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This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Where did this come from? Being unheard of for so many years I fully expected either a load of rubbish or a press & politically sabotaged surprise. It turns out to be both. Clearly based on a stage production (and a successful one) the movie also feels too much like a filmed play. Technically it's both big-budget-slick, and messy. It also looks as if it might have been tampered with after the completion of the initial edit - with some of the worst continuity cuts seen in a major release or maybe they had trouble with Tracy's drinking and lines?? The movie is politically on target as would be expected from Mr Capra and reminds us of the present day arena. Tends to suggest the Democrats remain as out for themselves as ever while the common worker gets shafted. This picture is not treated as 'idealistically' as earlier politically themed Capra shows but, it does suffer with going on for too long. It also suffers with some eye-rolling poor technical details - such as some hi-jinks in a light plane with Tracy in the pilot seat. Performances are all top notch with many classic faces from the era but the length makes the staginess seem even more apparent. Some knowledge of American political history would help keep up with the one liners and comments that flow freely. Seems Katharine Hepburn took over from Claudette Colbert at the last minute but, as she'd been assisting Tracy with his rehearsals was already up to speed. A 23 yr old Angela Lansbury makes for a formidable newspaper heiress out to ruin the aspirations of Tracy's candidature and would imagine that John Frankenheimer or his casting agent would have seen this performance before casting her in The Manchurian Candidate. 'Union' is harder to settle into than other Capra offerings, but interesting for its observations of the day and how some still hold true.

[Warning: Proceed if you don't care about spoilers] Frank Capra's State of the Union is a startling peek into the world of politics in American civilization. It gives its viewers an amazing insight into what goes into political campaigns, and basically walks us through each step of the hurdle. The movie takes us on a journey that leads to a path to presidency, and it does it in so many levels with so many strong characters. The lead character is Grant Matthews who is a successful industrialist with high moral standards and principles. He is the aspiring Presidential candidate chosen by the conniving politician Jim Conover who is all too familiar with the political world. Alongside, we see the stern, bold character Kay Thorndyke who runs a newspaper inherited from her father, and is romantically involved with Grant Matthews. An important character present in the movie is Mary Matthews, wife of Grant Matthews, who knows her husband too well and is apprehensive about his decision to enter the political domain. The movie presents a dramatic eye-opener into the world of politics through the story of Grant Matthews who is put into the shoes of a Presidential candidate, and it is the account of how this incident affects the lives of each character in the movie.The movie is fast paced in terms of politics as the viewers are quick to dive into learning about the process of selecting the President of United States. The entire plot starts when power-hungry politician Jim Conover tags up with the newspaper magnate Kay Thorndyke to find someone who could represent the Presidential Nominee for the Republican Party. However, the movie is one-sided as we only get to see the Republican side of the story. The movie pictures Republicans as effective opportunists who exploit the general interests of the American people by abusing the political system to advance their intents and motives just to gain votes from the public. During a time when America needed a President, Jim Conover sees an opportunity when Kay Thorndyke presents Grant Matthews, who is a self-made man, an industrialist who made airplanes with only two years of high school, a friend of the labor industry and a man of high integrity. All of these factors made Grant Matthews a potential dark horse in the Republican Party, which would benefit Jim Conover and other republicans in countless ways. And thus Jim Conover initiates the relentless political campaigns to raise Grant Matthews to the top for reasons that were more beneficial to him and his political party than to the United States of America.The movie also sheds light on the symbiotic relationship that exists between the media and politics. In the movie, there are benefits to both the Republican Party and The Thorndyke Press if Grant Matthews becomes the President. The news of a dark horse emerging from the Republican Party coming through a particular press would skyrocket their market value and put them on the top of the press chain. So both parties, having much to gain, join forces and utilize every unit of their power to bolster the Grant Matthews as President campaign. This mutual relationship between the press and the political world is timeless as it is prevalently seen in the news even to this day. Various media outlets get to publish the latest scoops and earn a good reputation for themselves, and the political parties get to influence the public by giving the media their side of the story. The movie spectacularly displays the bitter truth of how the media and politicians have been joining forces to sway public opinion. The movie is very politically condensed as it packs a great deal of information to any viewer aspiring to learn about the American political system. It brings forth the harsh reality that you can't make everybody happy in a world where people have differing opinions and different ideologies about every little issue in our society. To put up with everybody and gain their approval, you have to pull some strings here and there. Politics requires a man to compromise his morale and ethics in order to climb up the political ladder. The movies shows how an honest man like Grant Matthews had to give up his ideals and lower his standards in order to enter the deceptively travestied world of politics.

The plot is slick: Newspaper magnate Angela Lansbury wants to push her lover -- aircraft tycoon Spencer Tracy -- into running for President on the Republican ticket, thus making her the power behind the throne. But there are some sticky problems -- the affair, the real wife (Katharine Hepburn), and Tracy's own reticence to run. And, Lansbury wants to use Hepburn's disdain of the affair as a way to lead her to support Tracy's candidacy. The climax comes when a nationwide fireside chat is planned from the Matthews' home, and both Lansbury and Hepburn are present.Spencer Tracy: In this film, Tracy continues a very rapid transition from middle-aged to beginning to look old. Appropriate for a presidential candidate, but Tracy was aging rather quickly, considering that in his films of the mid-40s, he still looked mid-40ish himself. Then in films of the late 40s ("The Sea Of Grass" and "Cass Timberlane") the transformation came quickly. And here, in 1948 he is looking very distinguished. Tracy is at his best, particularly at the climax of the film.Katharine Hepburn: I consider this one of her best performances, particularly her soliloquy near the end of the film. And the chemistry between Spencer and Katharine...remarkable...and it certainly shines through here.Van Johnson: As I was watching, I was thinking about how much better Van Johnson's smart-aleck reporter went across in this Tracy film, than did Gene Kelly's in "Inherit The Wind". Here Johnson's character attempted to show the negative side of politics, and succeeded, and it's remarkable how many lines still ring true 60 years later! Adolphe Menjou: Not one of my favorites, but brilliant here as the stereotypical smoke-filled-room era politician, and interested to note that the conservative Menjou and the liberal Hepburn were apparently at each other to the point of not speaking during the shoot (according to the new Tracy biography).Angela Lansbury: Remarkably, Lansbury was only 23 years old when this film was made, and I think you may see parallels between her role/performance here and in "The Manchurian Candidate".Lewis Stone: Has a small, but critical role at the beginning of the film as Lansbury's father...a powerful but spurned politician that commits suicide while suffering from intestinal cancer...and the scenes between Lansbury and Stone are critical to understanding what makes Lansbury's character do what she does.This is a wonderful film, and one of the better examples of the Hepburn-Tracy relationship. Each shines here. And, of course, this is one of the later films by director Frank Capra, and although it is not held in as high esteem as some of his earlier films, I personally think it is one of his best. A great addition to your DVD shelf. My rating -- a very strong "7".

This is my favorite Tracy-Hepburn film and one of my favorite Frank Capra films. I recommend reading Capra's out-of-print biography, "The Name Above the Title" for the interesting story of the reaction to this film by official Washington in 1948.Quite reminiscent of "Meet John Doe," the story tests the character of a man against the political power-brokers who want to use him for their own purposes. Ideals battle pragmatism in ways that still ring true 50+ years later.Angela Landsbury is a wicked woman (can we call her a fem fa tale?) in an amazing performance foreshadowing her role in 1962's "Manchurian Candidate." Adolphe Menjou's sleazy political boss is about a greasy as they come.All in all there is nothing like a Capra film to make me what to stick to my principles and listen to the people who really love me. Add to Capra's theme of the inherent wisdom of the people this first rate group of actors and you have two hours of time well spent.