66
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley CrowtherA headlong and dynamic drama about a back-country champion of the poor who permits his political ambitions to pull him down a perilously crooked road.
- 80The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyThe movie offers, amid its hectic and rowdy melodrama, a constant and underlying vision of the crucial power of government to serve the public good—and the ease with which that power can, almost invisibly, be shifted to the unfair advantage of the rich and the connected.
- Though the story is a hackneyed one--the rise of an itinerant to a position of power--Cagney is so dynamic that he rivets the viewer's attention.
- 63Chicago TribuneDave KehrChicago TribuneDave KehrJames Cagney had his crack at a Huey Long-like character in this overlooked 1953 feature directed by Raoul Walsh; the film suffers from a near-complete lack of originality but Cagney and Walsh, here as always ("The Roaring Twenties," "White Heat"), strike some sparks together. [01 Nov 1992, p.15C]
- 60The GuardianThe GuardianA melodramatic tale at heart, but carried off with some wit and flair. [01 Feb 2000, p.24]
- 60The Observer (UK)The Observer (UK)An effective, superficial film, much inferior to All the Kings Men, which was also based on Louisianas governor Huey Long. [30 Jan 2000]
- 60Time OutTime OutThis covers much the same ground as Robert Rossen's earlier feature, All the King's Men, and Robert Collins' later telemovie, The Life and Assassination of the Kingfish. In decidedly more idiosyncratic style, however, with Cagney's aggressive energy suggesting the particular populist allure of the Southern shyster/demagogue.