The Last Hurrah

"… something to shout about!"

1958 1h 57m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 64

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a changing world where television has become the main source of information, Adam Caulfield, a young sports journalist, witnesses how his uncle, Frank Skeffington, a veteran and honest politician, mayor of a New England town, tries to be reelected while bankers and captains of industry conspire in the shadows to place a weak and manageable candidate in the city hall.

“… something to shout about!”

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Cast

Spencer Tracy
Mayor Frank Skeffington
Jeffrey Hunter
Adam Caulfield
Dianne Foster
Mave Caulfield
Pat O'Brien
John Gorman
Basil Rathbone
Norman Cass Sr.
Donald Crisp
The Cardinal
James Gleason
Cuke Gillen
Edward Brophy
Ditto Boland

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Ford
Writers: Frank S. Nugent
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

68 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Ford, shot by Charles Lawton Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jack Murray shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Spencer Tracy and Jeffrey Hunter and Dianne Foster carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "… something to shout about!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0051845 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 64 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Ford directs. Charles Lawton Jr. behind the camera. Jack Murray cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

168 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by John Ford, shot by Charles Lawton Jr.. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Editor Jack Murray shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
4Spencer Tracy and Jeffrey Hunter and Dianne Foster carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "… something to shout about!".
6IMDB entry: tt0051845 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 64 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
8Classified under 17 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "based on novel or book", "election campaign", "irish-american".
9Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Lawton Jr.
Editing: Jack Murray
Costume design: Jean Louis
Makeup / hair: Helen Hunt
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Last Hurrah (1958)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

John Ford

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-10-09
★ 7/10
Spencer Tracy is very much in his element as the long established, ducking and diving, Irish-American city mayor who takes on the blue-blooded commercial powers-that-be in his un-named New England city led by industrialist "Cass" (Basil Rathbone). It plays a little to Irish-American stereotypes across the board - corruption abounds all over the shop; plenty of light hearted cons and arm-twisting being used for the public good and with a little healthy pocket-lining at the same time. A solid supporting cast led by Jeffrey Hunter (his nephew "Adam") with an on form James Gleason ("Cuke") and Donald Crisp as the obligatory Cardinal all make for a well put together political drama with plenty of pithily scripted and lightly-amusing banter, most of which comes from the confident Tracy. I didn't much care for the ending; it is a little disappointing - almost as if John Ford ran out of steam - but overall, the pace is great and fans of modern day American "machine" politics will still see plenty that resonates even now. Maybe a little bit too long, but still a thoroughly engaging vehicle for the star to demonstrate his personable acting style and is certainly well worth watching.

Production companies