weezeralfalfa
This is a Horatio Alger story. Loretta Young, as immigrant farm girl Katie Holstrom, plans to go to nursing school now that her brothers have returned from the armed services to help run their farm. But, her plan is altered when the painter of their barn offers her a ride to her school, saving her bus fare. But, he has a bad idea with her, wrecking his jeep in front of a motel so that they have to stay at the motel until his car is fixed. Since he is broke and has no insurance, she must pay the damages to the other car. This takes all her money, so after hitchhiking the rest of the way to school, she immediately looks for a job as a maid(with no references,). By luck, she immediately gets a job as a maid for the wealthy, politically influential, Morley family, consisting of the matriarch Agatha(Ethel Barrymore), and her son and US congressman, Glenn(Joseph Cotton). We don't discover their background, but presumably the absent father was/is an important political figure, leaving Agatha an important political powerbroker. Initially, Katie is met by the house majordomo Joe Clancey(Charles Bickford). She initially planned to work only a few months, to get back on her financial feet. However, she is so talented at household chores, they want her to stay longer. She gets involved with a political campaign to fill a congressional seat left vacant by the death of a local congressman. She digs up some shady dealings by the man favored by Agatha: Finley(Art Baker)and tells them at a political rally. This catches the attention of the opposition party, who decide to run her as their candidate. Of course, Katie has no prior political experience, so she runs on a platform of honest and fair dealing, without bias toward financial supporters of her campaign. She champions certain liberal policies, such as a living minimal wage. Presumably, this would include unemployment insurance, programs that support living prices for agricultural products, the rights of organized labor, and various safety net programs. She seems to have good practical organization skills, as well. Finley, her opponent, says he believes in "Americanism". By his, he seems to mean policies that favor businesses, the status quo, smaller government footprint, WASPS(White, Anglo-Saxon Protestants) and which minimize welfare programs, and opposes subversive political parties(Communists, included). Eventually, it's realized that her platform encompasses some goals that both parties subscribe to, hence, she is endorsed by both parties, and including Agatha. After it's revealed that Finley tried to smear her private reputation by false evidence, she wins the race by a landslide. Along with the political aspects, there is a growing romantic attraction between Katie and Glenn, despite their sometimes political differences. There's even an exciting brawl between Glenn plus her 3 brothers vs. Finley's goons plus the painter.So, what are the apparent take home messages?1)Political campaigns should stress specific issues, general philosophy and character, rather than personal wealth or conformity to a political machine.2) Policies that promote the general welfare, whether they involve strengthening or maintaining safety nets and livable wages, or promotion of meaningful job-creating businesses, should be favored. 3)Women, even immigrants, can make useful politicians. They are less likely to be involved in scandal or corruption, tend to have more practical experience in certain specialties, and tend to be more compassionate toward the disadvantaged and children issues. In 1947, when this film was released, women made up only 1.5-2.0% of the House of Representatives, and there were no women senators. As of the recent election, women made up about 20% of both the House members and senators. This shows the great increase in women involved in national politics since this film was released.(I'm not claiming that this increase was substantially promoted by this film).
PudgyPandaMan
I love the premise of this movie - not only is a woman running for Congress, but she's the daughter of an immigrant, and on top of it, she is currently employed as a maid! Talk about aspirations and dreaming big! Not too bad considering women just won the right to vote in 1920 and this movie was released in 1947. "Women's participation in national political life remained low long after the right to vote was gained in 1920. No more than two women served in the Senate at any time until 1994, and fewer than a dozen were Congressional Representatives until 1955. Current representation is 16 senators and 67 representatives, around 15% of the United States Congress." (Wikipedia - History of Women in The U.S.) And here we are some 60+ years since this movie and we have a woman running for President!But I think this film was ahead of its time showing a woman running for Congress in the 40's. I'm sure it must have raised a few eyebrows in spite of its success and awards. I'm sure there were detractors in its day that dismissed the premise as foolishness or pure Hollywood fantasy. Either way, it is a great movie that stands the test of time and is just as relevant today (especially being an election year).Happy viewing!
jotix100
Not having seen the movie before, it was a complete surprise to watch it on cable the other night. This film shows that little, if nothing, ever changes in the world of politics. In fact, it could well be compared to this year's presidential contest. The only thing that has changed from the time where this film was done is that in order to win an election in this country, the candidate must be independently wealthy, or have benefactors that are willing to put up the money in exchange of favors down the line, or not be able to run at all.H. C. Potter's film shows us a slice of what on the surface was an ideal time in America during the 40s, but deep down, this film speaks a lot of what was wrong then, in a subtle way. Young Katrin Holstrom arrives in Capital City wanting to be a nurse. She has to change plans because when she arrives in the city, she has no money because an unscrupulous man had swindled her out of it. She begins working as a maid at the Morley's mansion. They are the local big name in politics. Mrs. Morley makes candidates, or destroys them. Her own son, Glenn is a Congressman.All this atmosphere contributes to the growth of Katrin, or Katie, as she is called. She takes an interest in politics and she shows that she can speak and ask the right questions the candidates don't want to answer. The movie shows the dirty side of campaigns, in general, as is the case of with what's happening in 2004 in America. Loretta Young was perfect as Katrin Halstrom. In this film she out charms everyone that she comes in contact with. Joseph Cotten is as effective as she always was in whatever he appeared in. Ethel Barrymore is Agatha, the rich woman behind the political machine. Charles Bickford is also excellent as Joseph, the butler.Most movies from that period are sadly dated, but this one keeps the ideals of democracy in check. Bravo to Dory Schary for bringing this movie to the screen.
