All the King's Men
1949
Academy Award for Best Picture — 22nd Academy Awards
- Director:
- Robert Rossen
- Studio:
- Columbia Pictures
- Starring:
- Broderick Crawford, Joanne Dru, John Ireland, John Derek
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Idealistic small-town lawyer Willie Stark runs for office promising to fight the corruption of Southern political machines, and his earnest campaign draws the attention of reporter Jack Burden, who writes a glowing profile that helps launch Stark's career. As Stark rises to the governorship, he abandons his early idealism for the same ruthless, manipulative tactics he once opposed, using threats, bribery, and blackmail to consolidate absolute power. Robert Rossen's drama, loosely based on Huey Long, follows Stark's corruption arc alongside Burden's own compromised complicity in the machine he helped build.