All The Kings Men (1949, dir. Robert Rossen)

All The Kings Men (1949, dir. Robert Rossen)

What Is It?: The Oscar-winning adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, loosely based on the Louisiana demagogue Huey Long.

What About It?: Pales in comparison to the brilliant novel by Robert Penn Warren, this is still totally worth watching. The script and direction may be a little clunky, unfortunately treating Warren's work as though the words came from G-d Himself -- to an almost laughable degree. The story is still fascinating and, though the entire enterprise may be sanitzed for Hollywood, it still retains some of the original work's deliciously sharp edge. The performances by Broderick Crawford as Willie Stark (the Long stand-in) and Mercedes McCambridge as the dark queen who is the catalyst for Stark's meteoric rise are more than deserving of your time. Both won Academy Awards for their work here.

Why Should I See It?: Primarily for those two performances, really, but it is definitely worht it just for that. McCambridge's impatience and sexual hunger is stunningly palpable. And Crawford rips into this role as if his life depended on it. He truly gets the desperation and heart of Stark in a way that Sean Penn misses by a country mile in the 2006 adaptation.

What Else Is It Like?: A Face in the Crowd, A Lion is in the Streets, The Great McGinty.

When Is It Playing Until ON DEMAND?: 3/1/07

Watch It ON DEMAND On Comcast Cable.

-- ddt/pdx

What's New This Week (That's Worth Watching to One Degree or Another)?: Afterglow, Author! Author!, Like Water for Chocolate, Mothra, Shoes of a Fisherman, Two Rode Together, The Unholy, Something's Gotta Give.