupt Jim Conover (Adolphe Menjou), a man with campaign experience, to manage the campaign. Also on board is Spike McManus (Van Johnson), a star reporter from Thorndyke's newspaper to provide the comedy relief and a little goodness to this nasty team. The team convinces Grant's estranged wife Mary Matthews (Katharine Hepburn) to join him on the campaign trail portraying themselves as a happily-married couple.
Ironically, though the team picks Grant as the candidate because of his idealism, it's that same characteristic that creates a problem for Conover and the campaign. The campaign hits bumps along the way as Grant loses his connection with the American public, Mary tries to convince Grant to stick with his beliefs, Conover and Thornydyke are determined to control every aspect of the campaign, and Grant continues to put his wild flying skills to use.
Although some of the dialog is weak, the powerful first-rate cast combined with a decent storyline make State of the Union amusing and worth watching. The DVD includes English subtitles, but no bonus features.
The Good: Strong cast and an enjoyable classic with a touch of comedy.
The Bad: Not as strong as other Capra and Tracy/Hepburn films.
More like a 3.5.
Movie Review: "I haven't enjoyed myself this much since Huey Long died!"
Summary: 4 Stars
Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy made nine films together, including 1948's "State of the Union." In this film, they play a married couple. Tracy is a highly successful airplane manufacturer who is approached to run for President of the U.S. He seems like an ideal candidate - full of common sense and integrity. However, it turns out that he's less than perfect; he's estranged from Hepburn and carrying on an affair with a king-maker newspaper publisher, played by Angela Lansbury. Tracy realizes that if he is to run for President, he needs Hepburn by his side. The two reunite tentatively, and Tracy's initial speeches strike a chord with the "common man." Unfortunately, as Lansbury becomes more involved, Tracy changes in some rather ominous ways.
"State of the Union" is not one of the better known Hepburn-Tracy pairings, such as "Adam's Rib" or "Woman of the Year." However, it is every bit as good as these classics. Frank Capra directed the film - it's his follow-up to "It's a Wonderful Life." Like that movie, "State of the Union" is a bit idealistic and has a rather mushy denouement. However, along the way, the script (adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse) makes some rather insightful comments on politics and human relations and contains some crackling witty dialogue. Much of this material is still relevant today, 60 years after the fact.
Hepburn is charming and beautiful as the betrayed wife, and Lansbury is the portrait of cold-blooded calculating ambition. It's hard to believe that Lansbury was only 23 years old when "State of the Union" was made. Another interesting aspect of the film is the obvious parallels to the Hepburn-Tracy relationship. It was a poorly kept secret that they were having an affair starting in the early 1940s which continued until Tracy's death in 1967, although the staunchly Catholic Tracy never divorced his wife. Hepburn acting wounded because Tracy has a mistress while she was in fact his real mistress - well it makes the mind boggle a bit! All in all, "State of the Union" is a solid 1940s comedy-drama on par with the couple's best pairings.
Movie Review: surprisingly relevent
Summary: 4 Stars
I watched this recently in the midst of the 2008 campaign and I was struck by the parallels with today's race 60 years later. Politics have obviously changed enormously since '48, but yet not that much. I noticed a striking similarity between Spencer Tracy's character and Barack Obama. They are both relative political newcomers whose campaigns are ostensibly based on a new approach that transcends conventional petty politics and appeals directly to the voters. But political realities and the ambition to get the job get the better of them. They compromise their campaigns and make choices based on political expediency. They choose positions to target whatever demographic they need to chase and eventually become just like the regular politicians they are supposed to be an alternative to. It would be nice if we could have a true nonpolitical idealist elected directly by the people, but I don't think it could ever happen! That's basically the message of this movie, but yet it ends on an optimistic note.