State of the Union (film)

State of the Union
Directed byFrank Capra
Written by
Based onState of the Union
1945 play
by Russel Crouse
Howard Lindsay
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGeorge J. Folsey
Edited byWilliam W. Hornbeck
Music byVictor Young
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • April 7, 1948 (1948-04-07)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,439,000[1][2]
Box office$3.5 million (U.S. rentals)[3][4]

State of the Union is a 1948 American drama film directed by Frank Capra about a man's desire to run for the nomination as the Republican candidate for President, and the machinations of those around him. The New York Times described it as "a slick piece of screen satire...sharper in its knife-edged slicing at the hides of pachyderm schemers and connivers than was the original."[5] The film was written by Myles Connolly and Anthony Veiller and was based on the 1945 Russel Crouse, Howard Lindsay Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name.

Capra and his screenwriters remained extremely faithful to the play, and, as the authors of the play had done during its two-year run, updated the script during filming to keep it timely.[6] Spencer Tracy was the first choice of both Capra and the authors of the play to play the lead.[7] Katharine Hepburn costars, and Adolphe Menjou, Van Johnson and Angela Lansbury play key roles. The film was Capra's only project for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was also the second and final film to be made by Liberty Films before it dissolved in 1951.

  1. ^ "The Eddie Mannix Ledger." Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study (Los Angeles).
  2. ^ Brady, Thomas R. "Hollywood thrift: Capra saves on 'State of the Union'." The New York Times, February 15, 1948, p. X5.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference tracy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Top Grossers of 1948." Variety, January 5, 1949, p. 46.
  5. ^ Crowther, Bosley (1948-04-23). "'State of the Union', With Tracy and Hepburn, Makes Bow at the Music Hall". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  6. ^ "State of the Union (1948) - Notes - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  7. ^ "State of the Union (1948) - Notes - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2019-09-26.