The Last Hurrah

The Last Hurrah centres on Frank Skeffington, a veteran mayor of a New England city who runs for re-election in a changing political landscape. As television becomes the dominant source of information, his old-fashioned style of campaigning is challenged by powerful bankers and industrialists who want a pliable candidate in office. His nephew, a young sportswriter, watches the contest unfold and becomes a witness to the pressures bearing down on his uncle, while Skeffington himself is determined to fight on.

John Ford directed and produced the film, working from a screenplay by Frank S. Nugent. It is the twenty-first of the thirty-one features Ford directed in chronological order, coming after The Wings of Eagles and before Gideon's Day. Spencer Tracy plays Skeffington, with Jeffrey Hunter as Adam Caulfield, Dianne Foster as Mave Caulfield, Pat O'Brien as John Gorman, Basil Rathbone as Norman Cass Sr. and Donald Crisp as the Cardinal among a credited cast of 161.

Released at the end of 1958 and running 117 minutes, the drama was made by Columbia Pictures. On TMDB it holds a rating of 7.2 out of 10 from 64 votes, a modest sample that suggests a film still watched and appreciated by a relatively small audience.