State of the Union
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DVD details
Actor: Adolphe Menjou, Angela Lansbury, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Van JohnsonBrand: NBC Universal
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 124 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-22
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of State of the Union
DVD Review: The Tracy and Hepburn team do a Capracorn film
Summary: 4 Stars
Hollywood always seems to produce better Presidents and candidates for President than the real world, which is certainly the case with this 1948 Frank Capra film. Spencer Tracy plays Grant Matthews, who is persuaded by his mistress, powerful publishing heiress Kay Thorndyke, played to the hilt by Angela Lansbury, to seek the Republican nomination. Katharine Hepburn plays Mary Matthews, who joins her estranged husband to present a public portrait of a happy family. With the aid of the conniving political boss Jim Conover, played by Adolphe Menjou, Matthews begins the long road to the White House.
Based on the Pulitzer-prize winning play by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, you can still get a sense of the original three-act structure of the story. Act I in a Washington, D.C. bedroom in the house of political operative Jim Conover is where Matthews is convinced to try running for President and his wife is persuaded that this is as much a chance to save her marriage as it is to advance her husband's campaign. Act II in a hotel room in Detroit is where Matthews begins sacrificing principles for political expediency in his quest to gain the White House. Act III takes place in the Matthews home on the night of a national radio address, when everything finally comes to a head. From this perspective you have to credit scenarists Anthony Veiller and Myles Connolly with have done an excellent job of adapting the play to the screen. There are a lot of little jokes at the expense of the politicians in both parties in 1948, which will probably be lost on contemporary audiences; in fact, while on Broadway the political jokes were updated weekly. Certainly the particular brand of "Republicanism" offered by candidate Matthews, with his belief in the ultimate formation of a United States of Earth, sounds much more like what we would consider left-wing politics today.
As with most Capra films the acting is a delight from top to bottom. Tracy has several of those earnest speeches about America that make you shake your head when you look at Bore and Gush, while Hepburn tries to deal with both her husband's political amibitons and the other woman in his life. Lansbury's cold and calculating performance foreshadows the monstrous creature she plays in "The Manchurian Candidate." Van Johnson as Spike McManus is pretty much the weatherwave of the story and there is a marvelous moment when Johnson makes a sarcastic quip and Tracy turns and says, "I haven't quite made up my mind about you yet." Howard Smith, Margaret Hamilton and Lewis Stone all have marvelous bit parts as well. Capra was always more concerned with the people who played his characters more than art direction or shot composition. "State of the Union" is rarely considered one of Capra's best works simply because he had less of an impact than usual because it was based on such a successful play, but it is certainly in keeping with the ideological perspective of more celebrated Capracorn films such as "Meet John Doe" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."
Final notes: "State of the Union" was originally slated for Capra favorite Gary Cooper and Claudette Colbert. Tracy was signed instead of Cooper and when Colbert pulled out at the last moment Tracy suggested Hepburn, who had been rehearsing with him, as the obvious replacement. There are a few suspicious souls who believe that Ronald Reagan lifted his infamous "I'm paying for this microphone' line in the 1980 primaries from Tracy's final outburst in "State of the Union." Make up your own mind on that one.
Description of State of the Union
Academy Award-winning screen icons Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn shine in a classic film about marriage, politics and the pursuit of the American dream. When idealistic businessman Grant Matthews (Tracy) is chosen to run for the Presidency, he is caught between the ruthless ambition of a string-pulling newspaper owner and the integrity of his devoted wife (Hepburn). But just as Matthews embraces his ultimate goal, he realizes that he may have lost touch with the American people. Masterfully directed by three-time Academy Award winner Frank Capra (It?s a Wonderful Life, It Happened One Night), State of the Union is a timeless crowd pleaser with a stellar supporting cast including Angela Lansbury, Van Johnson and Adolphe Menjou.Bestsellers in DVD
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