Jack tries to stand aside as an individual aloof, and be a mere observer of life but that becomes impossible. Mercedes McCambridge won the Best Supporting Actress role for her portrayal of one of Willie’s women (men).Ī central theme of the novel (and the movie) is that all actions have consequences. The motion picture won the Best Picture Oscar and Broderick Crawford as Willie won Best Actor. The CEO and I recently watched the movie (on TCM) and appreciated the art that went into its filming. Warren cleverly interweaves the trajectory of Stark’s career with Jack Burden’s life story.įor all its implications, Warren claimed that “All the King’s Men” was “never intended to be a book about politics.” Willie is a cynical, socially liberal socialist in the American South during the 1930s. “All the King’s Men” portrays the dramatic and theatrical political rise and governorship of Willie Stark. In the movie, this role is played convincingly by John Ireland. The novel is narrated by Jack Burden, a political reporter who ultimately becomes the governor’s right-hand man. There are elements of the storyline that are relevant today.
I’d remembered something of the plot from my viewing of the movie six years earlier but Warren’s prose captured me all over again. Regardless, he suggested “All the King’s Men” and “The Caine Mutiny” for my personal reading list.īoth were challenging reading from the adult nature of the plots for a 15-year-old. I’m not sure why he liked me or took it upon himself to broaden my appreciation of literature.
Pedersen decided I should be reading contemporary adult fiction in addition to the “classics” in the curriculum. Although I’d seen the movie with my parents in 1949, I had not read the novel until my sophomore year in high school.įor six weeks my English class had a student teacher - we called them “practice teachers” in those days.
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