The last hurray
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The last hurray |
| Original title | The Last Hurray |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1958 |
| length | 121 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script | Frank S. Nugent , based on a novel by Edwin O'Connor |
| production | John Ford for Columbia Pictures |
| camera | Charles Lawton Jr. |
| cut | Jack Murray |
| occupation | |
| |
The Last Hurray is an American film (political drama) directed in 1958 by director John Ford for Columbia Pictures. It is based on the novel The Old Man and the Choice (original title: The Last Hurray ) by Edwin O'Connor .
action
The action takes place in an indefinite city in New England , time the present. Frank Skeffington (Tracy) is an "old school" politician: As a self-made man who has made it from immigrant son to judge, he not only seeks contact with the citizens, but sees himself as a real advocate of their interests. The residents have already elected him their mayor four times and now he is running again. Newspaper publisher Force (Carradine), who has an old grudge against Skeffingtons family, supports the opposing candidate McCluskey.
Skeffington's nephew Adam Caulfield (Hunter) is also on Force's journalism staff. Although Adam is actually a sports reporter, Skeffington tries to convince him to write about him: not to support his election campaign, but to document his working style, which can no longer survive in modern times:
“Well, Adam, it's my guess that the old-fashioned political campaign in a few years will be as extinct as the dodo. It'll be all TV and radio, it'll all be streamlined and nice and easy. Oh mind you, I use the TV and the radio sometimes, but I also get out into the wards. I speak in arenas, armories, street corners — anywhere I can gather a crowd. I even kiss babies. But that's the way I've always done it, and I must say it's usually paid off. But there's no use kidding myself about it. It's on its way out, just as I am. Yes, yes, this is my last campaign, Adam, the last hurray. "
"So Adam, I think the old-fashioned political campaign will be as extinct as the dodo in a few years . Everything will be television and radio, everything will be streamlined and nice and undemanding. Oh mind you, I also use the television and radio sometimes, but I also go to constituencies. I speak in sports arenas, arsenals, on street corners - wherever I find people. I even kiss babies. But that's how I've always done it, and I have to say it usually pays off. But there is no point in fooling yourself about it. It won't be around much longer, just like me. Yes, yes, this is my last campaign, Adam, the last hurray. "
To give Adam an idea of what kind of politician he is, he takes him to the immigrant neighborhood where he was born and to the wake for the late Knocko Minihan, an Irish good-for-nothing. The latter unexpectedly turns into an election campaign event, but to the satisfaction of the widow, who without Skeffington's support would hardly have been able to fill her house with so many mourners.
One of Skeffingtons particular concerns is a housing project for which the banker Cass (Rathbone) ultimately withholds the loan funds. When Cass refuses to speak to himself, Skeffington puts him under pressure by appointing his son, the mentally retarded Cass Junior, as fire officer, preparing a scandal that the banker cannot risk.
Although the media appearance of the opposing candidate is embarrassing, Skeffington loses the election. He announced that he wanted to run for the gubernatorial election, but then collapsed with a heart attack. All of his friends and many of his opponents appear once more to pay their respects to him for the last time. Skeffington dies.
Production and reception
Production history
The film is based on Edwin O'Connor's novel The Last Hurray , which is inspired by the life of Boston Mayor James M. Curley (1874-1958). The filming for the film took place on the studio lot of Columbia Pictures in Burbank . The last hurray was the second collaboration between Spencer Tracy and director John Ford, who "discovered" Tracy for Hollywood in 1930 and brought it to the screen for the first time with his film Upstream . After The Best Man , The Last Hurray was the second film in which Tracy played the role of a politician. The role is not tailor-made for Tracy, but was originally intended to be played by Orson Welles .
Theatrical release
The film premiered in the United States in November 1958. The German cinema premiere was on April 10, 1959, but the film was shortened by 21 minutes. German television ( ARD ) first broadcast the film on August 13, 1970. It has rarely been seen since then and is therefore less well known in German-speaking countries.
Reviews
“John Ford's self-deprecating directing style is sometimes exaggerated, the dying scene has turned out too pathetic. Nevertheless, the film is remarkable in terms of content and careful overall design, with Spencer Tracy's refreshing portrayal rounding off the human warmth of the production. "
"Thanks to the sympathetic design and the presentation of Spencer Tracy a pleasant experience."
Awards
The National Board of Review awarded Spencer Tracy and John Ford an award in 1958 for their acting and directing achievements. At the British Film Academy Awards in 1959, Tracy was honored with a nomination for Best Foreign Actor.
Remake
The story was remade for television in 1977 ( The Last Hurray , directed by Vincent Sherman, with Carroll O'Connor in the lead role).
literature
- Edwin O'Connor : The Old Man and Choice. Novel (Original title: The Last Hurray ). German by Inge Marten . Zettner, Würzburg and Vienna 1960, 459 pp.
- Donald Deschner: The Complete Films of Spencer Tracy , Citadel, 2000. ISBN 0-8065-1038-2
- Romano Tozzi: Spencer Tracy , New York: Pyramid Publications, 1973. ISBN 0-515-03246-8 ; German edition: Spencer Tracy. His films - his life . Heyne, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-453-86009-8
Web links
- The Last Hurray in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- New York Times Review
Individual evidence
- ↑ The last hurray. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed July 9, 2017 .
- ↑ Ev. Munich Press Association, Review No. 263/1959