Wilson (1944)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Henry King

Writer:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay)

Release Date:

August 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History | Music | Romance

Tagline:

DRAMA AND SPECTACLE UNPARALLELED! ENTERTAINMENT UNDREAMED OF! 12,000 PLAYERS! 200 MIGHTY SCENES! TOLD TO THE TUNE OF 87 BELOVED SONGS! (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

A chronicle of the political career of US President Woodrow Wilson.

Plot Keywords:

Governor | New Jersey | U.S. President | League Of Nations | 1910s

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Charles Coburn	...	Professor Henry Holmes
Geraldine Fitzgerald	...	Edith Bolling Galt
Thomas Mitchell	...	Joseph Tumulty
Ruth Nelson	...	Ellen Wilson
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Senator Henry Cabot Lodge (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Vincent Price	...	William Gibbs McAdoo
William Eythe	...	George Felton
Mary Anderson	...	Eleanor Wilson
Ruth Ford	...	Margaret Wilson
Sidney Blackmer	...	Josephus Daniels
Madeleine Forbes	...	Jessie Wilson
Stanley Ridges	...	Dr. Cary Grayson
Eddie Foy Jr.	...	Eddie Foy
Charles Halton	...	Colonel House
Thurston Hall	...	Senator Edward H. 'Big Ed' Jones

Runtime:

154 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Darryl F. Zanuck was so proud of the film that he ordered that the world premiere be held in Wahoo, Nebraska, Zanuck's own home town - presumably so that Zanuck could show off his pet project to the local citizens. The plan backfired; nobody in Wahoo was really interested in Woodrow Wilson, and attendance at the film's showings was extremely poor.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the scene where Wilson's cabinet is meeting to discuss the sinking of the Lusitania in May 1915, a map of Europe on the wall plainly shows numerous countries and borders, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Baltic States, that came into being only after World War I.

Movie Connections:

Featured in History Brought to Life (1950)

Underrated masterpiece

Although "Wilson" was considered a box-office failure upon it's release, it was hailed by critics, and was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning 5. I think it's grossly underrated, and a true Fox masterpiece. Alexander Knox is magnificent as Woodrow Wilson, showing a strong-minded yet sympathetic character. It's definitely one of the best biographies I've ever seen. So don't pay attention to the ugly rumors about this movie, saying that it's a disaster. I think it's fantastic, and I highly recommend it to any history or movie buff.