The Last Hurrah

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

4.3K

YOUR RATING

Spencer Tracy, John Carradine, Jeffrey Hunter, Basil Rathbone, Pat O'Brien, Ricardo Cortez, Edward Brophy, Donald Crisp, Wallace Ford, Dianne Foster, James Gleason, and Basil Ruysdael in The Last Hurrah (1958)

Trailer for this epic drama based on the novel

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Political Drama Drama

Frank Skeffington is an old Irish-American political boss, running for re-election as mayor of a U.S. town for the last time.Frank Skeffington is an old Irish-American political boss, running for re-election as mayor of a U.S. town for the last time.Frank Skeffington is an old Irish-American political boss, running for re-election as mayor of a U.S. town for the last time.

Director
- John Ford
Writers
- Frank S. Nugent
- Edwin O'Connor
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

4.3K

YOUR RATING

Director
- John Ford
Writers
- Frank S. Nugent
- Edwin O'Connor
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 3 wins & 1 nomination total

Trivia
Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel The Last Hurrah, on which the movie is based, is a fictionalized version of former Boston mayor James Michael Curley, a celebrated rogue who raised municipal corruption to an art form. Curley tried to stop production, not because he was being negatively depicted, but because he believed the film would prevent Hollywood from making a biographical film of his life the way he wanted it done. Curley died at age 83 in 1958, the year the film was released. He had last served as mayor from 1946-50. Skeffington also says that he was several times mayor of " . . . this great city, and governor of the state", even though the name of the city and state are never revealed.

Goofs
When Frank Jr. bursts into the bedroom to see his dying Father, the doorknob comes apart and the interior knob falls off. The Doctor immediately follows him into the room, and the doorknob is once again intact.

Quotes
Roger Sugrue: [standing by Skeffington's bed] Well, at least he made his peace with God. There's one thing we all can be sure of - if he had it to do over again, there's no doubt in the world he would do it very, very differently.
Mayor Frank Skeffington: [opening his eyes] Like hell I would.

Connections
Featured in Directed by John Ford (1971)

Soundtracks
My Pony Boy
(uncredited)
Written by Bobby Heath and Charley O'Donnell

User reviews49

Review

Featured review

8/10

Here is the end of a political career and of an era.

"The Last Hurrah" is about the end of a political career and also the end of an era in American local government. I first saw the film when I was ready to launch a career in public administration, and I didn't like the sympathy Spencer Tracy gave the role of big city boss. Over the subsequent years, I have enjoyed the film more each time. Now, I thoroughly enjoy and am amused by the way Frank Skeffington manipulates the powerful to champion the underdog.

The film is more drama and comedy than history. Yet, men like James Michael Curley, Richard J. Daley, and David L. Lawrence combined ambition for power with a desire to achieve municipal progress as they saw it. They used their understanding of human nature and the ignorance of the body politic effectively. Skeffington shows how. Today, their successors use other methods for similar purpose.