The Power and the Glory (film)

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The Power and the Glory
theatrical poster
Directed by	William K. Howard
Produced by	Jesse L. Lasky
Written by	Preston Sturges
Starring	Spencer Tracy Colleen Moore Ralph Morgan
Cinematography	James Wong Howe
Editing by	Paul Weatherwax
Distributed by	Fox Film Corporation
Release date(s)	16 August 1933 (NYC) 6 October (general)
Running time	76 mins.
Country	United States
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Power and the Glory is a 1933 film starring Spencer Tracy and Colleen Moore, written by Preston Sturges, and directed by William K. Howard. It was Sturges' first script, which he delivered complete in the form of a finished shooting script, for which he received $17,500 and a percentage of the profits. Though this is now a common practice in Hollywood, it was unusual at the time and garnered much attention.^[1]

The film, told through flashbacks, is often cited as the prototype for Citizen Kane. Tracy's powerful performance in a boardroom scene is widely considered one of his most thrilling sequences as an actor.

The film was loosely based by Sturges on the life of C.W. Post, his second wife's grandfather, who founded the Postum Cereal Company, which later became General Foods. Like Tom Garner, the lead character in The Power and the Glory. Post worked his way up from the bottom, and ended his own life, but otherwise, according to Sturges, their lives did not correspond.^[2]

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Response
5 Notes
6 External links

[edit] Plot

After the funeral service for Tom Garner (Spencer Tracy), a powerful and much-hated railroad tycoon who committed suicide, his best friend, Henry (Ralph Morgan), recalls Garner's life, his family problems, and his rise from track walker to president of the railroad.

[edit] Cast

Spencer Tracy as Tom Garner
Colleen Moore as Sally Garner
Ralph Morgan as Henry
Helen Vinson as Eve Borden
Phillip Trent as Tom Garner, Jr.
Henry Kolker as Mr. Borden
Sarah Padden as Henry's Wife
Billy O'Brien as Tom (younger)
Cullen Johnson as Henry (younger)
J. Farrell MacDonald as Mulligan
Robert Warwick as Edwards (uncredited)

Colleen Moore and Spencer Tracy in
The Power and the Glory 1933

Cast notes

The cast includes four former film directors: Phillips Smalley, E. H. Calvert, Frank Beal and Thomas Ricketts.^[2]
Four hundred extras were used in the railroad roundhouse scene.^[2]

[edit] Production

Preston Sturges originally wrote the script as a freelance project after being let go by Universal Pictures. He told the story to producer Jesse L. Lasky, who had his own unit at Fox, who requested a treatment. Sturges refused to do a treatment, and instead delivered a finished shooting script, which Lasky said was "the most perfect script I'd ever seen," with nothing that needed to be trimmed.^[2] Sturges offered the script to Lasky for $62,475, but Lassky instead structured a deal in which Sturges got $17,500 upon signing, 3 1/2% of the first $500,000 in receipts, 5% of the next $500,000, and 7% of all receipts over $1,000,000. Such a percentage deal was highly unusual at that time, and caused an uproar among producers and writers.^[2]

Both director William K. Howard and Spencer Tracy were supposed to have worked on Marie Galante^[3], but when it was postponed, they were transferred to The Power and the Glory.^[2] Irene Dunne and Mary Astor were both considered for the part of "Sally Garner," eventually played by Colleen Moore. Moore was leant to Fox by MGM, as was Helen Vinson, and had not appeared in a film since 1929.^[2]^[4]

The film was in production from 23 March to late April 1933, with some re-shooting in June 1933.^[5] It had originally been set to begin in late February 1933, but was postponed several times.^[2]

Location shooting took place at the Hanson, California train station beyond the Santa Susana Pass, using the largest locomotive in the west, leased from the Southern Pacific Railroad; and at the Iverson Ranch in Chatsworth, California.^[2]

During filming, Sturges acted as the dialogue director, working with the actors much as he had done in stage rehearsals as a playwright.^[2]^[6]

Detail from the theatrical poster

The film was previewed in Los Angeles on 17 June 1933, and after objections from the Hays Office about the sexual nature of the relationship between a stepmother ("Sally Garner") and her stepson ("Tom Garner Jr."), some re-editing was done. When this did not satisfy the censors, reshooting and more extensive re-editing was done to alleviate their concerns. The film was premiered in New York City on 16 August 1933, and was generally released on 6 October of that year.^[5] Fox coined the word "narratage" to describe the non-chronological narration of the story.^[2]

[edit] Response

Although the film was well received by critics, and Spencer Tracy's performance was especially praised, the film did not do well at the box office, except in New York City. By the end of 1940, it had grossed a little over a half-million dollars, which meant that Sturges had only received about $2000 over his advance. By 1957 it had gross around a million.^[2]

Sturges' screenplay was widely praised. It was published in book form in 1934, and he received the 1933 Hollywood ReporterAward of Merit for Best Original Story.^[2]