Collector's Corner
Must-have videos for the serious movie
enthusiastSeptember 2008
State of the Union
- Starring: Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn,
Van Johnson, Angela Lansbury, Adolphe Menjou, Lewis Stone
- Directed by: Frank Capra
- Theatrical release: 1948
- DVD release: 2006
- Video: 1.37:1 (fullscreen)
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
- Released by: Universal
See if any of this sounds
familiar: The Republicans are afraid that the Democrats will win the White House, the
Senate, and the House, all in the same general election. They need a guaranteed
Presidential win, so they choose a dark horse, the very popular Grant Matthews (Spencer
Tracy), a straight-talking man who says hell tell voters not what they want to hear,
but what they need to hear. His biggest push comes from Republican Kay Thorndyke (Angela
Lansbury), a newspaper owner who smells a story. She also sees an opportunity for herself
to get closer to the true seat of power. Because shes also Matthews mistress.
Matthews long-suffering wife, Mary (Katherine
Hepburn), knows that her husband is straying, and leaves him. But the pols know that the
only way Matthews can be elected President is if he can convince the public that his
family life is stable and loving. They encourage him to go to Mary, beg her forgiveness --
and ask her to campaign for him. Mary is no Republican, in fact, shes a liberal
populist, and her pride is still stung by her husbands deceit. But she also believes
that he would be the best President, so she signs on.
Soon, straight-talking Grant is getting hit by union
leaders, precinct bosses, big business, and every other powerful force in American
politics as, little by little, they peel away his gritty independence. His one great
selling point is that he has American values and isnt afraid to stand up to anyone.
But again and again, the pols take a little piece of his soul until theres not much
left. Of course, neither the politicians nor Kay care that Matthews is selling his soul
piecemeal. Only Mary sees that her husband is so focused on winning that he doesnt
notice the spiritual price hes paying: the heartbreaking destruction of his very
moral fiber.
Frank Capra usually made sweet films, but he was also a
curmudgeon who loved taking a nasty satirical bite out of the hands of those in power. Of
all of Hollywoods golden-era directors, no one had a greater trust in the goodness
of the American people, and no one had as great a hatred of the power mongers -- Capra was
a populist in the truest sense. He was also smart enough to use his bully pulpit --
Americas film theaters -- for his own personal propaganda campaign warning people
that they shouldnt knuckle under to big business or big politics.
What makes State of the
Union powerful beyond its, unfortunately, timeless story, is to see one of
Americas top film couples coping with broken hearts. Though Tracy is most often
remembered for his saintly dramas and romantic comedies, his Grant Matthews reminds us
that he was also willing to play a guy with flexible morals. To watch Grant begin as a
force of nature, then devolve into a stooge, breaks not only his wifes heart, but
ours as well. Hepburns combination of strength, compassion, and resigned sadness is
powerful acting. As Mary sees the man she loves give away his marriage, his integrity, and
his honor, all for the questionable affections of a power-hungry mistress and the creepy,
sycophantic assuagements of the political managers, she descends into a hell of her own.
Tracy and Hepburn had their own long-term romantic
relationship, though in their case it was Hepburn who was the mistress. Whatever pain this
caused them, and Tracys own wife and family, the benefit for us is that their love
lights up the screen. The comedies they made together -- Adams Rib (1949),
Pat and Mike (1952), Woman of the Year (1942) -- were loaded with
sparkling repartée and the type of humor any married couple would understand. That love
is also what gives State of the Union such poignancy. How could Grant Matthews be
so callous to such a loving wife?
Despite the star power of Hepburn and Tracy, the juiciest
character is Kay Thorndyke, and 23-year-old Angela Lansbury steals most of her scenes. She
creates a spine-chilling vixen with vivid delusions about her place in the arena of power,
attached to a sociopaths sense of morality.
Capra injects just enough humor to keep this satire from
getting too gloomy or bitter. He also does his normal effective job of creating visual
drama without ever calling attention to the camerawork or the editing. It all just comes
out smoothly and naturally, with nothing getting in the way of the story, or of
cinematographer George Folseys vivid black-and-white images. Thankfully,
Universals DVD edition is very clear, and mostly noise-free. The fact that there are
no extras is at least mitigated by the low list price of $14.98.
Although the Republican and Democratic parties are
mentioned by name in the script, State of the Union is an equal-opportunity
offender. Theres something in this dark satire to fit any of the politicians
currently hoping to take up residence in the White House. John Edwards excuses an affair
because he was a weak narcissist, when the truth appears to be that he didnt want it
to get in the way of his Presidential run. Then think of the sea change weve seen in
Navy man John McCain between 2000 and 2008, as hes succumbed to the power brokers
and flipped his core positions for one more chance at the Oval Office. Or Hillary
Clintons morphing from poor Mary to Grant within six years. And how about Bill
Clintons willingness, in order to get back into power, to do a complete 180 on the
few things he held dear? Or Barack Obamas change from a man above politics to a man
of politics?
What makes State of the Union timeless is the fact
that politicians just dont seem to get it. The only reason the pols are surrounded
by groveling lobbyists and sinister political groupies is because those creeps want
someone else to do their dirty work, and theyre willing to feed the needy egos of
these politicians in any way necessary to keep their clients paying. They see it as a
win-win. We lose.
Please vote this November, but before you cast your ballot,
watch State of the Union. Its a powerful reminder that we need to let the
folks who operate both of the major political-party machines that the real bosses are we,
the people.
. . . Wes Marshall
wesm@hometheatersound.com
August 2008 - Raise
the Red Lantern
July 2008 - The Grapes of
Wrath
May 2008 - The Caine
Mutiny
April 2008 - Rio Bravo
March 2008 - Cera
una volta in America (Once Upon a Time in America)
January 2008 - Schindler's
List
December 2007 - Auntie
Mame
November 2007 - À bout de
souffle (Breathless)
October 2007 - A Halloween
Grab Bag from the Golden Decade of Horror Films
September 2007 - Monterey
Pop
August 2007 - Invasion of
the Body Snatchers
July 2007 - Sullivan's
Travels
June 2007 - To Catch a
Thief
May 2007 - My Fair Lady
April 2007 - Taxi Driver
March 2007 - Fantasia
February 2007 - Cabaret
January 2007 - Nashville
December 2006 - Holiday
October 2006 - The Three
Musketeers/The Four Musketeers
September 2006 - Double
Indemnity
August 2006 - A Star is
Born
July 2006 - To Kill a
Mockingbird
June 2006 - Die xue shuang
xiong (aka The Killer)
May 2006 - Jaws
April 2006 - Bullitt
March 2006 - John Fords
Cavalry Trilogy: Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, and Rio
Grande
February 2006 - It
Happened One Night
January 2006 - King Kong
December 2005 - A
Christmas Story
November 2005 - North by
Northwest
October 2005 - Top Hat
September 2005 - High Noon
August 2005 - M*A*S*H
July 2005 - Rebel Without
a Cause
June 2005 - Hoop Dreams
May 2005 - Star Wars
April 2005 - The Silence
of the Lambs
March 2005 - The
Adventures of Robin Hood
February 2005 - Harold and
Maude
January 2005 - M
December 2004 - It's a
Wonderful Life
November 2004 - City
Lights
October 2004 - Vertigo
September 2004 - Alien
August 2004 - On the
Waterfront
July 2004 - Carrie
June 2004 - Blow-Up
May 2004 - La Règle du
jeu (The Rules of the Game)
April 2004 - C'era una
volta il West (Once Upon a Time in the West)
March 2004 - The Apartment
February 2004 - Annie Hall
January 2004 - His Girl
Friday
December 2003 - National
Lampoon's Animal House
October 2003 - Frankenstein
September 2003 - Psycho
August 2003 - 2001: A
Space Odyssey
July 2003 - Giant
June 2003 - The Graduate
May 2003 - The
Philadelphia Story
April 2003 - An American
in Paris
March 2003 - The Quiet Man
February 2003 - The Thin
Man
January 2003 - American
Graffiti
December 2002 - Miracle on
34th Street
November 2002 - West Side
Story
October 2002 - The Bride
of Frankenstein
September 2002 - The
Searchers
August 2002 - Gone With
the Wind
July 2002 - Rashomon
June 2002 - Casablanca
May 2002 - The Wizard of
Oz
April 2002 - Rear Window
March 2002 - All About Eve
February 2002 - Apocalypse
Now Redux
January 2002 - The
Godfather DVD Collection
November 2001 - Citizen
Kane
October 2001 - Singin' in
the Rain
September 2001 - Some Like
It Hot
August 2001 - The Best
Years of Our Lives
July 2001 - Close
Encounters of the Third Kind
June 2001 - Lawrence of
Arabia
May 2001 - Blade Runner
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