State of the Union

Unlike many countries around the world we are able to use politics and our politicians as fodder for entertainment. Almost from the beginnings of cinema movies have used political intrigue and the inner workings of the election system as story lines. Now, with all the twenty four hour news networks and the internets with its blogs and almost instantaneous analysis more people than ever are savvy about politics from the local to global levels. Back in the early forties however, the very nature of politics was more mysterious to the average Joe. As such a film like Frank Capra’s ‘State of the Union’ may seem simplistic today. While watching it you should try to remember that this film came from a far more innocent era.

The story begins when Kay Thorndyke (Angela Lansbury) inherits her father’s newspaper. She is anxious to increase circulation and being an ambitious young woman she comes up with a plan. Kay approaches her old friend aircraft mogul Grant Matthews (Spencer Tracy) and convinces him to run for the Republican nomination for President of the United States. At this point in time the Republicans, popularly know as the lame duck old Harding gang, has been out of power and are willing to back the trick in order to gain some advantage in the up coming election. The focus of the film is not so much the Presidential election but the intra-party fight for the all important nomination. Grant may be a dark horse candidate but he manages to shake up the party with some of his unusual ideas about government. He is often a source of consternation for his belabored campaign manager 'Spike' McManus (Van Johnson) and the party big wig Jim Conover (Adolphe Menjou). While Spike is a tried and true party man Grant has his own ideas. Spike manages to turn Grant around letting know with no uncertainty that if he doesn’t play the game the way he is supposed to he will not get the nomination. Grant finds that his platform is predetermined by the powers that be in the party and made to understand that he better play along. One concession is to reunite with his estranged wife Mary (Katharine Hepburn). Mary knows that her husband is apparently having an affair with Kay but sine she is a strong woman she feels that she can make a difference pretending to be the happy, loving wife on the campaign trail. Mary tries to be the voice of reason for Grant but he soon comes up against the reality of his circumstances. He has to compromise most of what he feels. Grant is forces to give in to the various politically active groups around. Labor and ethnic groups move the delegates he needs so he has to keep them happy. Although he is usually an industrialist he comes up with statements like how profits instead of production play right into the hands of the communists. This may keep the unions happy but the compromise begins to wear down Grant. Mary can only go so far with the charade she has placed herself in. The deceit of the campaign and all the deal making is something that she can just not stomach. Grant realizes that his relationship with his wife is much more important than becoming President and he comes around and finally opposes his political backers showing them for what they are before the American people.

While this work is not as well known or appreciated as other Capra classics like "It’s a Wonderful Life" or "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" it is representative thematically and stylistically of Frank Capra. Capra has always been a great believer in the strength of the American common man. For him no system or government is greater than the spirit of his heroes. While Grant Matthews is a rich and powerful man in his own right he does have the moral compass that is typical of a Capra protagonist. With this film he takes the novel by Pulitzer Prize winning play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse and turns it into an indictment of the corrupt nature of American politics. With a Capra hero there are certain characteristics. First he may be moral but he is human, able to be tempted to do the wrong things in order to accomplish a larger good. Next there is nothing like the love of a good, strong woman to get this man back on track. In this film Grant wants to be President because he idealistically feels that he can help others. When he finds the only way to do this is to suppress the things he holds as right Grant finds that the ends do not always justify the means. It is up to Mary to put aside her jealousy and distain for Grant’s course of action to bring her husband back to become the man she fell in love with. As a little historical note here this was a product of the old studio system in Hollywood. While almost everyone involved with the film was under contract to MGM they allowed Liberty films to produce the film. This resulted in the now famous omission of the famous MGM lion and the misspelling of the lead characters names.

What makes this film is the legendary chemistry between Spencer Tracy and his off screen love Katharine Hepburn. People talk about today’s Hollywood couples but Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have nothing on this pair. There was intelligence to the banter that the two could produce on screen. Audiences where captivated by how they could argue and fight but still we all knew there was a deep and lasting love in their characters. One reason why the audience could accept a wealthy man like Grant as an everyday hero is Tracy is able to sell the role. He was so recognizable that people felt they knew him and could accept him as one of their own. Hepburn was a rebel of her day. A woman who spoke her own mind, wore pants and refused to take anything from a man was rare back then. Van Johnson was an incredibly talented actor. While he usually had supporting roles he was always able to add the right amount of spice and humor to the production. Younger viewers may be surprised seeing as the young heiress. Back in the forties most of her roles was the beautiful young woman who is always plotting. She was not always the old lady on ‘Murder She Wrote’ or the one voicing animated tea pots.

I have to hand it to Universal. Although they have some of the biggest block buster films around they still pay attention to these older films. This collection was made even better when they acquired films like this from MGM. The full screen black and white video and Dolby two channel mono may not be something that will show off your home theater but it was well done considering the age of the source material. There are some little signs of age but overall the transfer is clear and better than it has been seen in many years. Forget what you know about politics from CNN and pop this into your DVD player.

Posted 8/25/06