edwagreen A wonderful satire on the ending of the old politics and political boss system is shown in 1958's "The Last Hurrah."Spencer Tracy was magnificent as the old time politician seeking reelection for the last time. With his loyal staff, he does what every good politician does at election time-he knew how to get people to vote for him. Tracy, as Frank Skeffington, knew that times were changing.A fine ensemble cast gave Tracy great support here. As his journalist nephew, Jeffrey Hunter knew what it would take, especially replacing his dimwitted care-free son in the film. Basil Rathbone and John Carradine are up to their old nasty ways as political foes of Skeffington. This is definitely a film of the rich fighting it out over the poor.Interesting that Director John Ford, used Anna Lee and Donald Crisp in this film. 17 years before they were in the memorable "How Green Was My Valley," and Crisp along with the film copped Oscars.A master politician Skeffington never forgot those common people. He knew how to twist hands to get things done. His surprise defeat wasn't really surprising when he himself realized that the politics of his age was passing.A heartwarming tale, showing true ethical and moral character.

Michael_Elliott Last Hurrah, The (1958)** 1/2 (out of 4) Spencer Tracy plays a Mayor who is running for office for perhaps the last time and he invites his nephew (Jeffrey Hunter) along to see how a campaign is run. I must admit that I was pretty letdown with this film considering the talent involved. When you have Ford directing actors such as Tracy and Hunter then I expected a lot more than what was actually delivered. The supporting cast contains brilliant actors such as John Carradine, Basil Rathbone, Dianne Foster, Pat O'Brien, Wallace Ford, Donald Crisp, Ricardo Cortez and Frank McHugh. There are signs a greatness throughout this film but they're often followed up with overly talky scenes that just drag on for no reason at all. Ford is trying to make all sorts of points about the political game but when he speaks these points he just keeps on and on. There's a scene inside a funeral that has political motivations behind it and this scene is the perfect example of a message being beaten to death and dragged down into boredom. There are several great sequences including one where Tracy blackmails Rathbone into doing some good for the city and there's another great scene when Tracy busts in on some bank managers who are using race to work against him. Tracy is good in his role but I don't think this is among his best performances. Hunter delivers a nice performance as well but I found his role to be rather underwritten. I think Carradine steals the film as the racist newspaper editor who holds a grudge against Tracy. All in all, this is an interesting movie but I don't think it takes off the way it should have and considering the talent involved, the movie should have been much better.

whpratt1 This is a Classic John Ford Film dealing with old time politics in a small town, but hinting to be Boston, Mass. Spencer Tracy,(Major Frank Skeffington),"Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", plays the role of mayor who has been around for many elections and this is his final try at winning over his town. However, there are many changes starting to appear in the town and people are beginning to demand more improvements to their community. John Carradine,(Amos Force),"Prison Ship", runs the local paper in town and is not the best of friends with Frank Skeffington, however he hired Jeffrey Hunter as a reporter (Adam Caulfield),"A Kiss Before Dying",'56, who is a nephew to the mayor. It seems everybody smokes up a storm and in one scene the room is filled with smoke floating all over the place. (Glad those days are long gone) The film has many classic actors, Donald Crisp, Basil Rathbone and many more actors who make this film a very entertaining film; there is plenty of dry humor and drama, but entirely too draw out. I even noticed that Spencer Tracy used a great deal of cue cards, more than in any other film he appeared in. picture.

MartinHafer John Ford's version of the book, THE LAST HURRAH, is a behind the scenes look at one last election campaign for an aging mayor (Skeffington) of a town whose name is never mentioned in the film. In many ways, the film is a bit cynical as it showed the way that politicians wheel and deal and manipulate--but in this case, always for a good cause. While Skeffington is definitely not above using these questionable tactics, at the same time, he is shown as fundamentally decent and very, very sentimental--with a true love for his constituents. This is a very difficult balancing act for the film--combining gritty realism with sentimentality, but it manages to do so.In many ways, this is highly reminiscent of the real life Ford, as he was by many accounts a highly manipulative son of a,.....well, you know what I was going to say. Yet, at the same time, sentimentality abounds in his films like no other film maker. You can see it here in his liberal use of old and almost forgotten supporting stars--such as Eddie Brophy, Frank McHugh and Jane Darwell.Overall, the film is very interesting and manipulative (in a good way), as you find yourself pulling for Skeffington and feeling his pain as well--even though he is a fictional character AND a politician! The film is well worth seeing and the film is extremely well-acted and directed.