John Ford assembles a truly staggering list of character actors and bit players to spin the story of an aging mayor's last attempt to fire up the political machine and win against the crony powers that be propping up a wet sack of a rival. It's got the initial impression of a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington-esque All-American political drama but I think there's a bit more cynicism in our Mr. Smith type than what Frank Capra would bring up. There is a touch of strongarming and shady dealings that mean Mr. Skeffington isn't the picture of innocence, but he does seem to at his core believe in his fight and the people of his city. All that political commentary though doesn't seem to be the real point of this as much as it is a mourning of the old order in favor of the still developing rival (re: film and that upstart television medium). When Skeffington is defeated by McCluskey even after it is made blatantly obvious that he is all image and no substance (and even that image is a bumbling mess with that disaster of a campaign ad), he doesn't blow up in anger or confusion the way everyone around him does, simply acknowledging that the machine didn't work and maybe it won't from here on out. His death at the end of the film is tragic but it seems like Skeffington and the audience anticipated it. Fitting that this was released at the beginning of the last decade for both Ford and Tracy's careers. The last hurrah indeed.
John Ford assembles a truly staggering list of character actors and bit players to spin the story of an aging mayor's last attempt to fire up the political machine and win against the crony powers that be propping up a wet sack of a rival. It's got the initial impression of a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington-esque All-American political drama but I think there's a bit more cynicism in our Mr. Smith type than what Frank Capra would bring up. There is a touch of strongarming and shady dealings that mean Mr. Skeffington isn't the picture of innocence, but he does seem to at his core believe in his fight and the people of his city. All that political commentary though doesn't seem to be the real point of this as much as it is a mourning of the old order in favor of the still developing rival (re: film and that upstart television medium). When Skeffington is defeated by McCluskey even after it is made blatantly obvious that he is all image and no substance (and even that image is a bumbling mess with that disaster of a campaign ad), he doesn't blow up in anger or confusion the way everyone around him does, simply acknowledging that the machine didn't work and maybe it won't from here on out. His death at the end of the film is tragic but it seems like Skeffington and the audience anticipated it. Fitting that this was released at the beginning of the last decade for both Ford and Tracy's careers. The last hurrah indeed.
