The Last Hurrah (1958)

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Edwin O'Connor (novel)
Frank S. Nugent (screenplay)

Release Date:

November 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Big book! big cast! big picture!

Plot:

Frank Skeffington is an old Irish-American political boss, running for re-election as Mayor of of a US town for the last time.

Plot Keywords:

Politics | Mayor | Irish American | Boston | Election

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins

Cast

Spencer Tracy	...	Mayor Frank Skeffington
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Adam Caulfield
Dianne Foster	...	Mave Caulfield
Pat O'Brien	...	John Gorman
Basil Rathbone	...	Norman Cass, Sr.
Donald Crisp	...	Cardinal Martin Burke
James Gleason	...	'Cuke' Gillen
Edward Brophy	...	'Ditto' Boland
John Carradine	...	Amos Force
Willis Bouchey	...	Roger Sugrue
Basil Ruysdael	...	Bishop Gardner
Ricardo Cortez	...	Sam Weinberg
Wallace Ford	...	Charles J. Hennessey
Frank McHugh	...	Festus Garvey
Carleton Young	...	Winslow

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | USA:Approved (PCA #19086) | Australia:G | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 N. Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel "The Last Hurrah", on which the movie is based, is a fictionalized version of former Boston Mayor James Michael Curley, a celebrated rogue who raised municipal corruption to an art form.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Doris Day Show: The Last Huzzah (#5.16)" (1973)

Partially true story made exceptional by wonderful character actrs including Spencer Tracy

I was 10 years out of a college in the Boston area when this movie came out, and we remembered Mayor Curley of Boston, a brilliant orator, a charming Irish rogue whom everyone - or almost everyone - found fascinating, even when he was in prison. This story, reduced to specific wonderful vignettes of Mayor "Skeffington's" last election and defeat is admirably played by a group of great character actors of the time. Many faces are hauntingly familiar. Tracy, already old, is superb. I consider this one of his greatest and most convincing roles. Slightly dated now, in black and white without the technical tricks we accept in our time, the plain story is sufficient to hold our attention, make us laugh and make us cry. Watching it now, we feel nostalgia for a simpler time, but realize that some things taking place in politics haven't changed that much. Cheers for Spencer Tracy. Cast your vote for "Skeffington" even though the name is not Irish, and "Irish"is the story.