''The Great Man Votes'' is a 1939 American drama film starring
John Barrymore as a widowed professor turned drunkard who has the deciding vote in an election for mayor. It was based on the short story of the same name by
Gordon Malherbe Hillman published in the November 1933 issue of ''
American Magazine
''The American Magazine'' was a periodical publication founded in June 1906, a continuation of failed publications purchased a few years earlier from publishing mogul Miriam Leslie. It succeeded ''Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (1876–1904), ' ...
''. The plot of the 2008 movie ''
Swing Vote'' has been compared to ''The Great Man Votes''.
Plot
Former
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher l ...
professor Gregory Vance (
John Barrymore), now an outcast alcoholic in a small city, is introduced hitching a ride with the local milkman, who also delivers alcohol to him, after his shift in his current job as a night watchman. Despite his alcoholism, Vance cares for his children, Joan (
Virginia Weidler
Virginia Anna Adeleid Weidler (March 21, 1927 – July 1, 1968) was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s.
Early life and career
Weidler was born on March 21, 1927, in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles County, C ...
) and Donald (Peter Holden), bringing them up on the classics, teaching them Latin, and having them recite Shakespeare. They in turn look after their father and his reputation.
After an altercation between his children and some bullies, led by the son of "Iron Hat" McCarthy (
Donald McBride
Donald Hugh MacBride (June 23, 1893 – June 21, 1957) was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer (making several recordings in 1907) in vaudeville and went on to be an ...
), the local political boss, Vance is visited by his children's teacher, Agnes Billow (
Katherine Alexander
Katharine Alexander (September 22, 1898 - February 10, 1981) was an American actress on stage and screen. She appeared in 44 films between 1930 and 1951. Her first name was sometimes spelled Katherine in billing.
Biography
Alexander was born ...
), and the two become friendly with each other, especially as she realizes that Vance is a writer she greatly respected and he reveals that his fall from respectability began with the death of the children's mother.
With a city election for mayor nearing, Iron Hat is informed that every vote in the city is already locked in place, with a likely tie between the boss's handpicked current mayor and a rival, with one exception in one crucial ward—Gregory Vance. At the same time, Vance's wealthy in-laws are threatening to take custody of his children, something Joan and Donald do not want, despite the material advantages that would offer them.
Trying to woo Vance for his vote, Iron Hat offers him a low-level job with the city, but the children are able to raise the bargaining stakes until Vance is offered the post of Commissioner of Education. Vance himself is reluctant to be a party to such dirty politics, but when he demands getting the job offer in writing, he is able to expose the corruption of the mayor and Iron Hat. Now socially respectable and a new man, Vance is able to turn over a new leaf, presumably along with Miss Billow.
Cast
Reception
The film recorded a loss of $10,000.
References
External links
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1939 films
American black-and-white films
1939 drama films
Films scored by Roy Webb
Films based on short fiction
Films directed by Garson Kanin
American drama films
Films produced by Cliff Reid
1930s American films
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