All the King's Men

Willie Stark is a small-town man from a farming background who enters politics with honest intentions and finds himself drawn into a world of manipulation and backroom deals. As he gains office, he abandons the principles he started with, building a machine that enriches his allies and keeps him in power through populist appeals. A newspaper reporter, Jack Burden, is caught up in Stark's rise, alongside a society woman and a political aide whose loyalty comes at a cost. The story follows Stark's ascent and the damage it does to those close to him.

Robert Rossen directed, wrote and produced the film, which followed his 1947 picture Body and Soul and stands second among the six features he directed, ahead of Mambo, Alexander the Great, The Hustler and Lilith. Broderick Crawford plays Stark, with John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Derek, Mercedes McCambridge and Shepperd Strudwick among the credited cast of 83.

Released by Columbia Pictures in November 1949 and running 109 minutes, the drama holds a 7.4 rating on IMDb from around 18,000 votes and a 7 on TMDB from roughly 250 votes. A critics' rating of 8.2 from 73 reviews places it above both audience scores.