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Amazon.co.uk Review
State of the Union is somewhat better as a Spencer Tracy-Katharine Hepburn movie than it is as a Frank Capra picture. No doubt about it, these are two good roles for the smitten stars: Tracy is a self-made businessman reluctantly drafted into a dark-horse presidential candidacy; Hepburn is his estranged but whip-smart wife, who joins him on the campaign trail. Adding intrigue is the newspaper heiress (played with relish by baby-faced Angela Lansbury) who's the cause of their marital problems. She's also the one who convinces a longtime political horse-trader (Adolphe Menjou) to take up the campaign--which leads to a series of compromises for the candidate.
The Capra flavor is here, in the paeans to liberty and the American Way, and in the crackling pacing of dialogue scenes. Capra's affection for supporting players is also evident, with standout stuff from Menjou, Van Johnson (as a cynical aide), Lewis Stone, and Raymond Walburn. But the film's roots as a hit play (by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse) are a little too evident, and the film as a whole doesn't feel as bracingly Capraesque as the director's 1930s work. Having said that, the political satire is as relevant today as it was in 1948, although the rapid-fire topical references might be puzzling to non-campaign buffs. Note for bloopers collectors: Hepburn's name is spelled "Katherine" in the opening credits. --Robert Horton
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a story of a rich industrialist (Spencer Tracy) who is persuaded by his mistress and owner of a chain of newspapers (Angela Lansbury) to run for presidency as the republican candidate. However his idealistic wife (Katharine Hepburn) decides to use the little influence she still has over her husband.
The film, like most of Capra's films is a bit too moralistic for my taste, which is only works against it. It isn't as good as "Mr Smith goes to Washington" but it's in the same line. Spencer Tracy is good, Katharine Hepburn isn't as memorable as in most of her films and Adolph Menjou and Van Johnson are quite good supporting characters. But the best of the film is undoubtedly Angela Lansbury. Her scheming character is but a sample of what she would later do so well in "The Manchurian Candidate".
The DVD is presented in a bare bone release with a very nice print. And just out of the trivia bag: the reason why you hear MGM's lion's roar over a black screen is because the film was originally distributed (but not produced) by MGM, but the rights later on change hands and possibly they didn't want to use (couldn't use?) the lion anymore.
The film, like most of Capra's films is a bit too moralistic for my taste, which is only works against it. It isn't as good as "Mr Smith goes to Washington" but it's in the same line. Spencer Tracy is good, Katharine Hepburn isn't as memorable as in most of her films and Adolph Menjou and Van Johnson are quite good supporting characters. But the best of the film is undoubtedly Angela Lansbury. Her scheming character is but a sample of what she would later do so well in "The Manchurian Candidate".
The DVD is presented in a bare bone release with a very nice print. And just out of the trivia bag: the reason why you hear MGM's lion's roar over a black screen is because the film was originally distributed (but not produced) by MGM, but the rights later on change hands and possibly they didn't want to use (couldn't use?) the lion anymore.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Frank Capra was a master of "preaching" to the audience through his works and this movie isn't any different. I would like to point out that a lot of Spencer Tracy's lines are still very relevant today, especially the part before he falls under total influence of the brilliant Angela Lansbury, in my opinion the real star of this film. She did a terrific job playing what we'd nowadays call a "cutthroat bitch". Tracy and Hepburn are captivating as always...enough said!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Intelligent, wordy political drama with high production values, excellent performances and the enduringly potent theme of personal integrity.
Fans of the more comedic Tracy/Hepburn films may find it a struggle but as always they perform with consummate skill, as do the rest of the cast, with Lansbury and Menjou outstanding.
New World Order conspiracy theorists will be surprised by the Tracy character's call for one world government, though it is clear that he sees it as a Utopian ideal rather than a means of universal subjugation.
I noted, by the way, that at the end Hepburn listens to Tracy's passionate, liberating speech with tears brimming in her eyes, just as she was to do some twenty years later in their touching farewell, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
Fans of the more comedic Tracy/Hepburn films may find it a struggle but as always they perform with consummate skill, as do the rest of the cast, with Lansbury and Menjou outstanding.
New World Order conspiracy theorists will be surprised by the Tracy character's call for one world government, though it is clear that he sees it as a Utopian ideal rather than a means of universal subjugation.
I noted, by the way, that at the end Hepburn listens to Tracy's passionate, liberating speech with tears brimming in her eyes, just as she was to do some twenty years later in their touching farewell, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
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