WILSON (1944)

This biopic of 28th president Woodrow Wilson begins in 1909 when we see Wilson (Alexander Knox), president of Princeton, at a football game which his team loses to Yale. That night, he is visited by Senator Jones who asks him to run for governor of New Jersey, as a progressive against "special interests." He is unsure, but his wife Ellen encourages him, so he runs. At the state convention, he is asked about the corrupt political machine that put him up to the run (notably, Senator Jones) and Wilson replies by insisting he will break up the old boys' network. Jones says publically he will not run for office again, and Wilson wins the election, but a year later, when Jones negates himself and says he'll run, Wilson threatens to make trouble so he winds up getting kicked upstairs, in a fashion, and is encouraged to run for President. A lengthy sequence covers the tumultuous 1912 Democratic convention at which Wilson finally wins the nomination on the 46th ballot, and later wins the national election. Not long after moving into the White House, his wife takes ill and dies. As WWI begins, Wilson is still in mourning but the sinking of Lusitania forces him back to reality; Republican congressman Henry Cabot Lodge (Cedric Hardwickwe), who wants to push the U.S. into the war, becomes Wilson's nemesis when Wilson announces he will not retaliate militarily. Wilson begins dating Edith Galt (Geraldine Fitzgerald) which causes much gossip until he marries her. He goes on to win a second term with anti-war promises, but eventually he is forced by events to declare war against Germany.  The eventual armistice leads to Wilson's attempt to establish a peacekeeping League of Nations, and he undertakes an arduous train tour across the country to whip up support, but along the way, he suffers a stroke and Edith secretly takes over whatever duties she can. Lodge leads a number of congressmen to fight against the League, and the next president, Republican Warren Harding, kills any chance of America's participation. But Wilson recovers enough to leave office proudly and on his own steam.

As with many Hollywood biographical films, this is episodic, the only way really to cover twelve years in anyone's life. And, as in many biopics, he is made out to be the next thing to a saint, with no mention made of his racist and segregationist beliefs. At 2 ½ hours, this has often derided as slow and boring, and the film lost a fair amount of money on its initial release. But viewed now, it comes off pretty well: the pace is fine and Knox's performance, given Wilson’s generally mild persona, is impressive—though things never get exciting, I never lost interest throughout the running time. It's also great fun to see so many familiar supporting players, including Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price (practically unrecognizable as fellow New Jersey politician William McAdoo), Sidney Blackmer, Charles Coburn, and Marcel Dalio. It's in color which also helps it play well today. This may not make classic movie fans out of young people today, but if you're already a biopic buff, this is a must-see. Pictured are Knox and Ruth Nelson as Wilson's first wife. [TCM]