Based on Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1946 novel, this political drama tells the story of the rise and fall of an ambitious and ruthless politician in the American South.
In a bravura performance, Broderick Crawford won the 1949 Academy Award for Best Actor with his stunning portrayal of bull-headed, backwoods lawyer Willie Stark, in this powerful drama about political and personal corruption. A sombre but realistic chronicle of raw, brutal power in force, inspired by the story of real-life southern bigwig Huey Pierce Long, the infamous "Kingfish" who was Louisiana's governor and one-time senator.