All the King's Men is a 1949 American film noir written, produced, and directed by Robert Rossen. It is based on the 1946 Robert Penn Warren novel of the same name. The film stars Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, and Joanne Dru. The plot focuses on the rise and fall of the ambitious and ruthless politician, Willie Stark (Crawford) in the American South. Though a fictional character, Stark strongly resembles Louisiana governor Huey Long. The movie won three Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, the award for Best Actor, which went to Broderick Crawford, and the award for Best Supporting Actress, won by Mercedes McCambridge.
Introduction
All the King's Men (1949 film)
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Introduction
The plot focuses on the rise and fall of the ambitious and ruthless politician, Willie Stark  in the American South. The story of populist politician Willie Stark's rise to the position of governor and eventual fall, based on the career of the infamous Louisiana Senator and Governor Huey Long. It focuses on the rise and fall of the ambitious and ruthless politician, Willie Stark (Crawford) in the American South. The plot focuses on the rise and fall of the ambitious and ruthless politician, Willie Stark (Crawford) in the American South
who was little tich?
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Harry Relph, professionally known as Little Tich, was a English music hall comedian and dancer best known for acrobatic dance.
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where all has he performed?
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Theatre Royal, Barnard's Music Hall, English music hall
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what did he perform in the first theatre?
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The first of the Drury Lane pantomimes in which Little Tich appeared was "Humpty Dumpty"
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when?
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1891
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is it a character?
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It is a character in an English nursery rhyme, portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg.
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who created it?
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Its origins are obscure, and several theories have been advanced to suggest original meanings.
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has this character ever appeared in a film?
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Yes, in All the King's Men
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what was the storyline of the movie?
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Given a meaty part, his histrionic bent wraps it up for a great personal success adding much to the many worthwhile aspects of the drama."
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Critical response
All the King's Men is a 1949 American film noir written, produced, and directed by Robert Rossen. It is based on the 1946 Robert Penn Warren novel of the same name. The film stars Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Mercedes McCambridge, and Joanne Dru. The plot focuses on the rise and fall of the ambitious and ruthless politician, Willie Stark (Crawford) in the American South. Though a fictional character, Stark strongly resembles Louisiana governor Huey Long. The movie won three Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, the award for Best Actor, which went to Broderick Crawford, and the award for Best Supporting Actress, won by Mercedes McCambridge.
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Introduction
As represented in the film, after becoming separated from other British troops and suffering heavy losses the remnants of the former Sandringham Company were taken prisoner by Ottoman soldiers and then massacred. One survivor wakes in a German military hospital and is told by a doctor that he was fortunate to have been found by German troops accompanying the Turkish forces. The scene in which prisoners are killed as they tried to surrender was criticised by both the Turkish Ambassador in London, and by a grandson of the central character, Captain Frank Beck, as being unsupported by evidence.
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Plot
The story of the rise of politician Willie Stark from a rural county seat to the governor's mansion is depicted in the film. He goes into politics, railing against the corruptly run county government, but loses his race for county treasurer, in the face of unfair obstacles placed by the local machine. Stark teaches himself law, and as a lawyer, continues to fight the local establishment, championing the local people and gaining popularity. He eventually rises to become a candidate for governor, narrowly losing his first race, then winning on his second attempt. Along the way he loses his innocence and becomes as corrupt as the politicians he once fought against.
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Plot
Rossen originally offered the starring role to John Wayne, who found the proposed film script unpatriotic and indignantly refused the part. Crawford, who eventually took the role, won the 1949 Academy Award for Best Actor, beating out Wayne, who had been nominated for his role in "Sands of Iwo Jima". The film was shot at various locations in California using local residents, something that was fairly unknown for Hollywood at the time. The old San Joaquin County courthouse in Stockton, built in 1898 and demolished about a dozen years after the film's release, was featured prominently. Paul Tatara, a film reviewer for CNN, describes the film as "one of those pictures that was saved in the editing".
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Production
In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant", and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. It is noted, however, for deviating significantly from the novel's storyline.
All the King's Men | Film and stage adaptations
As he rises, Stark philanders and gets involved with many women, taking his PR man/journalist Jack Burden's own girlfriend, Anne Stanton, as his mistress. Stark's son Tommy drinks to deal with his feelings about his father, eventually crashes his car, injuring himself and killing his female passenger. When Stark bullies Tommy into playing a football game, Tommy becomes paralyzed after a brutal hit. Stark, who had always dealt with those who got in his way by any means, begins to see his world start to unravel and he discovers that not everyone can be bought off.
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Plot
The film and book are based on the story of the 1/5th (Territorial) Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment which included men from the King's estate at Sandringham House who had initially been formed in a "Sandringham Company". The battalion suffered heavy losses in action at Gallipoli on 12 August 1915 and a myth grew up later that the unit had advanced into a mist and simply disappeared. The film dramatises these events and the origins of the myth back home, in the process following an investigator sent after the war on behalf of the Royal Family to find the truth about the company's fate.
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Plot
"All the King's Men" received seven Academy Awards nominations, winning three.
All the King's Men (1949 film) | <a href="22nd%20Academy%20Awards">Academy Awards 1949</a>
Based on Robert Penn Warren's 1946 novel, the production depicts the political rise of Willie Stark as he becomes governor and runs for the U.S. Senate.
All the King's Men (Kraft Television Theatre) | Plot
All The King's Men () is a 1971 Soviet TV mini-series, adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's novel of the same name.
All the King's Men (1971 film) | Introduction
In 2001, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Academy Film Archive preserved "All the King's Men" in 2000. To date, it is the last Best Picture winner to be based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Accolades
All the King's Men is a feature-length World War I television drama by the BBC starring David Jason, first broadcast on Remembrance Sunday, 14 November 1999. The film derives its title from a line in the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme and is based on a 1992 book, "The Vanished Battalion" by the film's co-producer, Nigel McCrery.
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Introduction
Al Clark did the original cut but had trouble putting all the footage that Robert Rossen had shot into a coherent narrative. Robert Parrish was brought on board by Rossen and Columbia Studios head, Harry Cohn, to see what he could do. Since Rossen had a hard time cutting anything he shot, after several weeks of tinkering and cutting, the movie was still over 250 minutes long. Cohn was prepared to release it in this version after one more preview, but this threw Rossen into a panic, so Rossen came up with a novel solution. Rossen told Parrish to "[s]elect what you consider to be the center of each scene, put the film in the synch machine and wind down a hundred feet before and a hundred feet after, and chop it off, regardless of what's going on.
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Production
After the shooting was finished, Gutkovich as a result of behind-the-scenes intrigues was suspended from cutting. Cutting was entrusted to Naum Ardashnikov, who shot the film as a Director of photography.
All the King's Men (1971 film) | History
Film historian Spencer Selby calls the film "[A] hard-hitting noir adaptation of Warren's eloquent novel". Joe Goldberg, film historian and former story editor for Paramount Pictures, wrote about the content of the plot and its noirish fatalistic conclusion, "The plot makes sense, the dialogue is memorable, the story arises from the passions and ideas of the characters. It deals with graft, corruption, love, drink and betrayal, and the subversion of idealism by power, and it might even make someone angry... The story moves toward its conclusion with the dark inevitability of film noir."
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Noir analysis
Elected as a U.S. Senator, he was assassinated in 1935. The film co-stars Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley.
All the King's Men (2006 film) | Introduction
From the accounts of the time, as related in the original book, it would seem that far from being tamely slaughtered as prisoners, most of the men who died did so in heavy fighting, either being killed outright or dying from the wounds suffered. The unit had advanced beyond other British troops in the line and found themselves isolated some distance behind Turkish lines. Ultimately, a group of anything up to 200 men had been surrounded at a farm house and wiped out during the fighting. As to the fate of Captain Beck, who is shown among the prisoners being executed, the film makes assumptions as well.
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Background to claimed massacre
Cut through dialogue, music, anything. Then, when you're finished, we'll run the picture and see what we've got". When Parrish was done with what Rossen had suggested, they were left with a 109-minute movie that was more compelling to watch. After "All the King's Men" won its Academy Award for Best Picture, Harry Cohn repeatedly gave Parrish credit for saving the film, even though Parrish only did what Rossen told him to do. The editing gambit gives the film a memorably jagged urgency that's unique for a studio-era film. Although Clark is credited as the "Film Editor" (with Parrish being credited as "Editorial Advisor"), both Clark and Parrish received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing.
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Production
The last sighting of Beck was by one of the survivors, who saw him slumped under a tree some time before the end of the battle, with his head to one side. The survivor could not be sure that he wasn't already dead at that point.
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Background to claimed massacre
Filming took place at Sandringham and Holkham Hall, on the North Norfolk Railway and elsewhere in Norfolk, with Andalucia in Spain serving as Gallipoli.
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Production
Besides the early verse play version "Proud Flesh", Robert Penn Warren has written several stage adaptations of "All the King's Men", one of them in close collaboration with famous German theatre director Erwin Piscator in 1947. The story was adapted for radio by NBC University Theatre and broadcast in January 1949. Wayne Morris played Jack Burden, with Paul Frees as Willie Stark. "All the King's Men", a movie made based on Warren's novel, was released several months later in 1949. The film won three Oscars that year: Best Picture, Best Actor (Broderick Crawford), and Best Supporting Actress (Mercedes McCambridge). The movie was also nominated for four more categories.
All the King's Men | Film and stage adaptations
Silver, Alain and James Ursini (editors). "Film Noir: Reader 2". "All the King's Men" film noir themes discussed in essay, "Violence and the Bitch Goddess" by Stephen Farber, pgs. 54-55 (1974). Proscenium Publishers, Inc., New York (July 2003). Second Limelight Edition. .
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Bibliography
The drama was based on co-producer Nigel McCrery's non-fiction book "The Vanished Battalion". The book was first published in 1992 and was republished in 1997 and 1999 as "All the King's Men: one of the greatest mysteries of the First World War finally solved".
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Book
King Little has received a letter which says "Dear Majesty, please be at home today. I have orders to shoot you. Sincerely yours." He asks Gabby if he would like to be king for a day, and Gabby accepts, not knowing that he may be in danger.
King for a Day (1940 film) | Plot
All the King's Men was an American television play broadcast in two parts by NBC on May 14 and 21, 1958, as part of the television series, "Kraft Television Theatre". It was written by Don Mankiewicz based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren. Sidney Lumet was the director, and the cast was led by Neville Brand as Willie Stark and Maureen Stapleton as Sadie Burke.
All the King's Men (Kraft Television Theatre) | Introduction
The movie's title matches that of the Russian translation of Warren's novel: "Вся королевская рать", literally "Whole King's Host". Just like in the source material, it's a line from the famous nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty", translated by Samuil Marshak.
All the King's Men (1971 film) | Title
The book itself only hints at the possibility that a proportion of those who died were "executed" after being captured. The Reverend Pierrepoint Edwards, who discovered the mass grave, was reported to have revealed, much later, in a private conversation that the bodies he'd found had been shot in the head. The veracity of that claim has remained unresolved, the suggestion being made in the film that it was not revealed at the time to protect the feelings of the King and Queen, and relatives of the deceased. There is stronger evidence though in the form of the account of one survivor, (Private Arthur Webber of the Yarmouth Company), taken prisoner during the battle.
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Background to claimed massacre
With his last rifle bullet, John kills a would-be attacker, temporarily quelling the natives.
King Solomon's Mines (1950 film) | Plot
All the King's Men is a 2006 American political drama film written, directed and produced by Steven Zaillian based on the 1946 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of the same name by Robert Penn Warren. "All the King's Men" had previously been adapted into a Best Picture Oscar–winning film by writer-director Robert Rossen in 1949. The film narrates the rise to power & dramatic demise of the ruthless Governor Willie Stark (played by Sean Penn), taking his office in the American South. The fictional character is loosely based on the life of Louisiana governor Huey Long, in office between 1928 through 1932.
All the King's Men (2006 film) | Introduction
A 2002 version of "All the King's Men", re-edited by Noel Polk, keeps the name "Willie Talos" for the Boss as originally written in Warren's manuscript, and is known as the "restored edition" for using this name as well as printing several passages removed from the original edit.
All the King's Men | Plot
A list of American films released in 1949. "All the King's Men" won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
List of American films of 1949 | Introduction
In December 1949 Columbia suspended him after walking out after filming one scene on "One Way Out" (released as "Convicted"). He sued the studio.
John Ireland (actor) | "All the King's Men"
David Jason won Best Actor in the TV Quick Awards for his performance. The rendition of the Norfolk dialect in the film was criticised by the Friends of Norfolk Dialect, formed to preserve and promote the proper recreation of it; "All the King's Men from Sandringham assembled proudly, then marched into the same old murky Mummerzet waters."
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Reception
By choosing a "grey-haired, avuncular" leader, it appears they were returning to the idea of the mature monarch, mirroring the current leaders of the 1950s in Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Rex Harrison's character, Saladin, is misrepresented in the film in an "ultimately demeaning way". In addition to the use of brown face paint, the use of disguise and trickery by the Muslim leader is greatly exaggerated in the movie. The leader is feminized throughout the movie as well with his gaudy, light colored robes and gang of belly dancers.
King Richard and the Crusaders | Historical aspects in production
Robert Penn Warren's 1946 American novel "All the King's Men" is the story of populist politician Willie Stark's rise to the position of governor and eventual fall, based on the career of the infamous Louisiana Senator and Governor Huey Long. It won the 1947 Pulitzer Prize and was twice made into a film in 1949 and 2006, the former winning the Academy Award for best motion picture. This was echoed in Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward's book "All the President's Men", about the Watergate scandal, referring to the failure of the President's staff to repair the damage once the scandal had leaked out.
Humpty Dumpty | In film and literature
Beeston's involvement in the matter is cryptic, and the Blagrave/Beeston suit was unsuccessful; Hammerton remained with the King's Men and acted for them for the next ten years, till the theatres were closed in September 1642 at the start of the English Civil War.
Stephen Hammerton | King's Men
Due to the heavy deviations being made to the film's shooting script, Nicholas Ray and Philip Yordan were no longer on speaking terms communicating only through walkie-talkies.
King of Kings (1961 film) | Filming and post-production
Donovan filmed scenes for an undetermined role in the 1949 film "I Was a Male War Bride", but his scenes were deleted.
King Donovan | Filmography
As described in a film magazine, King August (Semon) is threatened with a revolution and death, so he abdicates in favor of the Stranger (Semon), a dockworker who looks like the King, who is hidden in a box and smuggled into the palace. The new ruler proves too lively for the plotters, and after smashing numerous vases over their heads, the plotters are dumped into a cistern beneath the palace. The dockworker is knighted by the newly crowned queen (Carlisle).
A Pair of Kings (film) | Plot
He refuses, breaks free and escapes with his football.
The White King (film) | Plot
Robert Penn Warren's novel, published in Russian in 1968, immediately attracted the attention of the reading public. In Soviet cinematographic circles, the idea of film adaptation immediately arose. Application for the film adaptation almost simultaneously filed Stanislav Rostotsky from Mosfilm and Alexander Gutkovich in Gosteleradio BSSR. The question was decided in favor of the Belarusian version because of the personal involvement of the first Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist party of Belarus Pyotr Masherov. The film was shot by Belarusian television on the basis of the Mosfilm Studio. Most of the film was shot in Klaipeda and Palanga.
All the King's Men (1971 film) | History
The musketeers drag him away and lock him in the Bastille, where the jailers mistake him for Phillippe, and whip him.
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film) | Plot
Crawford starred in "The Mob" (1951), a crime drama. Under the direction of Phil Karlson he starred in "Scandal Sheet" (1952), based on a novel by Sam Fuller.
Broderick Crawford | "All the King's Men" and stardom
He was wounded to the head and claimed to have both heard other wounded being bayonetted and shot by Turkish soldiers, and to have been attacked in the same fashion himself, only being saved by a German officer. In addition, at least one British officer was seen being taken prisoner during the battle but was not heard from again. The book suggests that, based on evidence from the time, the Turkish soldiers struggled with the concept of taking prisoners as opposed to a deliberate extermination policy. The film does go beyond the book in the way it portrays a larger group of men taken prisoner being deliberately executed, in a confused and fast-moving scene.
All the King's Men (1999 film) | Background to claimed massacre
Years pass, and Wilfred hits the jackpot in America with a silver mine. Now a rich man known to all as the "Silver King", he returns to England incognito. He sets about investigating the circumstances of Geoffrey's murder, and identifies the guilty individuals. He takes his evidence to the police, who exonerate him of all charges. He then engineers a reconciliation with Nellie and their now grown daughter Olive (Chili Bouchier).
The Silver King (1929 film) | Plot
Vaughn also said "The Great Game" was a working title and the film would not have that name.
The King's Man | Casting
Ray then hired screenwriter Philip Yordan to write a new script. Prominent actors were considered to portray multiple roles. Filming commenced in April 1960, and wrapped in October 1960. Financing of the film was initially provided by Pierre S. du Pont III, but Bronston appealed for more funding from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who was interested in the film following their success with "Ben-Hur" (1959). With MGM involved, mandatory rewrites and additional scenes were added to the film. Reshoots were shot in December 1960 and again in May 1961. The film premiered at Loew's State Theatre in New York City on October 11, 1961.
King of Kings (1961 film) | Introduction
The movie is a generally faithful adaptation of the novella, but for some small narrative differences. In the movie:
The Man Who Would Be King (film) | Differences from the novella
King Serge IV of Molvania (Menjou) comes to Manhattan to conduct business with Arthur Trent (Kilgour), but instead goes to Coney Island, where he meets Gladys Humphreys (Love) and John Rockland (Shaw). John, not knowing the king's royal identity, invites him to his home at Little Falls, New Jersey. The king falls in love with Gladys, but Trent catches them in a compromising situation, and blackmails the king into completing their business deal. The king leaves the United States and Gladys forever.
The King on Main Street | Plot
In 1928, actress Valeska Surratt and scholar Mirza Ahmad Sohrab sued DeMille for stealing the scenario for "The King of Kings" from them. The case went to trial in February 1930 but eventually was settled without additional publicity. Surratt, who had left films to return to the stage in 1917, appeared to be unofficially blacklisted after the suit.
The King of Kings (1927 film) | Lawsuit
In an interview with the "Los Angeles Times", Zaillian said that the film's poor performance was "like getting hit by a truck. ... I don't know what to make of it... We're all a bit shellshocked. I feel like Huey Long must have felt -- you try to do good and they shoot you for it."
All the King's Men (2006 film) | Aftermath
A master criminal is hunted by the police after committing a series of crimes.
King of the Underworld (1952 film) | Plot summary
Sir Guy de Vere inherits his father's estate while serving with the British army in India. He returns home to take up his new role, but is greeted with hostility by his family and servants. After a drunken evening, a bump on the head with a suit of armour sends Sir Guy back to the 1400s and the golden age of chivalry.
When Knights Were Bold (1936 film) | Plot
The film follows a young man named Frank, who comes to live with his Uncle and Aunt. Slowly, he starts to fantasize about a relationship with his Aunt Martha.
King, Queen, Knave (film) | Plot
"All the King's Men" grossed $7.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $2.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $9.5 million, against a production budget of $50 million. In the film's opening weekend it made $3.7 million from 1,514 theaters, finishing seventh. It then dropped to 11th place with a gross of $1.5 million in its second weekend, and by its third weekend fell to 27th place with $285,993.
All the King's Men (2006 film) | Box office
The film's score was composed by James Horner, who had previously worked with Zallian on "Searching For Bobby Fischer".
All the King's Men (2006 film) | Soundtrack
Owen" without success. After General Mandrake is stabbed in the back, the judge arrives at the only explanation: Owen must be one of them.
And Then There Were None (1945 film) | Plot
Instilled with a desire for revenge, the young prince begins spreading the word of Burchou’s treachery, competing at the Man of Men contest, falling in love with the enemy commander's daughter, and struggling to restore his demolished hometown, forging alliances and building a power base that will culminate with him ascending to the position of great conqueror.
Genghis Khan (1950 film) | Plot
All the King's Men is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. All the King's Men may also refer to:
All the King's Men (disambiguation) | Introduction
The Sport of Kings is a 1921 British silent sports film directed by Arthur Rooke and starring Victor McLaglen, Douglas Munro and Cyril Percival. The screenplay concerns a man who tries to prevent his wealthy ward from marrying a man involved in the horseracing world.
The Sport of Kings (1921 film) | Introduction
In 63 BC, Pompey conquered Jerusalem and the city was sacked. He entered the Temple to seize the treasure of Solomon and massacred the priests there. He discovered that the treasure is only a collection of scrolls of the Torah. These Pompey held over a fire until an old priest reached for them imploringly. Pompey relented and handed them to the old man and left to carry out massacres of enemy villages and towns. Many years later, a series of rebellions break out against the authority of Rome, so the Romans crucify many of the leaders and place Herod the Great on Judea's throne.
King of Kings (1961 film) | Plot
A stern Justice of the Peace takes over a firm of bookmakers.
The Sport of Kings (1931 film) | Premise
He imprisons the King and places a look-alike as a dummy king. Rajakumari is forced to dance in the pirates' ship. Sagar, who was earlier released, attacks the ship and frees Rajakumari. He then kills Guman in a sword fight and releases the real King from prison.
Samrat (1954 film) | Plot
Nearly everyone of note is at the tournament, including Prince John. The Norman knights Brian de Bois-Gilbert, Hugh de Bracy, Front de Boeuf, Philip de Malvoisin and Ralph de Vipont defeat all Saxon comers. Then a mysterious Saxon knight appears, arrayed all in black, his face hidden behind his visor. He declines to reveal his name, but challenges all five Normans. He easily defeats Malvoisin, Vipont, and Front de Boeuf, one after the other. When Ivanhoe salutes Rebecca, Bois-Guilbert is immediately smitten by her beauty. While Ivanhoe bests de Bracy, he is seriously wounded in the shoulder. By this point, his identify has been guessed by some, including his father.
Ivanhoe (1952 film) | Plot
As of July 2019, the film holds a "fresh" 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.
King of Kings (1961 film) | Critical reaction
A young man, recently released from prison, returns to his childhood hometown in order to escape from his recent criminal past. There, he is confronted with suspicion and hostility by local people, including the community leader. The only friendly person is the policeman. After his former girlfriend arrives, his past catches up with him and conflict with locals goes to extremes.
The King (2002 film) | Plot
The Man Who Would Be King is a 1975 Technicolor adventure film adapted from the 1888 Rudyard Kipling novella of the same name. It was adapted and directed by John Huston and starred Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Saeed Jaffrey, and Christopher Plummer as Kipling (giving a name to the novella's anonymous narrator). The film follows two rogue ex-soldiers, former non-commissioned officers in the British Army, who set off from late 19th-century British India in search of adventure and end up in faraway Kafiristan, where one is taken for a god and made their king.
The Man Who Would Be King (film) | Introduction
When the film was released, it received wide acclaim. Film critic Bosley Crowther lauded the film and its direction in his review, writing, "Robert Rossen has written and directed, as well as personally produced, a rip-roaring film of the same title ... We have carefully used that descriptive as the tag for this new Columbia film because a quality of turbulence and vitality is the one that it most fully demonstrates ... In short, Mr. Rossen has assembled in this starkly unprettified film a piece of pictorial journalism that is remarkable for its brilliant parts." Critic William Brogdon, writing for "Variety" magazine, was also complimentary and praised Broderick Crawford's work, "As the rural Abe Lincoln, springing up from the soil to make himself a great man by using the opinionless, follow-the-leader instinct of the more common voter, Broderick Crawford does a standout performance.
All the King's Men (1949 film) | Critical response
Maureen Stapleton was nominated for an Emmy Award for best single performance by an actress. Stapleton and Neville Brand won the outstanding performance awards by an actress and actor at the 1958 Sylvania Television Awards. The production was also nominated as the outstanding telecast of 1958, losing out to "Little Moon of Alban".
All the King's Men (Kraft Television Theatre) | Reception
The film begins with a feast in a great hall during winter. The king is ashamed of how comfortable they have all grown to live, and questions the bravery of all knights present. A knight on horseback storms through the door and the crowd falls silent as the knight, all in green and carrying a large ax, walks to the throne. He asks if any man has enough courage to challenge him to a game. The king shames the knights around the hall for not volunteering, and in an act of showmanship announces he himself shall take the challenge given by the Green Knight.
Sword of the Valiant | Plot
The King believes Johnny and helps him infiltrate Sinan's lair where it is revealed that the man who orchestrated the assassination plot was none other than the King's brother Prince Dragna. Johnny manages to overpower Sinan but learns that his army has grown in number and taken the town by force.
Harum Scarum (film) | Synopsis
Only at this point does Jack learn from his mother that Irwin was his father.
All the King's Men | Judge Irwin
Wilfred Denver (Marmont) wins the heart of the beautiful Nellie (Jean Jay) and marries her, earning the ongoing festering resentment of Nellie's former beau Geoffrey Ware (Huth). A few years later, Wilfred and Nellie have a daughter, but Wilfred's financial recklessness has left him facing large debts. Geoffrey sees an opportunity for revenge by giving his desperate former friend a surefire insiders' tip on a horse running at generous odds in that year's Epsom Derby. Wilfred lays a large bet which he can ill afford, only to watch in dismay as the horse straggles home at the back of the field.
The Silver King (1929 film) | Plot
There they will offer their services to a ruler and then help him to conquer his neighbours, but proceed to overthrow him and loot the country. Kipling, after first trying to dissuade them, gives Dravot his masonic tag as a token of brotherhood.
The Man Who Would Be King (film) | Plot
In the summer of 1955, four 12-year-old boys — Petey LaChance (Peter, with Richard Dreyfuss' voice in his head narrating the story), Quag Chambers (Quagmire), Joey Duchamp (Joe with Roy Scheider's voice in his head, who starts talking with Dreyfuss until Joe stops them), and Cleve Brown (Cleveland) — set out to find a dead body in the woods, following a set of railroad tracks to find it. At the start of their trip, they try going through Old Man Pressman's (Stewie) junkyard, only to be chased out by Pressman and his dog Chopper (Brian). As they travel further down the tracks, they are chased across a bridge by a train, which ends up running over Joey's legs, as does another train that follows closely behind, which effectively cripples him.
Three Kings (Family Guy) | "<a href="The%20Body%20%28novella%29">Stand by Me</a>"
Henry IV dies in his bed with Hal present, and Hal is crowned King Henry V. Hal opts for peace and conciliation with his father's adversaries, despite his actions being seen as weakness. At his coronation feast, the Dauphin of France sends Hal a ball as an insulting coronation gift. However, Hal chooses to frame this as a positive reflection of his boyhood. His sister Philippa, now the Queen of Denmark, cautions that nobles in any royal court have their own interests in mind and will never fully reveal their true intentions. Hal interrogates a captured assassin who claims to have been sent by King Charles VI of France to assassinate Hal.
The King (2019 film) | Plot
Scott of "The New York Times" expressed disappointment with the film: "Nothing in the picture works. It is both overwrought and tedious, its complicated narrative bogging down in lyrical voiceover, long flashbacks and endless expository conversations between people speaking radically incompatible accents." Michael Medved gave "All the King's Men" two stars (out of four) calling it "depressing and disappointing", a "stodgy melodrama" and a "pointless, pretentious, plodding period-piece". Some reviews were positive. Richard Schickel of "Time Magazine" liked the movie, arguing that "it's much more faithful to the tone of the novel" than the original. Kenneth Turan ("Los Angeles Times") praised the film's "undeniable moral seriousness" and the actors' "exceptional ensemble work." He argued that Zaillian's script and direction "expertly extracted the core of this greatest of American political novels, a work that is both of its time and outside it."
All the King's Men (2006 film) | Critical response
A tie-in paperback novelization of the screenplay, by Harold Calin — a ubiquitous paperback novelist of the era, best known for his novels of men at war — was commissioned by Lancer Books and released to coincide with the release of the film. Its text occupies 122 pages of very small print (typical of the period) and the copyright is © 1963 Mirvish Company. The price on the cover: 40¢.
Kings of the Sun | Novelization
In 1638, King Louis XIII of France is delighted when his wife bears him a son, Louis, the heir to the throne. However, a few minutes later, a second son is born. Colbert (Walter Kingsford), the king's trusted adviser, persuades the king to secretly send the second child, Philippe, away to Gascony to be raised by his majesty's dear friend, d'Artagnan (Warren William), in order to avert a possible civil war later. Fouquet (Joseph Schildkraut), a mere cardinal's messenger at the time, finds out about the twin and uses this to advance his career. Twenty years later, he is the Minister of Finance under Louis XIV.
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film) | Plot
A copy of the film is preserved in the Library of Congress.
If I Were King (1920 film) | Preservation status
The story is told in flashback but the 1952 version has it in chronological order with the scene with the King cut out.
The Iron Mask | Production background
The synopsis provided by the studio in The Moving Picture World was:
King Lear (1916 film) | Plot
It received mixed reviews from film critics, but was a box office success.
King of Kings (1961 film) | Introduction
A giant gate built for this film was later used in the 1933 film "King Kong", and was among the sets torched for the "burning of Atlanta" in "Gone with the Wind" (1939). Other sets and costumes were re-used for the 1965 Elvis Presley film, "Harum Scarum". "The King of Kings" was the first movie that premiered at the noted Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California on May 18, 1927. The film was screened there again on May 24, 1977 to commemorate the theater's 50th anniversary. The movie has two Technicolor sequences, the beginning and the resurrection scene, which use the two-strip process invented by Herbert Kalmus.
The King of Kings (1927 film) | Production details
"The Man Who Would Be King" had been a pet project of John Huston's for many years after he had read the book as a child. Huston had planned to make the film since the 1950s, originally with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart in the roles of Daniel and Peachy. He was unable to get the project off the ground before Bogart died in 1957; Gable followed in 1960. Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas were then approached to play the leads, followed by Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole. In the 1970s, Huston approached Robert Redford and Paul Newman for the roles.
The Man Who Would Be King (film) | Production
Like virtually all film versions, this also changes Haggard's plot to include a female lead. But it strays even further from the novel than the 1937 British adaptation "King Solomon's Mines". There are several African characters in the book, particularly Umbopa, a king in disguise. In the earlier film, Paul Robeson received top billing for the role, whereas in this version, Umbopa's importance is greatly reduced.
King Solomon's Mines (1950 film) | Adaptation
All the King's Men is a novel by Robert Penn Warren first published in 1946. Its title is drawn from the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty. In 1947, Warren won the Pulitzer Prize for "All the King's Men." It was adapted for a film in 1949 and 2006; the 1949 version won the Academy Award for Best Picture; the 2006 version was a massive failure. It is rated as the 36th greatest novel of the 20th century by Modern Library, and it was chosen as one of "Time" magazine's 100 best novels since 1923.
All the King's Men | Introduction
King Arthur Was a Gentleman is a 1942 British, black-and-white, comedy, musical film, directed by Marcel Varnel and starring Arthur Askey. It was produced by Edward Black and Maurice Ostrer for Gainsborough Pictures.
King Arthur Was a Gentleman | Introduction
He lures Bianca's dealer Frankie to the party and beats him for information, then steals his phone.
Message from the King (film) | Plot
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer became interested in investing as they saw the film as a potential rival to "Ben-Hur" (1959), which was still in wide release. MGM studio president Joseph Vogel visited the set in Madrid and viewed dailies of the unfinished film. Coming away impressed, he alerted production head Sol C. Siegel of the production in which he also visited the set. Siegel recommended various changes feeling the film was too long, needed more action, and had a weak ending. An original Jewish Zealot character named "David" portrayed by Richard Johnson was written into the film who was function as a bridge between the film's plot threads.
King of Kings (1961 film) | Filming and post-production
Set during World War II, the plot involves the undersized Arthur joining the army to prove himself to his girlfriend Susan (Evelyn Dall), who is in the same unit as him. Here, his idealistic notions about King Arthur prompt his messmates to trick him into believing that a sword they have dug up is the fabled Excalibur. Armed with this talisman Arthur strides forth to deal with the Wehrmacht.
King Arthur Was a Gentleman | Synopsis
"King of the Rocket Men"'s official release date was June 8, 1949, although this was actually the date the sixth chapter was made available to film exchanges. A 65-minute feature film version, created by editing the serial footage together, was released on July 25, 1951; it was one of 14 feature films Republic made from their serials. The title was changed to "Lost Planet Airmen" after using the working titles "The Lost Planet" and "Lost Planetmen". The ending was changed for the feature version. Instead of New York City being reduced to rubble by a deluge, as in the serial, those events are dismissed as just the "dream of a mad man" and did not really happen.
King of the Rocket Men | Theatrical
The king of an unnamed country is annoyed after he finds that there was no butter available for spreading on his morning toast. His staff try to find him some butter, which they eventually do.
The King's Breakfast (film) | Plot
The film centers on a young city boy named Billy who heads out to the Old West to live on a ranch bonds with a wild horse named Royal.
King of the Wild Horses (1947 film) | Plot
Newspaper reporter "Scoops" (Brown) is sent out on assignment, to investigate the failed assassination attempts on Archduke Julio (Harry Davenport). Trying to get the story, he runs into Jane Hamilton (Helen Mack) who is really Princess Helen. He doesn't realize that she is the story: a princess in exile, in danger of assassination; and, falling in love with "Scoops", while engaged to a prince. The film ends with a wild chase and a shootout with machine guns. The question is, who will survive to tell the tale?
Fit for a King | Plot summary
Sport of Kings is a 1947 American sports drama film directed by Robert Gordon and starring Paul Campbell, Gloria Henry and Harry Davenport. The film's sets were designed by the art director Charles Clague. Two young brothers move to Kentucky after inheriting their father's farm.
Sport of Kings (film) | Introduction
In spite of its high-profile cast, direction and production team, the film was a massive failure, both with critics and at the box office. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds approval rating of 11% based on 157 reviews, with an average rating of 4.21/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "With a scenery-chewing performance from Sean Penn, an absence of political insight, and an overall lack of narrative cohesiveness, these "Men" give Oscar bait a bad name." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". A. O.
All the King's Men (2006 film) | Critical response
The lunatics crown Plumpick the King of Hearts with surreal pageantry as he frantically tries to find the bomb before it goes off.
King of Hearts (1966 film) | Plot
"Note: Most of the early films were opera films."
The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants | Films