State of the Union (1948)
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78% of users liked it
(587 ratings)
Frank Capra's only MGM film, State of the Union was adapted by Anthony Veiller and Myles Connolly from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse. Spencer Tracy plays an aircraft tycoon who is coerced into seeking the Republican Presidential nomination by predatory… More Frank Capra's only MGM film, State of the Union was adapted by Anthony Veiller and Myles Connolly from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse. Spencer Tracy plays an aircraft tycoon who is coerced into seeking the Republican Presidential nomination by predatory newspaper mogul Angela Lansbury. Campaign manager Van Johnson suggests that, for appearance's sake, Tracy be reunited with his estranged wife Katharine Hepburn (replacing Claudette Colbert, who'd ankled the project after a pre-production donnybrook with director Capra). Realizing that Tracy and Lansbury are having an affair, Hepburn nonetheless agrees to grow through the devoted-wife charade because she believes that Tracy just might make a good President. Her faith is shattered when Tracy, corrupted by the Washington power brokers, publicly compromises his values in order to get votes. Only in the film's last moments does Tracy prove himself worthy of Hepburn's love and his own self-respect by admitting his dishonesty during a nationwide radio-TV broadcast. Much of the biting wit in the original Broadway production of State of the Union is sacrificed in favor of the director's patented "Capracorn," but the film is no less entertaining because of this. As usual, the supporting cast is impeccable, from featured players Adolphe Menjou (whose off-camera political arguments with Hepburn threatened to shut down production at times) and Margaret Hamilton, to bit actors like Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer and Tor (Plan 9 From Outer Space) Johnson. Because the television rights to State of the Union belonged to Capra's Liberty Films, the picture was released to TV by MCA rather than MGM's syndication division. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Frank Capra
- Written By
- Anthony Veiller
- Genres
- Drama, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Apr 30, 1948 Wide
- On DVD
- Aug 22, 2006
- Studio
- MGM
Critic Reviews
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Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
sassy, sparky, hilarious
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Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
The shock of State of the Union, Capra's last movie in a political vein, is its technical sloppiness.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
So-so political comedy reflects lesser work by all.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Florence Auer
as Grace Orval Draper
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Spencer Tracy
as Grant Matthews
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Irving Bacon
as Buck Swenson
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Katharine Hepburn
as Mary Matthews
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Art Baker
as Radio Announcer
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Van Johnson
as Spike McManus
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Angela Lansbury
as Kay Thorndyke
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Adolphe Menjou
as Jim Conover
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Tom Fadden
as Waiter
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Margaret Hamilton
as Norah
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Lewis Stone
as Sam Thorndyke
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Charles Lane
as Blink Moran
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George Nokes
as Grant Matthews Jr.
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Tom Pedi
as Barber
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Howard I. Smith
as Sam Parrish
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Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
as Bellboy
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Maidel Turner
as Lulubelle Alexander
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Raymond Walburn
as Judge Alexander
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Pierre Watkin
as Sen. Lauterback
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Stanley Andrews
as Senator
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Sam Ash
as Editor
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Frank Austin
as Crackpot
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Brandon Beach
as Editor
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Jack Boyle
as Photographer
- Douglas Carter Beane
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Maurice Cass
as Little Man
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Davison Clark
as Crump
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David Clarke
as Rusty Miller
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Frank L. Clarke
as Joe Crandall
- Charles Coleman
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Edwin Cooper
as Bradbury
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Boyd Davis
as Doctor
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Charles Dingle
as Bill Hardy
- Thornton Edwards
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Mahlon Hamilton
as Businessman
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Dell Henderson
as Broder
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Tor Johnson
as Wrestler
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Marion Martin
as Blonde Girl
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Russell Meeker
as Politician
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Howard Mitchell
as Doctor
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Rhea Mitchell
as Jenny
- Bert Moorhouse
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Arthur O'Connell
as First Reporter
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Garry Owen
as Brooklynite
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Francis Pierlot
as Josephs
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Marshall Ruth
as Man
- Charles Sherlock
- Lew Smith
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Eve Whitney
as Secretary
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Dave Willock
as Pilot
- Wilson Wood
- Stanley Price
- Harry Anderson
- Fred Zendar
- George Barton
- Gene Coogan
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Eddie Phillips
as Television Man
- Roger Moore
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Patti Brady
as Joyce Matthews
