The Power and the Glory

After despised railway tycoon Spencer Tracy (as Tom Garner) dies, boyhood pal Ralph Morgan (as Henry) recounts his friend's life. As we flashback, the young lads become friends during a near-drowning incident. Growing up illiterate, Mr. Tracy meets his perfect match in schoolteacher Colleen Moore (as Sally). Alas, Tracy's life is filled with triumph and tragedy. With Ms. Moore's edging, he rises to the top but becomes corrupt. Despite denials, "The Power and the Glory" provided Orson Welles with the blueprint for a revered classic; he needn't have worried, this does not diminish "Citizen Kane" (1941) in any way. Proving films can inspire without being innately inspirational, "The Power and the Glory" has the prerequisite flawed classic qualities...

Tracy is terrific, but does not really excite; however, this is a technical concern. A former "silent movie" star taking a few years off, Moore contributes a notably adroit supporting performance. Director William K. Howard gets to work with photographer James Wong Howe and an innovative Preston Sturges story. The non-linear narrative was new to talking films, and thus disarmed contemporary viewers. There looks to have been an unwelcome studio-ordered edit as the story seems shortened; and, of course, Mr. Wells (and I) would have ended it differently - the scene with Tracy kneeling by his bed, bathed in sunlight, with son Phillip Trent (as Tommy) and Mr. Morgan, should have ended with a close-up of the scar on Tracy's outstretched hand...

******** The Power and the Glory (8/16/33) William K. Howard ~ Spencer Tracy, Colleen Moore, Ralph Morgan, Helen Vinson