We mob together to discuss Willie Stark’s rants and political fall from grace as we’re discussing the 22nd Best Picture winner All The King’s Men. This 1949 film takes the gaze of a noir film and applies it to a political thriller about a local farmer turned politician. All The King’s Men was based on the popular novel by Robert Penn Warren from 1946. We descend into the earthly mess that is politics to discuss how politics are often portrayed in the film as well as some of our favorite “political films”.

We discuss Mercedes McCambridge’s film debut in All The King’s Men and how it even earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming only a handful of actors to win an Oscar in their film debut. It’s impossible to discuss this film without mentioning the sharp script and the dominating performance by Broderick Crawford who even won the Best Actor award for his performance as farmer turned politician Willie Stark.