STATE OF THE UNION

STATE OF THE UNION - 1948

RATED - NR but probably G/PG for adult themes.

RATINGS - 24 Amazon (4.5/5), 6,638 Netflix (3.7/5), 869 IMDB (7.5/10).

STARRING - Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Van Johnson, Angela Lansbury. Directed by Frank Capra (IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE).

THEMES - Relationships, Justice, Honor.

STORY - The story begins with Kay Thorndike (Lansbury) rushing to the side of her dying father, Sam Thorndike, newspaper publisher baron. He challenges her to remain ruthless and get back at the Republican Party which he feels betrayed his chance to be president. Kay decides the best way to get to the White House is by backing (with all her personal assets and the newspapers she controls) her good friend and wealthy aviation manufacturer Grant Matthews (Tracy). Rumors have linked Matthews and Thorndike romantically because he is unofficially separated from his wife Mary Mathews (Hepburn). A public image of a happy marriage is important to a successful campaign and Thorndike and company set about to get the marriage back on track, at least for the public. Matthews knows that Mary is no pushover and will not be manipulated for the sake of his campaign. Yet Mary believes in him and knows that at the core his ability to be honest and his business skills are what the country needs, especially someone outside the influence of the Washington insiders. She decides to wholeheartedly back Grant's run for the nomination all the while fighting back the rumors of his unfaithfulness and the influence of the ruthless Thorndike. This begins the tug of war between Mary and Thorndike as to how the campaign should be run - total honesty and openness or politically shrewd playing all sides. It would be hard not to have an entertaining film, especially about such a hot topic, with the stars involved and under the direction of Frank Capra. A lesser known gem of Tracy and Hepburn, this is a great time to pull it out and watch. Maybe there is still a Grant Matthews lurking out there that we could nominate. For aviation buffs, there is a great scene where a couple of Grant's test pilots pull up alongside the campaign plane and challenge him to a little game of 'chicken' in the air. The picture quality is excellent. Enjoy. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 08/23/2008.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, TCM (Spoilers)