THE LAST HURRAH
DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BY JOHN FORD
COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION
Information from IMDb
Plot Summary
An aging politician tries to get re-elected one last time
in the changing world of the 1950s when TV started
to play a bigger part in politics.
Based loosely on the career of multi-term Boston Mayor
James Michael Curley, this film examines the good and evil inherent
in politics and all the things that go into an election.
Tracy's uphill battle to stay in office is set against
the political machinery that preyed on ethnic hatred and old-time money. Written by Ed Lorusso
Full Cast
Spencer Tracy ... Mayor Frank Skeffington
Jeffrey Hunter ... Adam Caulfield
Dianne Foster ... Maeve Caulfield
Pat O'Brien ... John Gorman
Basil Rathbone ... Norman Cass, Sr.
Donald Crisp ... Cardinal Martin Burke
James Gleason ... 'Cuke' Gillen
Edward Brophy ... 'Ditto' Boland
John Carradine ... Amos Force
Willis Bouchey ... Roger Sugrue
Basil Ruysdael ... Bishop Gardner
Ricardo Cortez ... Sam Weinberg
Wallace Ford ... Charles J. Hennessey
Frank McHugh ... Festus Garvey
Carleton Young ... Winslow
Frank Albertson ... Jack Mangan
Bob Sweeney ... Johnny Degnan
William Leslie ... Dan Herlihy
Anna Lee ... Gert Minihan
Ken Curtis ... Monsignor Killian
Jane Darwell ... Delia Boylan
O.Z. Whitehead ... Norman Cass Jr.
Arthur Walsh ... Frank Skeffington Jr.
Phil Adams ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Alex Akimoff ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Fred Aldrich ... Campaign HQ Extra (uncredited)
Richard Alexander ... Mourner Given Cigar at Wake (uncredited)
Don Anderson ... Police Officer at Wake (uncredited)
Frank Baker ... Banker Member of Plymouth Club (uncredited)
Bobette Bentley ... First Blonde (uncredited)
Steve Benton ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Gail Bonney ... Woman, scene 190 (uncredited)
Danny Borzage ... Pete (uncredited)
Rand Brooks ... Votes Tallyman (uncredited)
John Bryant ... Man at Campaign HQ (uncredited)
Jack Chefe ... Crowd Extra (uncredited)
Dick Cherney ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Charles Cirillo ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Richard Dale Clark ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Ruth Clifford ... Nurse (uncredited)
Edmund Cobb ... Man, scene 139 (uncredited)
Bud Cokes ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Hal K. Dawson ... Managing Editor (uncredited)
Richard Deacon ... Graves, Club Secretary (uncredited)
John Deauville ... Bit Role (uncredited)
George DeNormand ... Banker (uncredited)
Joe Devlin ... Man, scene 54 (uncredited)
James Dime ... Campaign HQ Extra (uncredited)
Clint Dorrington ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Mimi Doyle ... Mamie Burns (uncredited)
Tommy Earwood ... Gregory McClusky (uncredited)
Eddie Fetherston ... Bit Role, scene 36 (uncredited)
Charles B. Fitzsimons ... Kevin McCluskey (uncredited)
James Flavin ... Police Capt. Michael J. Shanahan (uncredited)
George Ford ... Bit Role (uncredited)
William Forrest ... Doctor Tom (uncredited)
Joseph Forte ... Managing Editor, scene 36 (uncredited)
Raoul Freeman ... Banker Member of Plymouth Club (uncredited)
Sam Harris ... Member of Plymouth Club on Stairway (uncredited)
Jack Hendricks ... Bit Role, scene 36 (uncredited)
William Henry ... Votes Tallyman (uncredited)
Chuck Hicks ... Fighter (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Chuck Howard ... Bit Role (uncredited)
William Hudson ... Votes Tallyman (uncredited)
Charles Anthony Hughes ... Man, scene 139 (uncredited)
Thomas E. Jackson ... Man, scene 54 (uncredited)
William Janssen ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Mike Jeffers ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Roy Jenson ... Fighter (uncredited)
Roland Jones ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Richard Keene ... Man, scene 139 (uncredited)
Fred Kennedy ... Bit Role (uncredited)
June Kirby ... Second Blonde (uncredited)
Webster Lagrange ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Harry Lauter ... Votes Tallyman (uncredited)
Johnny Leone ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Robert Levin ... Jules Kowalsky (uncredited)
Edmund Lowe ... Johnny Byrne (uncredited)
Wilbur Mack ... Banquet Guest (uncredited)
Hank Mann ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Eve March ... Neighbor Woman, scene 54 (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe ... Bit Role, scene 36 (uncredited)
Mae Marsh ... Mourner at Wake (uncredited)
Philo McCullough ... Politician (uncredited)
Joe McGuinn ... 2nd Man, scene 188 (uncredited)
Edward McNally ... Ward Heeler (uncredited)
Paul McVey ... Banker (uncredited)
Harold Miller ... Banquet Guest (uncredited)
Jimmy Murphy ... Office Boy (uncredited)
Forbes Murray ... Banker Member of Plymouth Club (uncredited)
Tom Neal ... Tom - Mourner at Wake (uncredited)
Bill Neff ... Man at Campaign HQ (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Brian O'Hara ... Man, scene 61 (uncredited)
Joe Palma ... Cop at Campaign HQ (uncredited)
Emma Palmese ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Harvey Parry ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Jack Pennick ... Police Sgt. Rafferty (uncredited)
Bob Perry ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Clete Roberts ... News Reporter (uncredited)
Molly Roden ... Neighbor Woman (uncredited)
Victor Romito ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Buck Russell ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Dick Ryan ... Man, scene 139 (uncredited)
Cosmo Sardo ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Frank J. Scannell ... Man, scene 63 (uncredited)
Jordan Shelley ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock ... Rally Marcher (uncredited)
Stephen Soldi ... Bit Role (uncredited)
George Spaulding ... Man, scene 54 (uncredited)
Ted Stanhope ... 1st Man, scene 188 (uncredited)
Anna Stein ... Bit Role (uncredited)
Bert Stevens ... Political Rally Marcher / Man at Political HQ (uncredited)
Harry Strang ... Harry - Mourner at Wake (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan ... Ward Heeler (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan ... Charlie the Chauffeur (uncredited)
Frank Sully ... Fire Lieutenant (uncredited)
Julius Tannen ... Mr. Kowalsky (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook ... Caterer at Wake (uncredited)
Charles Trowbridge ... Member of Plymouth Club at Front Door (uncredited)
Phil Tully ... Man, scene 63 (uncredited)
Harry Tyler ... Robert, Elderly Retainer (uncredited)
Ruth Warren ... Ellen Davin (uncredited)
James Waters ... Young Politician (uncredited)
Helen Westcott ... Mrs. McCluskey (uncredited)
Writing Credits
Frank S. Nugent (screen play) (as Frank Nugent)
Edwin O'Connor (based upon the novel by)
Cinematography
Charles Lawton Jr.
Trivia
Orson Welles was John Ford's original choice to play Frank Skeffington but Welles either lost or refused the part after intensely anti-Communist Ford friend Ward Bond publicly questioned Welles's loyalty to the U.S. Ford was furious at Bond. Welles and Ford were fans of each other's work.
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.
Goofs
When Frank Jr. bursts into the bedroom to see his dying Father, the doorknob comes apart and the interior knob falls off. As the Doctor immediately follows him into the room the doorknob back intact.
Memorable Quote
Mayor Frank Skeffington:
One more regret at my age won't make much difference.
Filming Location
Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch - 411 North Hollywood Way, Burbank, California, USA