The Last Hurrah (1958) is a sprawling, dense movie, every moment packed with thought as an aging mayor (Spencer Tracy) handles the many duties in his New England city: constituent service, projects, funerals of leading citizens – and a re-election campaign which pits him against an inexperienced fool backed by sinister local powers who still see him as an outsider Irishman. We hear his pearls of wisdom, his insights into the duties of the mayor and the future of campaigning, his occasional strong-arm tactics, through the eyes of his nephew, a young man working as a journalist and currently employed by one of the mayor’s greatest enemies – a man quite irrational with the concept of privilege.
Perhaps the greatest lesson here is that a Mayor must understand what is best for the cities trailing citizens, not leading citizens – and to get the leaders to see what the downtrodden need and to prod them into doing it. The great failing of of the private sector is to focus on one’s own needs, and not see what others may need. The mayor, as a public servant, finds he needs to exert himself to better the city, even as the election comes close.
This is not an action thriller. There are no assassinations, bomb threats, or indeed anything beyond a snarl from men losing their privilege. But there is political intrigue, old-fashioned arm-twisting which still engenders resentment, even as it gets things done, and that’s where the interest in the film lies.
Even as ever-hostile fate closes in on him.
There’s little to criticize here, as the acting, story, and dialog are all very good. It is, definitely, a movie from another era – and, if you wish to sample such movies, this is a good place to start.
