Dennis Hastert. Dean Skelos. Sheldon Silver. And who knows how many others... Why is it that, whenever there is breaking news about a politician who is arrested, indicted, or under investigation, our immediate response more than likely is: “So what else is new?” And why do we become so immersed in HOUSE OF CARDS, the frequently riveting Netflix series, and knowingly nod our heads over the behavior of Francis Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey: a manipulative, power-hungry American politician?
For after all, Francis Underwood may be a fictional character, but his demeanor is oh so familiar. In the show’s first episode, we learn that Underwood, a veteran of 22 years in Congress, is the House Majority Whip. He introduces himself by declaring: “I keep things moving in a Congress that’s choked by pettiness and lassitude. My job is to clear the pipes and keep the sludge moving...” Here are some other choice Underwood quotes, which define the character and his values: “The road to power is paved with hypocrisy, and casualties”; “He doesn't measure his wealth in private jets, but purchased souls”; “In politics, you either eat the baby or you are the baby”; and finally: “Democracy is so overrated.”
Now to repeat, Francis Underwood is a made-up character, but it seems as if so many of us believe that he is the rule rather than the exception among real American politicians. This connection between the words “politician” and “schemer” has long been depicted onscreen. One could compile a lengthy list of films from the celebrated to the obscure that spotlight characters who are the brethren of Francis Underwood and that portray politicians who are influenced not by their constituents but by their lust for power and influence.
Indeed, for every Mr. Smith-like celluloid officeholder-- and here I am referencing Jefferson Smith, the title character in MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON: a wide-eyed, clear-headed idealist who is determined to honestly serve his constituents while standing up for truth, justice, and the American way-- you will find endless screen politicians who piously smile and glad-handle their constituents while merrily lying, cheating, stealing, and buying votes.
There is countless spot-on dialogue to describe them. In STATE OF THE UNION, which like MR. SMITH GPOES TO WASHINGTON is directed by Frank Capra, the wife of an industrialist who is a potential presidential candidate observes: “You politicians have stayed professionals only because the voters have remained amateurs.” In Francis Coppola’s TUCKER: THE MAN AND HIS DREAM, a character observes: “Well, that’s something I thought I’d never see: a politician with his hands in his own pockets.” Then in THE GODFATHER: PART II, a crooked U.S. senator tells Michael Corleone: “I despise your masquerade, the dishonest way you pose yourself. You and your whole (expletive deleted) family.” Michael’s response is: “We’re both part of the same hypocrisy, senator, but never think it applies to my family.”
One of the all-time-great cinematic exposés of politics American-style is a farce, titled THE GREAT MCGINTY, which was written and directed by Preston Sturges and dates from 1940. THE GREAT MCGINTY is an allegory about a bartender who describes how he rose from poverty to the governor’s mansion in no time at all by employing a variety of underhanded and illegal tactics-- and his fists. In THE GREAT MCGINTY, a city boss pays two dollars a head to bums to vote for his man. The “governor” meets his downfall only when he attempts to go straight. A political henchman pronounces the classic line: “They’re always talkin’ about graft but, they forget if it wasn’t for graft, you’d get a very low type of people in politics.” All these decades later, one only can wonder what might run through the minds of the Dennis Hasterts, Dean Skeloses, or Sheldon Silvers of the world if they ever would sit through a film like THE GREAT MCGINTY.
Rob Edelman teaches film history at the University at Albany. He has written several books on film and television, and is an associate editor of Leonard Maltin’s Movie and Video Guide.
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