The Last Hurrah (1958)

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

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

Frank S. Nugent (screen play) (as Frank Nugent), Edwin O'Connor (based upon the novel by)

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter, Dianne Foster

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Spencer Tracy	...	Frank Skeffington
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Adam Caulfield
Dianne Foster	...	Maeve 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

Storyline

In a New England town, aging Frank Skeffington, descended from poor Irish immigrants, is conducting his fifth and last political campaign for Mayor - he thus far being undefeated - before he serves his last term leading into retirement from politics, he surrounded by his longtime campaign team. Despite his success rate largely from support of the Irish immigrant population in seeing one of their own doing good, Frank does have his detractors, not only the blue bloods of the town, but those that see him operating under an old boys network of doing favors for friends and every one of his actions having a self-serving political motivation. And there are others, including Frank's son, Frank Skeffington, Jr., who couldn't care less about politics, Jr. absorbed with his own fun-loving existence. A microcosm of the political division can be seen by the Caulfield household: non-political Adam Caulfield, a sportswriter for the Morning News newspaper and Frank's nephew, supports his uncle in ...

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Plot Keywords:

mayor | irish american | election campaign | political machine | based on real person | 

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Taglines:

Big book! big cast! big picture!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Orson Welles long claimed (including in "This is Orson Welles," a 1992 book by Peter Bogdanovich) that the real reason he did not do the film was because his agent turned down the role for him while Welles was out of town, claiming that the compensation and/or the billing was not good enough.

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Goofs

When Frank Jr. bursts into the bedroom to see his dying Father, the doorknob comes apart and the interior knob falls off. The Doctor immediately follows him into the room, and the doorknob is once again intact.

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Quotes

Cardinal Martin Burke: I'd prefer an engaging rogue to a complete fool.

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Connections

Featured in Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt (2012)

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Soundtracks

Hail, Hail, The Gang's All Here
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Arranged by Paul Sawtell

User Reviews

Here is the end of a political career and of an era.

"The Last Hurrah" is about the end of a political career and also the end of an era in American local government. I first saw the film when I was ready to launch a career in public administration, and I didn't like the sympathy Spencer Tracy gave the role of big city boss. Over the subsequent years, I have enjoyed the film more each time. Now, I thoroughly enjoy and am amused by the way Frank Skeffington manipulates the powerful to champion the underdog.

The film is more drama and comedy than history. Yet, men like James Michael Curley, Richard J. Daley, and David L. Lawrence combined ambition for power with a desire to achieve municipal progress as they saw it. They used their understanding of human nature and the ignorance of the body politic effectively. Skeffington shows how. Today, their successors use other methods for similar purpose.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Hurrah

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$2,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1