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State of the Union (1948)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
30 April 1948 (USA) moreTagline:
How's the State of the Union? It's GREAT!Plot:
An industrialist is urged to run for President, but this requires uncomfortable compromises on both political and marital levels. full summary | add synopsisNewsDesk:
(16 articles)
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User Comments:
Dated, but profound more (19 total)Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Spencer Tracy | ... | Grant Matthews | |
| Katharine Hepburn | ... | Mary Matthews (as Katherine Hepburn) | |
| Van Johnson | ... | 'Spike' McManus | |
| Angela Lansbury | ... | Kay Thorndyke | |
| Adolphe Menjou | ... | Jim Conover (as Adolph Menjou) | |
| Lewis Stone | ... | Sam Thorndyke | |
| Howard Smith | ... | Sam I. Parrish | |
| Charles Dingle | ... | Bill Nolard Hardy | |
| Maidel Turner | ... | Lulubelle Alexander | |
| Raymond Walburn | ... | Judge Alexander | |
| Margaret Hamilton | ... | Norah | |
| Art Baker | ... | Radio Announcer | |
| Pierre Watkin | ... | Sen. Lauterback | |
| Florence Auer | ... | Grace Orval Draper | |
| Irving Bacon | ... | Buck Swanson |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
124 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (2005) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved | USA:Passed | Finland:S | Sweden:BtlFilming Locations:
Detroit, Michigan, USAFun Stuff
Goofs:
Continuity: A newspaper, meant to be for the current date in the movie, is shown with the date Monday, April 5, 1948. Later, another newspaper, also meant to be for what is now the current date, is shown, and the date is Friday, March 26, 1948. moreQuotes:
Mary Matthews: It's a small request, but I'd give anything for a good smack on the south end. moreFAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (19 total)
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Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for State of the Union (1948)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
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| WHAT?! Remake with Richard Gere | eldnepm |
| The Original Sazerac Cocktail | bobe-4 |
| Is this already on dvd? | capra_corn |
| improvised???? | junglered269 |
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Lindsay and Crouse wrote this very topical play for 1946 involving the upcoming race for President. Harry Truman was thought to be a dead duck, but he crossed everyone up in 1948. The story involves the race for the Republican nomination and the current political names like Dewey, Taft, Vandenberg, Stassen, etc. are dotted throughout the film. You have to have some knowledge of American history to appreciate some of the lines and issues that are being talked about.
Spencer Tracy plays Grant Matthews, a character based loosely on Wendell Wilkie, the Republican dark horse candidate from 1940 and Katherine Hepburn his estranged wife who reconciles with him for the sake of his White House run which is being quarterbacked by Adolphe Menjou, a Republican political operative and Angela Lansbury a powerful newspaper publisher who is Tracy's mistress.
Frank Capra said that the one thing about this film that stood out was that MGM gave him a lavish budget and spared no expense. It shows and I think Capra spent it on the cast which has some very familiar movie faces and there isn't a sour note in the group.
Dated though the story is, there is one scene in it that is probably my favorite Spencer Tracy scene. It's where he's sitting down to a hamburger with Adolphe Menjou and explaining the kind of speech he wants to make that night. The speech is the views he holds and the things he wants done as President. It's pure Tracy, simple, direct, profound and it should be both required viewing for aspiring actors and politicians both. I only wish that someone with Grant Matthews ideals does run for President from some party. Ironically what he talks about are issues that are as relevant today as in 1946. That part of the film is timeless.