Wilson (1944)
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88% of critics liked it
(8 reviews) -
44% of users liked it
(299 ratings)
Producer Darryl F. Zanuck had high hopes that Wilson would immortalize him in the manner that Gone With the Wind did for David O. Selznick. The notion of bringing the life story of Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the United States, to the big screen was a labor of love for Zanuck, and accordingly… More Producer Darryl F. Zanuck had high hopes that Wilson would immortalize him in the manner that Gone With the Wind did for David O. Selznick. The notion of bringing the life story of Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the United States, to the big screen was a labor of love for Zanuck, and accordingly the producer lavished all the technical expertise and production values he had at his disposal. Though Alexander Knox seems a bit too robust and overnourished for Wilson, his is a superb performance, evenly matched by those of Ruth Nelson as Wilson's first wife Ellen, Geraldine Fitzgerald as second wife Edith, Thomas Mitchell as Joseph Tumulty, Sir Cedric Hardwycke as Henry Cabot Lodge, Vincent Price as William Gibbs McAdoo, Sidney Blackmer as Josephus Daniels, and the rest of the film's enormous cast. The story begins in 1909, a time when Wilson is best known as the head of Princeton University and the author of several books on the democratic process. Urged into running for Governor of New Jersey by the local political machine, Wilson soon proves that he is his own man, beholden to no one-and that he is dedicated to the truth at any cost. From the governor's office, Wilson is nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate, an office he wins hands-down over the factionalized Republicans. The sweetness of his victory is soured by the death of his wife Ellen, but Wilson ultimately finds lasting happiness with Edith Galt. When World War I breaks out in Europe, Wilson vows to keep America out of the conflict, despite pressure from such political foes as Henry Cabot Lodge (who is depicted as a thoroughly unsympathetic power broker). After being elected for a second term, however, Wilson finds it impossible to remain neutral, especially in the wake of the Lusitania sinking. Reluctantly, he enters the war in April of 1917. Deeply disturbed by the mounting casualties, Wilson decides that, after the Armistice, he will press for a lasting peace by helping to organize a League of Nations. Unfortunately, the isolationist congress, urged on by Lodge and his ilk, refuses to permit America's entry into the League. His health failing, Wilson nonetheless embarks on a whistle-stop tour, imploring the public to support the League of Nations and Wilson's 12-point peace program. During this campaign, he is felled by a stroke, whereupon Mrs. Wilson begins acting as liason between the president and the rest of the country (the commonly held belief that Edith Galt Wilson virtually ran the nation during this crisis is soft-pedalled by Lamar Trotti's script). All hopes for America's joining the League of Nations are dashed when, in the 1920 election, the Republicans gain control of the White House. The film ends as the ailing but courageous Woodrow Wilson bids farewell to his staff and walks through the White House doors for the final time. Idealistically ignoring the negative elements of the Wilson regime (notably his attitudes toward racial relationships), Wilson is not so much a biography as a paean to the late president. Though too long and overproduced, the film survives as one of Hollywood's sturdiest historical films of the 1940s. However, audiences did not respond to Wilson as Zanuck had hoped; the film was a terrific flop at the box office, so much so that it was for many years forbidden to speak of the project in Zanuck's presence. Still, Wilson garnered several Academy Awards: best original screenplay, best color art direction (Wiard Ihnen), best color cinematography (Leon Shamroy), best sound recording (E. H. Hansen), best film editing (Barbara McLean) and best color set decoration (Thomas Little). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Henry King
- Written By
- Lamar Trotti
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 1, 1944 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
Through it all stalks a potent personality in Alexander Knox, a newborn star, supported by a flawless cast.
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, Time Out
The result's handsome, worthy and solemn.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Much of the film's exceptional quality is due to the performance of Alexander Knox in the title role.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Henry King's treatment of the life of Woodrow Wilson is stolid and respectful; it never dares the intimacy that Ford brought to bear on Lincoln, and so it never achieves Ford's mythic heights.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A lavish biography of Woodrow Wilson.
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Cast
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Alexander Knox
as Woodrow Wilson
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Charles Coburn
as Prof. Henry Holmes
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Geraldine Fitzgerald
as Edith Wilson
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Thomas Mitchell
as Joseph Tumulty
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Cedric Hardwicke
as Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge
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Ruth Nelson
as Ellen Wilson
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Vincent Price
as Williams Gibbs McAdoo
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William Eythe
as George Felton
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Mary Anderson
as Eleanor Wilson
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Ruth Ford
as Margaret Wilson
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Sidney Blackmer
as Josephus Daniels
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Madeleine Forbes
as Jessie Wilson
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Stanley Ridges
as Dr. Cary Grayson
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Eddie Foy Jr.
as Eddie Foy
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Charles Halton
as Col. House
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Thurston Hall
as Senator E.H. ("Big Ed") Jones
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J.M. Kerrigan
as Edward Sullivan
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James Rennie
as Jim Beeker
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Katherine Locke
as Helen Bones
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Stanley Logan
as Secretary Lansing
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Marcel Dalio
as Georges Clemenceau
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Edwin Maxwell
as William Jennings Bryan
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Clifford Brooke
as David Lloyd George
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Tonio Selwart
as Von Bernstorff
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John Ince
as Sen. Watson
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Charles Miller
as Sen. Bromfield
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Anne O'Neal
as Jennie
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Arthur Loft
as Secretary Lane
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Russell Gaige
as Secretary Colby
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Reginald Sheffield
as Secretary Newton D. Baker
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Robert Middlemass
as Secretary Garrison
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Matt Moore
as Secretary Burleson
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George Anderson
as Secretary Houston
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Robert Barron
as Secretary Meredith
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Paul Everton
as Judge Westcott
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Arthur Space
as Francis Sayre
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Roy Roberts
as Ike Hoover
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Frank Orth
as Smith
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Dewey Robinson
as Worker
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Francis X. Bushman
as Barney Baruch
- Ferris Taylor
- Ken Christy
- Guy D'Ennery
- Antonio Filauri
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Hilda Plowright
as Jeannette Rankin
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Joseph J. Greene
as Chief Justice White
- Gus Glassmire
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Ralph Dunn
as Robert La Follette
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Davison Clark
as Champ Clark
- Isabel Randolph
- Jess Lee Brooks
- Gladden James
- Frank Dawson
- Larry McGrath
- Ralph Linn
- Russ Clark
- Ed Mundy
- Aubrey Mather
- Jesse Graves
- Dell Henderson
- John Ardell
- George Mathews
- John Whitney
- Harry Tyler
- William Forrest
- Harry Carter
- Jessie Grayson
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Gibson Gowland
as Senator
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Reed Hadley
as Usher
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Sam Harris
as Gen. Bliss
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Cy Kendall
as Charles F. Murphy
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George Macready
as McCombs
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Jamesson Shade
as Secretary Payne
- Charles Anthony Hughes
- Dutch Schlickenmeyer
