State of the Union (1948)

This movie can and should be watched by all today!

Spencer Tracy plays Grant Matthews, a successful business man who is recruited by his girlfriend, Kay (played by Angela Lansbury) to run for the Republican nomination for President. This of course means bringing is estranged wife, Mary (naturally played by Katharine Hepburn) back into the picture, but Kay is willing to make the personal sacrifice for the sake of becoming the real power-house behind the man. And let the true-to-life back-stabbiness of politics begin.

Tracy and Hepburn are supposed to play and estranged couple, and I can't say that they don't exceed at this role. However, there is always an underlying love, and on-screen chemistry that simply cannot be ignored with these two. I remember the very first movie I saw with this real-life couple was Adam's Rib (1949). I knew very little about the actors at the time, but the on-screen chemistry was like nothing I had ever seen before or since. I remember distinctly saying to myself as the characters bantered on screen "Whoa! If those two aren't married, then they are definitely having an affair on set?" The chemistry was that electric. And while the acting skills of Tracy and Hepburn

Director and Producer Frank Capra is true to his style with a sharp story, and witty lines. Having watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington several times, and now this movie, I feel that Capra was made to create these political satires. I only wish he made more.

In the beginning of Grant's campaign, he speaks from the heart and gives an impassioned speeches about politics and the American way. He calls out Labour Unions and Big Business which could be given easily today. He was the candidate we all wish - or I certainly wish - would come along in real life US or Canadian politics. The people of this fictional America agree, and letters of support come flooding in.

However - and again, from what I do know of the inside bubble of the political sphere -  politics and the human heart do not mix; and during his campaign Grant losses his voice to the polished speeches written by his political strategizers. Needing a Capra-esq happy ending, both Mary and Grant realize Grant's moral compass has been lost and Mary initially refuses to give a speech introducing her husband. However, she perseveres only for Grant some 'come to the rescue' of sorts, and rather than giving his speech, he denounces his backers (and now himself) as frauds and withdraws from the campaign. Mary and Grant embrace, and we can assume (and hope) the "estranged" aspect of their marriage is over.

The above description of the movie truly does not do it justice. But to capture how smart and witty the script, the actors, and the production is, would take far more than a quick one-page synopsis on a private blog.