(Author's Note: First two sentences are to be read in a 1940's announcer's voice. You are free to yell "News…… On the March" beforehand if you so choose).
The 1948 primaries. America is uneasy as the Democrats have been in the White House for sixteen years, the Cold War is beginning, and President Truman has been labeled ineffective by the press. The Republicans (and Frank Capra) need a nominee that will appeal to the masses while maintaining their conservative ideology. In the midst of party machinations and press conspiracies, self-made industrialist Grant Matthews (Spencer Tracy) is talked into running for President. Despite his distrust of politicians, he is persuaded by scheming kingmaker wannabe Jim Conover (Adolphe Menjou) and press magnate/mistress Kay Thorndyke (Angela Lansbury *). While Thorndyke wants Matthews for her own purposes, his estranged wife Mary (Katharine Hepburn) also vies for his affections and demands that he speak for the common folk of America. So, the film becomes a romantic and ideological struggle.
These issues prevent State of the Union from being on par with Capra's classics, but the film does contain some clever banter. The observations of 1948 politics ring true (Republican desperation, the ability of certain press members to skew the narrative of events, and the exchange of influence for votes ***). While I didn't love Van Johnson's comedic relief, Hepburn has some excellent lines (and I suppose that I will always remember this film for the fact that Katharine Hepburn says "I'd give anything for a good smack on my south end").
The film, though, ultimately rests on its protagonist and unfortunately he fails to deliver entirely one way or the other. Unless this unsatisfying blend of quirky comedy and dark character study is some kind of larger commentary on the inability of politicians to appeal to the entire nation, State of the Union doesn't live up to its potential.
Side Notes
* This is the other Cold War era film with Angela Lansbury playing a key political manipulator.
** In my mind, establishing Tracy's Matthews as a man of the people is rather unconvincing given that we only really hear others saying how beloved he is while he appears to be a narcissistic prick for 90% of the film. There's nothing wrong with him being a narcissistic prick, and it actually would have been interesting if Capra had played around more with that considering the likability of his previous protagonists, but it felt like the audience is told that Matthews is likable without ever seeing any evidence of that likability.
*** Seeing this film while listening to an audiobook of the excellent Korean War history The Coldest Winter was an added bonus as the book covers the media writing off Truman, the Republican search for a likable candidate, and the various political factions that determined domestic and foreign policy.
I have yet to dig deeper into Capra's filmography, but will probably watch some of his earlier work next as well as his "Why We Fight" documentary/propaganda series. After reading his autobiography (the boffo The Name Above the Title), it sounds like his post-State of the Union works were less creatively rewarding as the stars gained further control over Hollywood pictures, so I'm not necessarily in a rush to get to those films.
I also wonder about the fundamental statement that Capra is making with this film in comparison with his earlier film about politics. It's a bit worrying that while Mr. Smith implies that a few bad eggs from the Taylor Machine are ruining politics, State of the Union suggests that the whole system is so toxic that anyone involved is at least partially tainted.
There's something amusing about Katharine Hepburn's famous independent onscreen persona when - from what I remember from Mark Harris' excellent Pictures at a Revolution - she seemed to be more of the obedient and dutiful housewife to the dominant Tracy.
Crew & Cast
Directed by Frank Capra
Screenplay by Anthony Veiller (Welles' The Stranger, Siodmak's The Killers, Night of the Iguana, Capra's Why We Fight) & Myles Connolly (Tarzan's New York Adventure, contributed to Meet John Doe, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington & Harvey)
Cast
Grant Matthews - Spencer Tracy
Mary Matthews - Katharine Hepburn
Spike McManus - Van Johnson
Kay Thorndyke - Angela Lansbury
Jim Conover - Adolphe Menjou