The Last Hurrah: Difference between revisions

A 1956 novel by Edwin O'Connor and a 1958 film based on the novel starring [[Spencer Tracy]], the story concerns the [[The Irish Diaspora|Irish-American]] mayor of a big American city that bears a [[No Communities Were Harmed|suspicious resemblance]] to [[Useful Notes/Boston (useful notes)|Boston, Massachusetts]], who wants to run for one more term before he retires. The Mayor, named Frank Skeffington, is "corrupt" in the sense that he likes to [[Sleazy Politician|hand out personal favors in exchange for loyalty]], but overall seems to be a [[Loveable Rogue|pretty decent person]] who genuinely cares for his constituents. The events are mostly seen through the eyes of Skeffington's nephew and local newspaperman, Adam Caulfield, although the novel is written in the third person.

Hoping to stop him once and for all, some of Skeffington's foes find a candidate to run against him- a [[The Generic Guy|bland]], boring, [[Brainless Beauty|good-looking-but-not-too-bright]] young candidate named Kevin McCluskey, who is so unimpressive, despite his respectable [[World War Two|war record]], that even the ''Cardinal'' thinks he's a loser. Ordinarily, McCluskey (who bears more than a slight resemblance to a young [[John F. Kennedy]]) wouldn't stand a chance against a seasoned politician like Skeffington, but there's one thing that has changed the game this time out- television.

The story, which [[Inspired By|drew some of its inspiration]] from real-life Boston mayor [[wikipedia:James Michael Curley|James Michael Curley]], explores a lot of the issues surrounding mid-20th century urban politics in the United States. The [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|New Deal]] had robbed the urban machine politicians of a lot of their traditional role in distributing public assistance, by making the Federal government responsible for it instead. Moreover, the advent of television meant that being good-looking and blandly inoffensive became more important than being a skillful politician who could command peoples' loyalty. In the end, Skeffington {{spoiler|loses the election [[Landslide Election|badly]], then suffers a heart attack and dies}}. He is revered by the citizens of his city, but the day of politicians like Skeffington is over.

* [[Irishman and Aa Jew]]: Skeffington's Jewish assistant Sam asks the mayor to do the drawing at a raffle for the Jewish War Veterans' Committee. Skeffington agrees to show up for the drawing and even buy a book of tickets, but wisely refuses to do the drawing himself.

{{quote| --"It'd be just my luck to pull a name like ''Paddy Murphy'' and then I'll have lost the Jewish vote- they'll say I palmed it".}}

* [[John F. Kennedy]]: Kevin McCluskey is a telegenic but politically inexperienced candidate with a fancy education, a pretty wife, smiling kids, a respectable [[World War Two|war record]], and more good looks than brains. It should be noted that James Michael Curley served briefly in the United States Congress, and the person who replaced him in his Congressional seat was a young but ambitious neophyte politician named John Fitzgerald Kennedy.